2021! I can safely say that I am glad to usher in a new year and say farwell to 2020. My guess is that many of you feel the same way.
As I do every year, I have set a new word to focus on. This year, my word is PRESENT. In these unsettling times, there is a lot out of my control. If my meditative and mindful practice has taught me anything, living in the present and current moment makes me less anxious, calmer, and makes it easier to experience joy!
Present has another meaning though, to fully experience moments. I often find myself multitasking, which often leads to mistakes, and not fully appreciate what I’m doing now. I want to be more present in my life. To fully engage in conversations with my friends, listen to music to her it, not as filler, experience the texture and feel of yarn against my skin.
While this moment happened last year, I want to share a moment where I truly experienced the present and felt it fully. I had missed many months of making pottery due to the lockdowns in our area, and was throwing on the wheel for maybe the second time in 6 months. Sitting on the wheel, I just focused on the clay circling through my hands. My posture was good, no distractions, the clay the perfect wetness. The rate of spin of the wheel and the speed of my hands pulling on the clay… it just all came together. Anyone who throws clay on the wheel probably knows this kind of feeling, where it all comes together and feels almost effortless. I learned later that this is called flow. Where we are totally absorbed in something so much that things just come together.
I’ve also used my studio time to work on sweater mugs. Handbuilding has been a challenge for me in the past, but slowing down and focusing on a handbuilt piece really engages me in that present moment.
Are you using a word to focus your craft this year? I’d love to hear about it!
