The Disc Has a Name

The drop-in ceramics session was listed on the community center board as 'beginner-friendly, no experience necessary,' and I want to be clear that they meant that as reassurance, not a warning.

Simone's bowl collapsed on the second pull. She caught it before it fully gave up, which meant instead of a bowl she had a thick clay ring, which then also collapsed, and she was left with something she described as 'a decision.' She named it. She named the disc. I'm not going to write the name here because this is a family blog, but she named it with the confidence of someone who has made peace with their own process in a way I genuinely respect.

My cup is still a cup, technically. It has walls. It has a bottom. It leans, but it leans consistently, which I think shows commitment to a direction. The instructor came over and said 'interesting asymmetry' and moved on quickly, which is the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me in a communal creative space.

Simone giving her collapsed bowl the respect it deserves.

I haven't been back at a pottery wheel since the spring 2015 class, the one Simone and I did together, the one where I made my first intact bowl and she photographed her third collapse before they reclaimed the clay. Tonight felt like a direct sequel to that, eleven years later, same results, considerably less anxiety about it. We stayed the full two hours. We are not good at this. We are going to look up the next session.

The exhibition opens now.