Mindful Making

“Mindful Making” - it’s a concept that I’ve been thinking a lot about. How do we make things mindfully? How do we consider all the materials and resources we use when we create anything and how can we be most responsible doing so? For me, this question has lead me to learn a lot more about glazes and clays and where everything comes from. It’s a lot more chemistry than art, but I love that I get to work in a medium that so heavily relies on both sides (even though I feel like I’m back in a high school science class sometimes).

I struggle a lot with the consumerism/capitalism related to the act of making. I want to sell my pieces so people use them, and so I can continue to make more, but as this passion of mine becomes more and more of a business, I feel an obligation to do more marketing, more social media, more things that are outside of the act of making, and that’s really hard to make that switch.

One of the things I love about pottery is how meditative the act of making a vessel can be. More than anything, I just hope I don’t lose that. And I hope to teach others pottery skills so they can feel that sense of calmness too (soon?)