In the more than 30 years I have been a potter, I have grown to experience this art as a spiritual path. Artmaking is a spiritual endeavor and each of us, as children of the universe, are creative and artistic by nature. The process of pottery making is particularly articulate in its expression of the spiritual path I have traveled throughout my life.
I begin the process with an idea. Of course, all things in our lives began as a thought, an idea, an inspiration. Pottery making is no different. Manifestation takes more than an idea; it takes a process that springs from an idea.
The form begins as a lump of clay. Clay is earth and water combined in exact quantities that make the clay malleable. For me, I must be grounded and I must be emotionally invested in any idea or inspiration I intend to manifest. When I sit down at the potter’s wheel, I bring clay, water, and my idea for the form of the pot, its purpose, and intended use.
Once the pot is formed, I must leave it to dry. Air does its job by absorbing the water from the clay, until the water is completely evaporated. The pot is still clay, however. It won’t be ceramic and usable until it emerges from the fire.
The dry pot must enter the fire in order to be functional. If it does not go through this final stage of manifestation, it will slowly disintegrate back into the mud it once was. However, if it completes this final stage, the pot will be transfigured by fire from clay to ceramic. This change happens at the molecular level and resembles the transfiguration of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
At every stage of manifestation, things can go terribly wrong. They can, and often do, go wonderfully right as well. This is the adventure of pottery and it resembles the adventure of life. We invest in our lives and trust our spiritual paths to bring us to greater understanding and alignment with the divine we know our selves to be. This can feel like a trial by fire. The reward of embarking on this adventure, time and time again, is the transformation of our lives, our relationships, and our being into the spiritual truth that we are.
Take my hand and let’s step into this adventure together.
