About a week ago, Mr. Perlman started off class
with the question “what are you
passionate about?” and I had a brief existential crisis. Sure, I have hobbies,
but something I was truly invested in? My mind went blank. When we were tasked
with the “Genius Project”, my feeling of disgruntlement only intensified. I sat
in front of a blank word document and lamented how uninteresting of a person I
was.
After a few moments of self-loathing, I realized there
was nothing I could do to avoid the project, and attempted to brainstorm a few
ideas. I considered going down the artistic route, and was reminded of my Safta’s
(grandma) pottery hobby. She has been creating (and sometimes selling) her own
work for nearly a decade. And thus, “Mastering the Art of the Pottery Wheel”
was born.
Pottery is one of the few things that can be considered
relevant in a lot of subject areas. For one, it is considered one of the
earliest inventions and is dated back prior to the Neolithic period. It was
actually the first man-made synthetic material. Because the resources needed to
create pottery were so plentiful and inexpensive, it was used for practical
purposes, like creating durable containers, as well as artistic expression. I
like pottery because it can be easily adapted to meet the needs of the people
it serves. Are you a member of a nomadic Jomon tribe in ancient Japan and need
durable pots to prepare food? Make ceramic bowls (clay pots dating back to
16,500 years ago have been located in Odai Yamamoto in Japan). Are you Safavid
ruler Shah Abbas and want to gift ornate pieces of artwork to the dynasty’s
spiritual leader? That’s cool too, just find artisans to create 835 Chinese
porcelain sculptures and you’re set.
Now, don’t be fooled. I am not going to spend the next two months researching the history of
pottery. For my “Genius Project”, I am going to learn how to operate the most
~modern~ device used in pottery making, known as the pottery wheel. Apparently,
it is really, really difficult. Which kind of sucks.
That being said, I believe my interest in the subject
matter as well as my generalized fear of failure will guide me through. Over
the course of the next seven weeks, my time will be dedicated to researching
the history of pottery, learning how to properly handle clay and use the wheel,
learning how to properly fire my pieces and glaze them, and probably a bit of
stressing out. I invite you to join me on my artistic pursuits, and hope you
will check back in the following weeks to make sure that I have not completely
failed.
Looking forward to seeing your progress
ReplyDeleteThis looks like it will be really cool. I hope we get to see the types of pottery you can create!
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog post and a great start! I love your style of writing and visuals.
ReplyDelete