little miracles...

i have so much to show but not a lot to say, some days are like that, more often than not there are no words. so today i thought i would just start & see what spills forth onto the paper screen.

back in the Fall i signed up for pottery classes on the island, hand~building basics to be precise. it has been over 3 decades since i sat with clay & for a while now i have felt the pull. it was 4 weeks of learning the techniques & 2 weeks of learning {some} glazing. i told myself each week i would make something & then move on, not get caught up in trying to make it perfect, it was more about learning the 'hows & whats' rather than seeking an outcome.

​that being said, i did have in my head & my heart a little wishlist of possibilities.

most of my wishes were around the idea of making it feel & look hand~built {not difficult to achieve with my rusty dusty ways} & also usable. 

it was the glazing side of things which caused me to start praying to the kiln gods and goddesses for i had quite suddenly become attached to my little wonky makes & feared my rather thick & clumsy glaze was going to cover up the delightful mark making patterns.

clearly all that praying paid off because when i saw my little finished pottery pieces i declared it was a one true miracle. i did not get down on my knees to give thanks despite wishing to, deciding folks in the clay center might find it distracting, causing mishaps on the wheel to happen etc. so i imagined it instead which i think counts.

miracle #1: they had all survived not one but two firings. including handles staying on even if the mugs 'ate' their bottoms.
miracle #2: they had not stuck to the kiln shelf causing untold woes to all the other students & clay center folks.
miracle #3: the copper oxide did what i hoped it would do & as anyone watching The Great British Pottery Throw Down will know, oxides are unpredictable. it's actually one of the biggest takeaways i have learnt from just watching others on that show.
miracle #4: i love them so much that despite creating almost a tea set for two, i am having to work up to actually letting anyone use them such is their precious miraculousness & my distrust in anyone caring for them quite as much as i do. 
miracle #5: i am making scones this afternoon {that is a stand alone miracle of its self}
miracle #6: i may or may not christen my tea plate to celebrate the miracle of an edible {still to be announced} scone, lemon no less, & the new moon.

that is quite a remarkable amount of words for someone who declared she had nothing to say.
​another miracle.