The first time I ever used a wheel to throw a bowl I was 17 years old. My boarding school offered a pottery class and I jumped at the chance to try something new. My first experience was on a kick wheel. After I learned to center the clay and was pretty comfortable making basic shapes, it became my favorite past time. I would wake up early and sneak over to the ceramic studio where I would listen to Joni Mitchell on the mud covered boom box and get lost in the clay. It was years later that I realized how privileged I was to get to throw in such a studio. The kick wheel was gorgeous, a large smooth millstone, perfectly balanced. I would sit there, my bare feet kicking then skimming lightly over the spinning stone. Hands, covered in slick clay slip, what once was a blob of mud, taking shape, growing into something different every time. This blog is dedicated to the love of clay and the unceasing desire to get dirty and make something beautiful.

Friday, June 6, 2008