Friday 29 May 2015

End of a chapter. Also, pictures of pottery.

My pottery class is over. Boo! I'll still probably go to a few drop in classes in June but my three hour class, no waiting in line days are over. I'm going to try and time it so that I can have pieces ready for the end of June but it's not a big deal if they aren't as someone from my class offered to pick up and hold anything for me. 

It's sad that pottery is over, not just because I always have more ideas of fun objects to make, but because it's like the end of a chapter in my life. A chapter that I'm clearly pleased is closing but this is the one area that I'll miss. I'm going to be hunting for a studio back in Cumberland County where I can play with clay.

Taking pottery classes was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's probably my recreation therapy training coming out here but I can honestly say that taking the classes was like medicine for my mental health. It kept me focused on something other than the long wait. In fact, when I was signed up for a class, I was okay with not getting the call during those 8 weeks as doing so would've interrupted my pottery.

I spent a lot of time between classes looking up ideas, watching how-to videos, and dreaming of glaze combinations. Having a weekly commitment outside of the hospital was also a huge bonus. I could talk to people about non-medical topics, it didn't feel like all the small talk I did was medically focused. Whereas at physio, all everyone talked about was their health or someone elses health. That's fine for a few minutes but gets old for me pretty quickly. Lastly, working with the clay probably also helped my somewhat physically.

I'm so thankful I convinced Amy to go to a drop in class with me when she first visited a year and half ago when I completely fell in love with it. There is something about getting your hands dirty and being creative that is incredibly therapeutic. Hurry for recreation as therapy!

The bowl is red for now but post-kiln it should be yellow!
My garlic press vase, post-kiln the green will turn clear and it should be red underneath. *fingers crossed*

1 comment:

LittleM said...

I wanna learn more about your recreation therapy training. Message me on facebook.. you went to school for something related to this? Ever since the podcasts I've been intrigued. Ps. I take it glazing is complicated because I'm boggled that the red will turn yellow and the green will turn clear with red underneath?? awesome!