Monday, September 22, 2014

It's not easy being green

 I'm coming off the past month of having to work 5 days a week at the school, to find that working my 3 days a week there does leave me some time to get back in the studio.

I'm glazing.
We're glazing.

I started off the end of the week, my days at home, by digging through the tiles, pulling them out, waxing and starting the process of laying in the glazes.

This is familiar, I do know how to do this.
Then on Friday we planned, waxed and got ready for the gas kiln.
Glazes were mixed, pots waxed.
Then Sunday it was glaze most of the day.

Then today I got in the car, drove away and went to teach.

This is a strange, interesting and wonderful time for me.
I am conflicted and, yet, satisfied.
I feel as if I am sleep walking, dreaming, I have to ask myself, where is the life you use to lead?

I miss the rhythm of my own studio, marching to my own tune, wandering through my own timeline.
When I am at school my role is different, not unfamiliar, just different.
I set up timelines for the students, load and unload kilns, check glazes, order supplies.

The same but different.

I hope, as we move along, I can give the students that sense of studio time.
It's not all about the wheel, it is about all the other things that can happen in a day.
You load and unload your kilns, order your supplies, mix your glazes, wax, glaze, load.
unload, sand, price, and, if you are lucky, sell.

What happens when you step out of the safety of the classroom?
How do you manage your time,
How will you set up your own rhythm?

Almost daily I see the light bulbs going off in the students. Click, I got this, click, this is working. Click, click, click.
There are days as I walk past each one I see improvements happening, like fireworks lighting up the sky.
Boom! It truly amazes me to be a part of this.

So maybe this time of change has come at a time for me that I can enjoy what is happening, this change in my own work patterns. There was a time that giving up the time would not have been an option for me.
I know that I will always make pots, that is a given. I am just waiting to see what changes this makes to my own work and what I will do next.
I'm waiting for my own light blub moment, Boom!


 
  
Or, maybe, like this frog I will just sit quietly watching the world go past me, waiting for the night,waiting to slip off and do what frogs do......boom!

10 comments:

Tracey Broome said...

It's good to see you posting.things have certainly shifted for many of us this year, it's been very strange....
I'm turning 54 tomorrow and all I can think is, when did I stop being 24?!
I have said it before, but I really envy your students, you have so much to offer them, they are lucky lucky people.
Xo

Trish said...

A very exciting, changing, shifting passage you are in Meredith.. I am sure your students are lapping up your wisdom in all areas. Continue having fun. T.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

I know, getting out of the studio can be...fun!

cookingwithgas said...

It's quite a new ride for me. I am enjoying it. Especially now. I just found out fall started, really....I'm not ready.

Lori Buff said...

The life of a potter is so much more than just sitting in front of the wheel enjoying the clay. So many other things to do, including teaching some times. I'll bet your students are getting a great education.

smalltownme said...

Your students are lucky you are sharing yourself.

cookingwithgas said...

Thanks you two, I hope they are getting something from me.

Claudia from Idiot's Kitchen said...

This sounds very much like what people should be taught in music school but have to learn the hard way on their own. How to manage time. How to actually cobble together a living. How to make your own way.

That is one splendid green frog! Ours are all various shades of khaki and brown.

cookingwithgas said...

Claudia, maybe you have to live it to get it.

Sandy Miller said...

so good to read this post…… grateful you posted your thoughts. There seem to be transitions a foot for so many of us……. I prefer to be the frog….. so far it's not working out that way :)