New Potters
February Discover Clay series ends tonight. Another great group of new potters ready to spread their wings!
They've learned the basics of ceramics including wheel throwing, trimming, hand building, slab rolling and glazing. Whew! All that in just four weeks!
Can't wait to see where the journey will take them!
Practicing Ahimsa at the Pottery Studio
Ahimsa, one of the guiding principles of the Yoga Sutras, is the concept of non-violence or non-harming. It's kind of a big deal, having inspired the words and actions of some of the best-known and loved peacemakers of our time, like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
There are some fairly obvious ways to think about and apply the concept of Ahimsa, even within the somewhat unique context of a small pottery studio like ours:
We can use and share the space in a considerate way, taking care of studio tools and equipment and maintaining an orderly environment so that we are less likely to accidentally damage somebody else's work.
We can support each other as we work--either with kind words and friendly conversation when that's what's called for or by respecting somebody's wish to create quietly or keep to themselves.
Although maybe a little less obvious, responsible use of water and recycling clay help us protect important natural resources, practicing non-harm to the planet. Plus, it can be a fun challenge, at least in my opinion (May I never lose the giddy feeling that comes from transforming slop from the bucket under the sink to fresh recycled clay.!)
But what else can we do? Core to the idea of non-harming is the recognition that we are all the same. Putting a twist on the more familiar golden rule of "do unto others...", within the concept of Ahimsa lies the recognition that when we hurt others, we hurt ourselves, in kind.
OK, so then how about this? If Ahimsa guides your relationships with others, how does it reflect in your relationship to yourself--especially when it comes to pottery making?
Do you judge your work or your progress negatively? Do you feel guilty if you're not making pieces that are big enough, perfect enough, "whatever" enough? Next time the negativity arises, think about Ahimsa and trust that the act of awareness is a positive step toward releasing self-harming thoughts that can hinder our ability to tap into our true spirit.
I'm curious to explore Ahimsa as a creative force in the year ahead. Some of the harming conversations that take place in my own head revolve around my feeling that I'm more of a craftsperson than a "capital A" artist. What's the distinction? In my moments of self doubt, I will never be an artist because I'm not good at conceptualizing beauty--I'm great at appreciating it, but I'm only sometimes semi-OK at re-creating somebody else's artistic vision. What will happen to my creative spirit if I keep working on Ahimsa? in my relationship to art and clay..?
The yamas and niyamas of ceramics.
When I started deepening my yoga practice, I discovered the yamas and niyamas--two limbs of yoga's 8-limbed path. These guidelines for living a yogic lifestyle were likely written way back around 200 CE, and are found in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. One way to think of the yamas and niyamas is as something akin to the 10 commandments. And just like the 10 commandments, the yamas and the niyamas can be highly relevant today in many parts of our lives.
At one point a few years ago, I spent a chunk of time thinking about and eventually mind mapping the yamas and niyamas--finding deep connections to my own life, not to mention connections between the concepts themselves, individually and collectively. The image above shows what exploration of the yamas looked like for me, circa 2014.
What do the yamas and the niyamas have to do with clay, you ask? Well, why don't we take a look together? I often talk about how my journey into yoga affects my pottery practice. One informs and enriches the other. So I'm ready to get back to the yamas and the niyamas here via the Mud Lily blog--to spend time thinking about (and sharing with you) specifically how I apply these yoga concepts to the work of creating with clay.
I haven't yet sat down and put pencil to paper about ways to apply the yamas and niyamas to clay. So far, these have been thoughts that, as they move through my mind, seem deeply true. And while some connections will be easy to make, others will take more time and personal interpretation.
For discipline's sake, I think I'll tackle them one at a time, in order--something like this:
YAMAS (I always think of these as the "thou shalt nots")
- Ahimsa: Non Violence
- Satya: Truth
- Asteya: Non-Stealing (should be interesting applying this one to clay, huh?)
- Brahmacharya: Moderation
- Aparigraha: Non-Hoarding
NIYAMAS (The "thou shalts")
- Saucha: Cleanliness
- Santosha: Contentment (one of the easy ones!)
- Tapas: Self Discipline
- Svadhyaya: Self Study
- Isvara-Pranidhana: Devotion
As I work my way through the list below, I really hope some of you, be you potters, yogis, all or none of the above, will chime in on my thoughts and share your own. More to come!
What's a Mud Lily, anyway?
Mud Lily is another name for the lotus flower. The lotus symbolizes spiritual enlightenment, and did you know that it grows from the mud? What a great reminder in our busy lives: Growth can be messy and beautiful--all at the same time.
Working at the studio.
Jo Ann and I have been working in the new space to get a sense of what should go where, how the light is at various times of the day, and to get a feel for the energy. It has been so great to take litte breaks from all of the logistics stuff so that we can slip back into the flow of making pottery!
What a "beginner's mindset" can mean to potters, new and old.
There's a small, beautiful book by Shunryu Suzuki called Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. The book's most often-quoted passage is probably this one:
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.
Whenever we try something new, we naturally come to it with a beginner's mindset. Yet ironically, at least in my own case, the truer it is that I'm a total rookie, the harder I try to pretend that I'm not one. So you'll usually find me attempting to play it cool on the outside, while inside my mind is rushing a million miles a minute, trying to latch on to and absorb every detail and bit of instruction. Yes, as a matter of fact, it is pretty exhausting!
When I Was a Kid...I didn't try many new things. I felt that I needed to be really good at something or else I shouldn't do it at all. I got to a certain age where I regretted not putting myself out there, so I've tried to catch up some. This makes me a perpetual ADULT BEGINNER.
As For Pottery...When I sit down to do pottery, there are days when almost nothing goes the way I had hoped, aside from making the time to actually get to the wheel. Although I'm far, far from an expert, one "pro tip" I've learned on days like these is to just get up and go do something else for a while. Not bad advice, but also not the only way.
Lately, instead of fighting with the clay, I do take a pause but I return more quickly and I come back with a beginner's mindset. I literally start doing the most basic things I learned in the first classes I ever took: wedging with intention, truly centering the clay, focusing on basics: cylinder, bowl...
I Think the Big Takeaway Is...that being a beginner can either be something we avoid or something we embrace. And, even when we've been doing a thing for so long that there's just no way to call ourselves beginners any longer, the beginner's mind is a gift to hold, foster, and come back to.
When Jo Ann and I Envisioned Mud Lily...this was an important guiding concept. We wanted to create a studio that welcomes people who have been curious about trying or returning to pottery and that also attracts ceramic artists who want to work where ego gets left at the door--at a place where there's only room inside for the many possibilities that flow from a beginner's mind.
PS...Come check out our copy of Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. It's at the front desk at Mud Lily!