on the other hand

in order to prevent my brain turning into something like this

and to remind myself how it feels to be an utter novice

i signed up to a class in porcelain bowl making

at

the JamFactory in South Australia

i spent an afternoon there

this last weekend

being reminded how it is to be a student

watching the master demonstrate something deceptively simple

and then attempting myself to get a feel for conjuring a bowl from what is essentially a lump of mud

at the end of four hours i had six slightly misshaped vessels

which on Japanese principles should have been tossed into the pugmill for recycling

you know, to make a teabowl you first have to throw 999 of them away

it was good to turn the 'teachermouth' off

to listen and observe

to wedge some clay

form a ball

attempt at centering it on the wheel

getting oneself centered in the process

and be reminded of the difference in the hands

the right one works better at pulling a pot

but

the left one is much better when pinching a vessel

oddly the left is also my felting hand

while the fountain pen has made a home in my right

and

sewing is ambidextrous

so

for the next five weeks [with the odd break to allow for other commitments]

i shall be beavering away at the Jamfactory

Saturday afternoons smoothing silky seductive silica surfaces ['clay' didn't fit in that sentence]

as a bonus there may be a few bowls to take home at the end

for teatime in the studio

but

Gwyn Pigott and Petrus Spronk can sleep easy

i'm undertaking a journey

learning about the process of learning

and on the way

collecting some lovely pre-mordants on my clothing