Abby Pottery

Rene once told me that I always have drama in my life.  It’s not the kind of drama that involves tears, yelling, slamming doors or breaking dishes.  What he meant was that I always have something new going on, whether it’s planning a trip or taking a new class or starting a new project.  He’s right – there’s always something new and exciting to look forward to in my life.  It doesn’t happen every week but enough times so that I feel like I’m working to live and not living to work.

A few weeks ago we signed up for a beginning pottery class.  It’s an 8-week course, taught by a laid-back guy named Jack.  Jack talks in a low monotone, the kind of voice that puts you to sleep, and every time he shows us something new I fight the urge to fall asleep.

One of our classmates works for the local school district and she’s in the class because her school bought a kiln for the students to use next year.  She’ll be in charge of teaching pottery to the students, and she always repeats this story to me even though I’ve heard it a million times.  Also, she writes down everything the instructor says in great detail.  I can imagine having to take notes if the material was complex or difficult to remember, but this is a pottery class – you perform the exact steps just shown to you.   Everyone else in the class is cool.

So far we have made a pinch pot, an animal, a decorative plate, and last week we started working on a vase.  So far none of these projects are fully finished – some are waiting to be fired on the kiln, and some need to be glazed.  I missed class tonight due to work deadlines, and was disappointed that I didn’t get to finish my vase.  For the first time since we started the class I liked what I was making and could see myself working on more pieces outside of class.  Rene, on the other hand, is the star pupil: he’s the only one in class that works on projects at home.  So far he’s made two round containers for his plants, and I can’t wait to see the finished version.

Here is a picture of my first project:

I meant to make a hippo but the legs become too long.  I thought about making a horse instead but didn’t have enough clay in the back for the tail.  I ended up making a jackrabbit that looked liked that creepy bunny from Donnie Darko:

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