Things in Erin’s Head

Last week I had a glimmer of what I might want to write today. But I didn’t WRITE it, so it slipped away. 

Yesterday, a different little somethin’ came to me while I was massaging (my best thinking happens a) when I’m massaging; b) in the shower; c) driving in my car – basically any place I can’t write anything down).

This morning? No ideas. This afternoon? FIVE IDEAS. So I pulled out the trusty Wheel of Topics and kept my fingers crossed it would point to something juicy. The choices? Jury Duty, Christmas Lights, How I Found Out About Santa, The Tenderloin Debacle, and the seemingly most random: Pottery.

I was NOT disappointed in the results.

POTTERY. Specifically, the wheel throwing kind made famous by Demi Moore (and we want Seth Rogan to replace that entire “Ghost” imagery with his wheel throwing magic). I took a ceramics class in high school (a few *cough cough* years ago) and I loved it then, but never found a place to play like that in any of the spaces I’ve called home since. One soulful, rainy day, in the middle of my Artists Way journey, I was daydreaming about new potential hobbies and I started searching the net for this seemingly perfect way to get creatively messy. 

That’s when I found Sarah Glass Ceramics. 

Sarah built a space for play, learning, and creativity. She offered one off classes to play on the wheel. It was exactly what my soul was calling for. And so I did the next logical thing.

I cyber-stalked her.

For months.

The stories…
“Oh, Erin, you don’t have TIME for pottery classes.”
“Ohhhh, Erinnnn, you don’t have MONEY for pottery classes.”
“Ohhhhhhhh ERIN! You probably aren’t even GOOD at pottery so why would you even bother?”

Then one day… wayyyyy back in August… I received a cash gift. It was exactly the amount I needed for one of Sarah’s classes. So of course I did the next logical thing…

I kept stalking Sarah on Instagram.

The true story was finally revealed. What if I loved it? Not, what if I was good at it, or could make money doing it (I’m an entrepreneur guys, these thoughts are always in my head). But what if I LOVED it? 

Then what? 

I would dream about it, pine for it, spend my last dime on it, and be a crazy woman who always has a smudge of clay running through her hair?

Oh what a divine dream. 

On 11/11/22 I found my way up into Sarah’s studio and sat behind a wheel, a mound of clay staring up at me, innocently, wondering what its transformation would be. I added a splash of water to moisten the mound, pressed my foot gingerly onto the peddle, and I was off. 

I made two pieces that night. I had zero control over the clay. It did what it wished, dancing, sliding, and folding between my fingers. The fact that I ended up with discernable shapes at all is a small miracle (and I give Sarah credit for her gentle encouragement and guidance). Yet the experience was everything I hoped it would be. It’s tactile. Messy, and creative. It’s both satiating and oh so frustrating.

I’m learning the art of when to STOP.

And it’s my new way to #TakeThePause.

Because after that one class, I did the next logical thing… I asked Jerry to gift me the six week course for Christmas. And he did. I’m in week four right now (it’s going too fast!!) and I’m already trying to figure out how to swing a monthly membership (y’all – I bought myself a whole thing of raw porcelain clay just for ME).

I’m proud to say I’m improving. I’m learning to guide the clay where I want it to go, am mostly good at STOPPING, and I’m making new friends who also enjoy creative messiness. 

I’m curious, do you have a seemingly crazy hobby you would like to try? What’s stopping you? Do you think you might love it?

Because it’s all about love…

Erin’s Week Two Creations