Meditating on Clay Preparation

Why create pottery when the world is shaking with war and grief?

Every now and then I emerge from preparing for the Geelong Ceramics Market to see yet more carnage on the TV news. I know millions of people around the world are experiencing the same thing. So how can I/ how dare I keep on focussing on creating art when the world appears to have gone to hell in a hand basket? What is the point?

Recently I attended the launch of Holly Ringland’s latest book The House That Joy Built. Holly spoke about someone approaching her with a similar question. The answer I took away was that ‘making art is an act of resistance’. We can’t live in the midst of destruction. We are compelled after life altering events to recreate, remake, reorder, and make sense of what has happened and then find a way forward into the future.

Being human is inherently creative. Below is a video that is designed to be meditative, to draw us back into connecting with ouselves and the earth. Feeling my way forward with clay connects me to the earth and to creation. An act of defiance and resistance towards all those intent on destruction. This may seem small and insignificant. But the connection through creating is very powerful. The more of us who do this, the more profound the impact we can have in the world around us.

Preparing clay for throwing on the wheel

wedging clay