Three years ago, I had no idea how much life would change. Did you?
In 2020, my husband went from working downtown to working in an upstairs bedroom. My daughter, son-in-law, baby and two cats moved into the other upstairs bedroom. On any given day, there was someone working or sleeping in every room in the house.
The next year, my house flooded because of a faulty water valve installation. We had to move into a hotel for 3 months. Our belongings were packed up and put in storage while the entire downstairs was demolished and slowly rebuilt. It took a year to finally get everything completed, unpacked and livable again.
This year, the change came just as unexpectedly when my husband was laid off from his job of 13 years. Just when we thought everything was normal again, it wasn’t.
Wheels keep on turning. Anyway.
After the shock and disbelief, what do you do? What can any of us do? We do the only thing we can do, put one foot in front of the other and keep going. The only way I’ve kept rolling through all this change is clay. Wedging clay is a work out, physically and emotionally. Every time I slapped that clay down, my mood lifted a little.
Here’s what the slab is turning into: the beginnings of a new landscape idea.
Clay changes too.
There are many steps and elements that go into making the clay I use but it comes from the earth we all walk on. It’s just mud, really. But after I wedge it or throw it or roll it or pinch it, it becomes something different.
A lily vase and luminaires.
Little dogs.
A sunset platter.
Each phase changes the clay.
It goes from mud to something beautiful.
Just like the phases of our lives, change us.
Hopefully, we can be like mud, and change into something more beautiful, too.
4 comments:
I love this post, having gone through some changes of my own over the past few years. Clay definitely tells the story, and and in both of our cases, if we allow it, also can get us through the rough patches. I just unloaded a bisque and there was a casualty, one piece blew up, probably doe to my error because i didn't put a hole in the enclosed form, but it was only one, and it went alone, not taking anything else with it, just leaving some dust and shrapnel behind. In the end, we go out on our own, and all we are physically reduced to is dust anyway isn't it? Just dust, and in this cast clay dust. Be well.
Well Susan you could written that for us! It seems like we have shared so many similar things ! Janet
OH, Michelle, I know what it feels like to have pieces blow up! So much time, energy, love goes in and then poof! It’s so hard!! I’m glad it didn’t take any other pieces with it. Even with that, clay helps to center, teach and for me, calmly give me hope and light. Be light, my friend.
Yes, Janet! It’s so nice to know we’re all in this together!
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