Diary of an Adult Pottery Adventure

FIRST MONDAY

The first pottery class session is over! I am home and quick to sit down and write some notes in my diary. Milo, my 9 year-old, comments that my class is very long – I vaguely remember that three hours did feel like a very long time when I was a kid and I had to wait for something exciting. Patience wears thin faster in the evening it seems. His complaint is accompanied by the clarification that we have no time to do anything together, me having come home after nine in the evening.

Oh, time! How precious and in short supply it seems to be. Between work and the daily necessities, not much of it Plus, people put demands on that time – there’s spouses, parents, children Sometimes what should be fun feels like a chore. “Let’s do something together, mommy!”

My arms are tired It hurts to write Who would have imagined throwing pottery on a wheel is such hard work for arms and hands? It is, at least for the arms and hands of a 45-year old suburban mom with an office desk-job, distaste for exercise beyond dancing and swimming, and a laisez-faire low-intensity chaos gardening approach.

Before the class, I was thinking what my hopes are. Certainly I am hoping – I mean, it would be very, very nice – to make some friends We moved to Atlanta seven years ago, and I miss having friends in the way I did back in Europe Yes, I have read the research and I know this is the way it goes - it is much more difficult to make friends as an adult Making friends requires time spent together doing things That requires time not spent doing other things. Don’t all the women’s magazines say “take a class”? I suddenly remember my friend Laura met her now-husband at a Spanish adult class at the local university. I wonder who I would meet.

Arrival at the pottery studio was underwhelming –nothing like the first day of class in primary school. Some classmates were already at it – cutting clay blocks, puttering at the pottery wheels. Turns out I am the only complete newbie in this all-women mixed-level class. No one really minds me upon coming in I feel slight unease

Tim, the instructor, finally starts us off. I enjoy his talk Holding a simple-looking clay cup, he reflects on what this cup, made by a prominent master, means to him I have seen his webpage and I know he is into Japanese art, tea, ikebana and the like.

I picked this particular course partially because I am into Japanese art, tea, flowers and the like as well And I appreciate, I truly value beauty and the marriage of form and function I thought it’d be nice to have something in common with the instructor. I mean, we all have something in common being human, yet the sharing of certain sensibilities with another is a true pleasure, the stuff friendships are made of He finally invites us to do intros, starting with me. The prompt is to share why we are there and what our prior experience with pottery is. What did I say? I did not say I was there to make friends and have fun and take a break from the relative monotony of life I did not say that I was hoping to make some planters – pretty planters are expensive – for my growing collection of indoor plants. I did not say that I’d been looking for an excuse to take a class and do something different

I did say that I have marked appreciation for pottery and have a collection of thrift-store finds I cherish. I did say that I wanted to experience what it is like to be a novice at learning something –related to the art education grad degree I am pursuing. I did say that I chose this particular class because of the convenient location and the affordable price. I did mention what I do as a profession – the name of my employer being a recognizable name brand here. I did mention I have a family and we live a block away

I finished my presentation and was curious to learn about the others I was disappointed The women were so laconic in their answers, which boiled down to saying their names and that they liked pottery and have taken a class with Tim before. I gave them three full paragraphs They did not reciprocate with even three full sentences. I was expecting the instructor would encourage them to share more, to precipitate some community building and rapport building. He didn’t. Hard for me to remember names if I can’t attach them to some other contextual knowledge about the person

I am not saying the women are unfriendly. Some are reserved and focused on what they do Yet

some are chatty. I do get into some conversations with the friendly older lady sitting across from me And the South American lady chats me up during clean up Clean up takes a good half hour or more, to my amazement – integral part of the class.

I cannot help thinking what I would do differently if I am running the class. I mean, I do want to run an art class some day. And I have run adult language classes. And I have a graduate degree in adult learning. So I am a critic as much as I am a student.

For starters, I imagine an alternative visual and sonic set up. A pleasant room – drab beige is not my idea of a pleasant room. Music playing. Everyone being greeted as they come in. Get-toknow you set up Some tea or a glass of wine Art class can and should be festive, if not a full-fledged party

So how did my first attempt at throwing a bowl turn out? Not stellar, I must admit It feels so difficult, this throwing and centering business. My appreciation for hand-thrown pottery grows a thousand-fold in just two hours. I can’t help but think how appreciation of any art form is heightened by trying to do it oneself. Don’t understand what is so great about Mark Rothko? Try to paint two rectangles on a canvas and get them to have such color, such depth, such reminiscence of the light you see through closed eyes looking at the sun. Don’t understand why this large planter that will so suit your Monstera plant costs $200? Try making one yourself.

I am a bit concerned how my husband will take it –me being out two evenings a week. I do go dancing on Thursdays at a friend’s homemade dance jam and sometimes he frowns upon this. With him being the stay-at-home parent and me being the working one who is out of the house, I imagine there are so many insecurities and frustrations that play into how he will deal with it. I share with him that I don’t see any planters coming in the next six weeks. His response displeases me – the response of someone who assumes it is all so easy, having watched a video of a Japanese master making a tea pot, but never having even played with clay. Belittling

I catch myself thinking what kind of a social event I can organize, a get together for all the pottery ladies Should I do afternoon tea before the class starts? Could I, with it being Monday and work and all? What would my significant other think, being an introverted misanthrope?

SECOND MONDAY

I am about to leave for class and I am late. I feel like staying at home. The house is so cozy in the red light my son has set up. It was a long and busy day at work. It is a delight to find Milo’s light show set up.

I am glad I go. I shouldn’t have thrown the last bowl, the fourth one. My arm is too tired again to write or even brush my teeth. Arnica to the rescue! Mental

note to self: read more on herbal medicine

Everyone seems to be deep into their work, their art, their play, their creations. Conversations are sparce and short, usually encouragement and compliments on work done. I seem to be equally engrossed and focused I observe with delight that my mind is empty of thoughts beyond the clay. Active meditation! Ruminations, worries, plans…can wait. Existence only in the present moment.

This revelation creates a different context within which to interpret the general quiet in the room.

Tim does a little talk. The topic is how a cup or tea bowl feels in the hand, the tactile experience. He has brought three cups and a book. Invites people to flip through the book at some point. I, of course, do so I can’t resist a book that is waiting to be explored. It is a catalog from a 2003 ceramic art exhibit The title is Soul of a Bowl It seems to me one of the cups he brought is from one of the master potters represented in the book He does tell me he knows and has studied with some of them. Makes me think of my favorite Japanese tea cups and tea pot – favorite not so much because of the way they look, but the way they fit and perform.

Tim pays attention to me today. He times well his instructions and advice- what to do when, at what point to wait for him to come over. We talk about function and teapots with bad spouts I share a picture of a teapot similar to the one I have and love I ask him if he has ever used one with a spout like this. Turns out he hasn’t. I am excited to bring mine next time for him to try it out

The same two ladies who chatted with me the first time chat with me again in a friendly manner I keep thinking I should get their contact info and keep thinking about inviting the class over for tea Chasing after that sense of friendly community. Or maybe I can surprise everyone and bring a kettle, tea, teapots there?

Tim advises everyone to throw as much as possible next time, in order to have plenty of pieces to then finish and fire. This prompts me to ask what is coming next, as I know nothing of the process and course set up yet. Yet I don’t ask, as I have chosen to trust his teaching So I learn there is shaping, firing, glazing and another firing.

I keep thinking the studio can certainly use some color. And also a gallery of finished pieces for inspiration and as teaching aids It has none

I am the last to finish with the clean up. I get home at half past nine or so, to be greeted with a passive-aggressive sounding question. “Doesn’t the course finish at nine?” How jealousy and insecurity can seep into everything, I think to myself and say nothing, or rather, something that is nothing I keep thinking of the role our relationships play in learning.

THIRD MONDAY

Arms powerless and aching after throwing four bowls. One turned out well and got me some praises. Tim does praising in a very sweet way. Unlike me – ‘not bad’ is my idea of a compliment. The following two bowls were a total failure in centering Experiencing both success and failure, I pay attention to my emotions and how the others affect them Tim seems to be well aware of the ebbs and flows of a novice potter and is quick to console me and boost my spirit

The class is small today. Only four other classmates My favorite two classmates among them. I still hardly know anyone’s name. Missy, that I always sit across from is there, which delights me, as we chat.

Tim has five cups on the table as I walk in. Late again. First thing I do is handle them. I love one of them. It turns out to be porcelain and turns out he made it. I am amazed to hear it does not have any glazing – the multicolor design is a result from long wood firing that took days. The cup, says Tim, got deformed during the firing. It is this random deformity that made it sit well in my hand It would have been too large otherwise. When the defect

becomes an effect is one of the happiest moments in artmaking for me.

Tim punctuates the studio with a ten-minute talk on form and function and I really enjoy that It seems to me I always have form and function in mind, design thinking is my modus operandi by default He shares that no one pointed him to think about how a cup, mug or bowl handle or sit in one’s hand so it took him awhile to consider this when making pottery. Admission of mistakes, being vulnerable, referring to novice experiences strike me as important features of good teaching.

Another feature is satisfying student curiosity about a teachers life. Don’t we all have it? Tim shares a few stories about the other pieces he had brought – a cup from Japan, a mug made by a friend… I appreciate these

I am thinking of building upon this. Wouldn’t it be welcome and useful to ask us to share about our favorite mug or bowl, so we get to feel not just closer to him via his stories, but to each other, via the stories we share? If I were teaching the class, I know I would have asked everyone to talk about their favorite mug or cup.

I continue to weigh the idea of inviting everyone for tea before our last session. I crave community and it is interesting for me to observe my thoughts on this.

I do remember to bring my Japanese teapot. It turns out Tim has never seen one with this type of ‘open’ spout. He fills it with water, pours and notes he is eager to make one like that. It pours perfectly. I feel a sense of satisfaction every time I can help someone learn or experience something new. Probably this is why I have chosen education as my career path It must be one of the reasons.

I can’t stop thinking how this classroom could be a cozier, more enjoyable environment if it had color and if it had some pottery on display And I can’t stop thinking about what an enhancement some music and some tea or other drinks could be My research into the influence of the physical environment on academic advising outcomes and my experience of some wonderful learning environments have left their mark.

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My appreciation for ceramic arts just grows and grows. The more I know – and I know very little yet, the more appreciative I am of the art and craft of pottery.

It is only natural, just as I imagined, that I ask myself what art classes I want to teach and how I want to teach Whatever it is – abstract art, collage, painting with fingerpaint, origami, greeting cards – I know I want to ask my students to reflect on their experience, to talk about it with me and each other I know I want to cater the set and setting to delight the senses without overpowering them. We all need joy and it can be found in simple things.

FOURTH MONDAY

Left home late, again After a busy workday, again Tempted not to go to class, again. Hungry and tired, I choose a hot shower over dinner and grab a banana and some nuts to munch on the way.

I enter to immediately regret missing the first twenty or so minutes of the class. I see some flowers, twigs, a shallow ikebana bowl, a kenzan on the table. My interest is piqued.

While we are all at the wheels, Tim works on a

flower arrangement. That prompts me to take a photo – my bowls, spread out to dry and his ikebana There is also an Ikebana book on the table. I want to see it, but there is no time. Tim talks about his love of flowers, very much in the Japanese tradition.

Am I prejudiced to think this sensitivity and interest is rare for a Western man?

I learn about trimming All bowls need to be trimmed before the first firing. It is similar to wood carving, in a way Not that I have done wood carving. I hardly get time to look at any of the beauties the other women are making

Again, thinking about how I’d like to befriend Missy and Liliana The two of them, as well as Marianne, chat with me.

I have thought of another pottery shape to share with Tim – the stomna. I explain to him it is a vessel for water, that keeps it cool and fresh for a long time and has this sippy part, like a built-in straw. He is interested in how the sippy part is made and I share that is the most difficult. In Bulgaria a good stomna is the sign of a master potter We chat about collecting stones, twigs, bark with lichen Tim and I share this interest, too Nature is the prime, most sublime Artist.

Again, the evening is mostly pure meditation, working on my pieces, my mind off of everything else. I end up happy I did not succumb to my exhaustion and the draw of my cozy sofa

FIFTH MONDAY

Penultimate session. I am so focused on the work, so absorbed that I again forget to take photos. Before and afters of the trimming would have been nice Mental note: I should not forget to take a picture of my creations after the first firing, before I start glazing them next time

Liliana is not there and I miss her. I wanted to strike up a conversation with her. Again, not much chatting happens in the three hours. From a short chat with Tim I learn how complex glazes and their chemistry are In painting, nowadays, hardly anyone things about the paint chemistry and hardly anyone makes their own paints. In ceramics, apparently, some people truly focus on glazes and learning about them and making them. Dangerous stuff, Tim shares. So many chemicals, including radioactive ones You want brilliant orange? Uranium is involved.

If I didn’t have so many wobbly bowls to trim, we’d be chatting about food. Tim likes cooking. So do I.

I guess with me is more I like good and healthy food, so I cook I don’t know if I like the cooking I guess I do. It is another activity that can serve as active meditation and involves artistry

I am again mulling over inviting people over. Or maybe bring something to share at the beginning or end of our last session. Some Belgian truffles maybe?

I get some compliments on my pieces from both Tim and the ladies. Tim also gives me useful guidance and help. I find it very gracious how he steps in to help with his tool exactly at the place and time where I could not have accomplished what I needed myself. He notes his trimming tool is better than the loaner one I have, so I shouldn’t be disappointed of myself.

This reminds me how important good materials are. People are so misguided when they buy cheap materials for beginners You want your child to love drawing? Get them good crayons and pencils, not the Crayola ones Get them real thick paper they can’t easily destroy. Yes, it is more expensive. I’d rather buy 12 good oily color pencils than 48 Crayola ones. Same applies to pottery – you need

the right type of clay to start with, and better tools make for fewer mistakes and less frustration.

Today I sit at a different wheel and I am much surprised – it is slower than the wheel I sat at the previous times I asked Tim and he confirmed their speed varies and why it varies and so on. I wonder why he did not talk about that before The slow wheel is not ideal for trimming. Yet I accept the challenge and don’t move to a different one

I am instructed to use the heat gun to speed-dry some of my bowls I am not initially instructed how to use it, so I waste some time and effort until I ask and Tim gives guidance I guess this irks me a bit.

My arms hurt Trimming makes them hurt differently from throwing though. I distinctly catch myself thinking that if time and money and family demands were not an issue, I’d keep taking pottery classes.

SIXTH MONDAY

Last session – glazing. The first firing is over and I find out just how much my bowls have shrunk A lot! Tim says it can be anywhere from 10 to 20 percent, depending on the clay, with porcelain

shrinking the most.

Glazing, after all, is a form of painting. You can dip, drip, brush. As such, this session reminds me of the art classes I took in middle school and high school, as we get to chat more. Throwing and trimming require much concentration. Glazing at the level we do it, not so much Yet, glazing is very different from painting. Tim talks about how some people are very much into the glazing, others are more into the shaping and simple glazes or wood firing with no glaze The challenge in glazing is that the glaze before firing looks nothing like the glaze after firing. What you see is not what you get.

We get to chat how we got to dig ceramics. I share about my first experience being mesmerized by a ceramic piece. I talk about the white platter, carved by the water of a stream, that I saw decades ago at the Freer Gallery of the Smithsonian. The elegance of the organic shape has stayed with me all these years, well over two decades.

We start talking about museum going. Missy tells me I can get free passes to the Carlos Museum and the Center for Puppetry Arts from the library I tell them about the museum of papermaking at Georgia Tech No one has heard of it Tim and

Liliana talk about some prehistoric ruins in South America, and I learn Liliana is from there The joy of human communication, the little things.

I wonder if these conversations are due to the glazing being so different from the throwing and trimming, or is it because six sessions in, we get to break the ice. This gets me thinking of the optimum length of an art class, especially an adult one. Should I make community building a conscious aim of any class I lead? Of course I think I should.

At some point, Marianne or someone asks “What about an end-of-class party?” and I get this big smile on my face. It just appears and I feel it getting wider and wider. I am quick to offer everyone to come to my house ten days later when all firing will be done. The idea is for everyone to pick up their creations, come to my place for a potluck and show their work. Tim says he likes the idea, as we can look at and discuss the end result He rarely gets to do that, he says. No follow up on the final stage seems odd to me I am excited! I wonder how I would have felt if Marianne hadn’t spoken up. Would I still invite everyone? Or would I leave without this sense of closure, without acting on my

persistent thought of organizing some communal celebration

I take photos this time. It is easier, as my hands are not all covered in clay and I can simply pick up my phone whenever and click. My arms hurt again, and differently – again Art-generated fitness is my kind of fitness.

EPILOGUE

Three people confirm they can show up for the gathering at my house. Tim, Missy, and Marianne. Liliana can’t make it on account of her son’s birthday celebration. The other ladies all have something else to do and share excuses I don’t remember, just as I have a hard time remembering their names So three-quarters of the people I chatted with are coming for an intimate event. Everyone is bringing something and I do not bother to prepare anything – not my style, but I simply have too much on my plate. Pun intended.

I pick up my pieces the day before. Oh, how lovely they are! Most of them I really like. So do my husband and son. The glazes are nice and harmonious. I am pleased. I love them. I truly do.

I leave them on the dining room table, in that one corner usually occupied by mail that needs attention and an accumulation of random misplaced objects. A private exhibit!

Tim, Missy and Marianne arrive Marianne hasn’t brought any of her pieces – she says she doesn’t think they are any good Yes, I am disappointed – I wanted to see them. Missy has brought a couple. She shows us the difference between overglaze and no overglaze. She probably remembered that I asked about the extra materials she brought for our glazing session. I vaguely remember she was telling me she was using an overglaze for one of her pieces It is lovely to share one’s knowledge, isn’t it?

Tim! Tim has brought us each a present – a tea bowl he made. Of course I am thrilled – who wouldn’t be! I get an extra present – The Book of Tea. How sweet and delightful! How generous, too I realize I would have a hard time gifting any of the pieces I made. I wouldn’t want to part with them And here he is, talking about the joy of gifting us.

They don’t stay long, maybe a couple of hours A couple of hours could be a drag with the wrong people. With the right people, they fly. Missy and Marianne go for a tour of the art in the house with my husband and compliment my mixed media works. It sure feels good to have your artwork appreciated. Tim stays in the dining room, compliments our Japanese and Chinese screens

he’s been looking at We talk about how we like sitting on the floor. He notes his house is similar to ours, with a space to sit on the floor We seem to both find it refreshing to meet another person that digs what it is all about He compliments my bowls, too. Not too shabby for a beginner.

Missy and Marianne are signed up for another class with Tim in April and invite me to stop by. I definitely will! Tim leaves. Missy and Marianne are fixing to leave, too. At the door, where all important conversations happen, where all the sweetest conversations happen, where all the urgent conversations happen, they blurt they would love to take a collage class with me in the summer. Here. In my house.

They love the atmosphere, they say They love the music. They love the art on the walls and find it inspiring They love us chatting What a wonderful summer it could be, they say.

Is this the start of my adult art educator journey? Is this the start of a friendship?

Will I be as inspiring as Tim? Could I have such a perfect timing for my praises? Such a soft way for constructive feedback? What books will I choose to share with my students? What life stories and art stories will they find inspiring? Will I help them break the ice fast and become fast friends? Should I make tea or bring wine, or both? Would my lessons feel like a meditation or a party, or a bit of both? We will see. First, let me have some tea.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anna Traykova fell in love with artmaking in preschool She has explored various media and modes over the years - drawing, painting, photography, light design, video and photo installations, folk art and crafts, textile, collage, 2and 3-dimensional mixed media work and immersive environments. Lately, she has been exploring collaborative art-making, either working with other people simultaneously on an artwork, or incorporating other's discarded work in her creations. In the context of these collaborations, she became interested in art education and helping others explore and develop their artistic expression

Her recent artwork is a commentary on the simultaneous affluence and economic strife of the present. She uses discarded and cheap materials –foil food wrappings, paper from magazine pages, thrift store frames, dollar-store markers, non-toxic children’s art supplies – and seeks to elevate them With her choice of materials, she professes her commitment to reduce, reuse, recycle and recreate, to be a conscious consumer and producer in the now, in the hope of contributing to a sustainable future. Anna believes bigger and more are the bane of our existence. She favors intimate formats that can fit small, sustainable living spaces - whether it is a tiny home, a small city apartment, or any other sustainably-sized dwelling or space.

Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Spain, and Bulgaria and is part of private collections in Bulgaria, England, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Spain and the United States. Her art does not have an online presence.

She is currently pursuing an Art & Design graduate degree with a specialization in adult art education at Kennesaw State University while working as academic advisor and graduate program coordinator at the College of Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology Her prior academic pursuits include undergraduate studies in the fields of history, anthropology, environmental science, and urban studies, and graduate studies in the field of adult learning. Anna lives in East Cobb, Georgia with her son and husband

Contact: anna.v.traykova@gmail.com

Copyright of all text & images: Anna Traykova, 2023