Happy New Year, to you (and your loved ones)! I’ve decided to post a photo of some handbuilt pottery I made in the last few months of the year (you can learn the reason why, if you go back a few posts).
But in short, I’ve been mainly offline since mid-September due to a motor vehicle accident and related recovery. Regular physiotherapy appointments, concussion and other injury exercises and insurance paperwork to keep me company.
I know I most likely wouldn’t have made these pots if I hadn’t (been forced to and) taken a step back from what I was doing before.
Mainly, a lot of doing, doing, doing (for others) and not a lot of simply ‘being’ for myself. Yes my family too, (but mostly for myself).
It has been a bizarre, confronting and evolving experience.
Even though my brain sometimes forgets details, names, how to do certain things and gets overloaded by too much stimulation (hello, life with three kids under the age of eight!)…nothing is forever.
My hands remembered how to work with clay and what I forgot, I made up on the spot and went with the flow.
I joined a lovely community studio and brought my pots in sporadically for the staff to bisque fire. I could go and glaze during school hours and chat to other studio members about all things clay OR we could sit in silence, shuffling between buckets, shelves and stools, dipping, sponging, rinsing and repeating.
I was able to help out with their holiday kiln fundraiser, creating a poster and other social media graphics – it was one of the few times the laptop was cracked open in the final months of this year – but I am now known as ‘Amy the poster designer’ in the pottery studio and people have wondered who my mystery pots belonged to.
A local high school had a holiday art market in November and accepted me as a last-minute vendor, where I exhibited and sold a limited selection of pottery and prints.
Then before the holidays, a friend came over for a visit and ‘1:1 shopping experience’ to catch up on life, and she bought the handmade mug pictured in this photo.
There have been many pleasant surprises along the way and I plan to keep making pottery for, dare I say it, the rest of my life.
We started last year with a trip back to Ireland, taking the kids out of school.
It was full of logistics, opportunities, challenges, memories, unique experiences and ultimately, it reminded me why I want to design a life that works for me (and my family).
What is interesting is our year ended much like the beginning, except I didn’t know what would happen in between.
And right when I thought it was about to gear up into more doing, speaking, consulting, engaging – life went in another direction and brought me closer to home.
To the small and simple things.
Photo: Two of my white stoneware ceramic pieces, a small bud vase and mug, imprinted with handpainted underglazed plants, on a wooden table against a grey wall.
Stay well everyone,
– Amy (+ Family) xx
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