Relocating is interesting stuff. It undoubtedly catapults a person out of their comfort zone. There are people who actively seek that out in life and those who don't. I am in the later group. I force myself into unchartered waters trusting that breaching the zone inevitably will work out to be a good thing. Still, I struggle with it all the way through. In the past six months of living in a new city I have learned continuously and endlessly about myself. I am still understanding and growing more everyday. Three months after moving I found a pottery studio and signed up for my first eight week wheel throwing class. My experience with clay had been of the hand building variety. Working on the wheel strongly intrigued me and was a new and welcomed challenge for me. The beauty of throwing clay on a wheel is the first rule you must learn and conquer... center your clay. If the clay is not properly centered, whatever you are trying to throw will be unbalanced, misshapen, off. If the day is crumby or your mind is in another place, centering will not come easy. I understood this by my second day at the wheel and since then I have been enjoying my time throwing as a meditative and reflective exercise. I also am enjoying creating in this medium. I feel like I am finally getting better and am inspired to continue on, putting more effort into my work over the coming year and adding it to my focus for Forged & Found. Here I have assembled a gallery of my humble first pieces...
