Some New Ways to Escape Reality
Reality is for chumps.
There’s been a theme across almost every newsletter and blog/vlog I’ve consumed this year. Every single one is about escaping the Perpetual Mood Killing Machine that is social media, the news the grocery store, etc. I’m not quite sure if it’s a universal trend, or just across the small bubble I inhabit online, but I feel it deep in my bones and I’m about to jump on the bandwagon.
It’s been a deep, dark winter this year, both physically (where was the sun all February long??) and emotionally. I’ve made almost no art, I’ve been so unmotivated to create or post anything online. The news and its potential to devastate my business and the little life I’ve been trying so hard to build for me and my people has left me feeling like a dehydrated sponge. But rather than continue my transmogrification into a dried up husk, I’ve started casually reading and thinking about offline community. I’ve spent years, most of my career, building an online one (don’t worry, I’m not abandoning you!) I worked so hard, and so intensely, I leaned into my natural hermit tendencies and allowed my online community to supplant my real life one. Motherhood and the Pandemic didn’t exactly help matters either.
So I guess I’ve had this epiphany, and I’m not sure where it’s taking me. But the first stop on the way is that I’m teaching more in-person classes. I love connecting with fellow potters and ceramic artists, talking shop and sharing knowledge. Teaching also gets me out of my studio/head/neighbourhood for a bit and that can only be a good thing!
✦ Heads up! Because of the way social media works now, I’m about to get obnoxious about these new workshops on all platforms until they are full. Posts about classes and workshops get very low reach (because they have lower engagement generally) so I just have to post often and hope that I reach the right people. Apologies if you are not local to Toronto. I still don’t have plans for online classes, there are so many out there already, I’m not needed! ✦
MOTHER’S DAY WORKSHOP
This is a single sunday afternoon class! There will be drinks and maybe snacks? I might bring some of my favourite tea bags too. Because you can hand build and drink a cup of tea at the same time, folks. It will be a wonderful way to connect with your maternal figure, or give them a break from your shenanigans. I think the default project will be a vase, but we have a bunch of different options if that isn’t appealing, or if you have a simple project in mind I’m also happy to support you through making it!
MAY HANDBUILDING AND SURFACE DESIGN
Every Wednesday evening in May from 6-9pm we’ll be makin’ stuff. It will be a basic skills class, great for beginners or novices. Maybe you’ve taken some wheel throwing already and want to expand your skills, level up, or try something less restrictive. In a multi-week class we’ll have more time to explore a few different methods of doing things, and refine multiple pieces. We’ll also be able to play with more surface design techniques like mishima, scraffito, carving and more (I was so tempted to make up some random words to make sure you were paying attention)! By the end you should have multiple pieces you can be really proud of.
Check out Parkdale Pottery for my classes (but also other awesome classes too!)
WHY HANDBUILDING?
This is may be a topic for a whole-ass newsletter on its own. For today, I’ll say that I find it a much less restrictive process. I’m not limited to symmetrical cylinders. It’s meditative. I am craving ways to slow down, and though I can make a basic mug from start to finish in under 20mins if I wanted to and go the production pottery route, thats not where the joy is for me. Lastly, the barrier to access is lower. Yes, you will always need a kiln, or access to one (they make microwave ones now, folks!) but you can handbuild almost anything you want on your kitchen counter with the tools already in your kitchen. Clay is getting more expensive, but you can still get 50lbs fresg for less than $50 canadian. One or two glazes won’t set you back too far, and you can always find these things on marketplace or via your local ceramic community secondhand. Someone is always out there getting rid of something. I’ve gotten numerous tools, glazes and even my tabletop slab roller secondhand! A lot of the smaller things I use regularly I made myself, or bought from the dollar store or Oomomo!
I’ll leave you here today with the tag lines I was workshopping for these classes, but ultimately gave up on.
