The first time I successfully threw a pot on the wheel made me feel the same way as when I successfully baked my first loaf of bread.
I’ll be honest: I’m only four weeks in to a six week pottery class, and I’ve only baked bread a few times. But oh my gosh! I didn’t expect to enjoy either of them as much as I do.
I love the reward of making something useful, from scratch, and with my own two hands. Both are staples of our ancient history worldwide. When kneading the clay and dough I feel a connection to the women before me: women who would have used their hands to make a vessel to carry water, or to make food to feed their family. The tactility of it is nice, too. I love pressing my fingers firmly into the center of the clay to open it and make it start to look like “bowl” rather than “lump.” And, I love pressing my fingers into focaccia dough to make little wells of olive oil that’ll keep the bread moist but crisp the outside into a nice golden brown. With your hands, you can easily feel if it starts to go wrong—whether you’re about to collapse your clay, or you’ve overworked your dough and it’ll be chewy. As a beginner at both, I’m not the greatest at stopping before the point of no return. I’ve smooshed more clay failures than set aside wins to place in the kiln.
But, the trial and error of both pottery and baking make it really rewarding from me. I have tiny hands for an adult, so pottery has been a bit unwieldy for me and I didn’t make a pot that I felt actually proud of until last week. Likewise, my first focaccia (for a family dinner I hosted, no less!) wasn’t nearly salty enough and the bottom crust got stuck to my glass dish—me, my partner, grandma, and mom all had to wield forks to try to pry the thing out of there. But, it was still edible and tasty! My kitchen smelled like bread and rosemary, and my dad really enjoyed the bread. My first few pots were the same way; not perfect, but still usable. Each failure just made me want to try harder the next time to get it perfect.
I won’t be perfect at either any time soon, but I’m still excited about all the potential and possibilities both afford. I’ve got a little list of ideas and ambitions I’d like to try as I get better... this week I’m going to use cookie cutters to decorate a mug I made last week, and eventually I want to try to make a cake stand. I’m also going to make orange cinnamon rolls for the first time this week, and next time I make focaccia I feel confident enough to try creating art with herbs and vegetables on the dough’s surface.
Will I accomplish all of those things—successfully—in the next month? Probably not. Skill takes time to hone. A cake stand is pretty advanced for a newbie pottery like me... but I can certainly add a snail applique to my mug. I probably won’t nail cinnamon rolls on the first try either (I’ve never had counter space to roll dough before now!), but I can definitely tweak my focaccia to make sure the veggies are oiled enough to not completely char in the oven.
Either way, I’m excited to try and try and try again.
Cheers,
Chey