All posts tagged: clay

Potter :: God

At this juncture in my potential career with clay, I’m simply learning how to “feel” the clay. I’m learning how it moves and shifts and forms and swells and lengthens and expands. The process of being a potter is largely through touch, the feeling of clay in my hands. It’s a tough job. It looks way easier than it actually is! This little soap dish here- it’s nothing special. But making it was something special- the clay itself was hard and cracked and uncentered from the start (the preparation part before throwing on the wheel is important, too, but I haven’t quite mastered that either). The clay flew off the bat three different times. I felt frustrated that I couldn’t center it, that I couldn’t get it firm enough on the bat to make it into a worthwhile vessel. And that made me stop and ponder…. aren’t I like this sorry lump of clay? Cracked, dry, worn out, uncentered, and unfit for the process of being made? Yea. I totally am like that lump. But …

Steel :: Magnolias

When I first moved to this area five years ago, I knew a couple people but had no history connected to this city in the mountains. Everything was new. My husband and I slowly built friendships with folks in our church community. But then our Heidi suddenly died, and we suddenly had a flock of friends supporting us and carrying us through and knowing us more intimately than anyone ever had… Out of that came my very own Steel Magnolias. Women of a different season and of different experiences who became my safe place, my home away from home, voices of truth, steady and assuring companions. Now and then we take a retreat together or we meet for coffee or we fellowship in a living room for an afternoon. Today we sat around the dining table with lumps of clay, building and creating while sharing our lives together. What special people I’ve been given the privilege of knowing 💙 What sorts of intergenerational relationships do you have? What kinds of activities do you share with …

Clay :: Lessons

Winter is setting in and since I currently keep my kick wheel on the front porch I have fewer and fewer opportunities to throw. This makes me rather sad. Such is the plight of a small country homeowner and young mama. A)Tiny house + big wheel B)Busy mama + bustling baby. Both factors are limiting.  However, I try to throw and trim and glaze whenever I get the chance. I love working the craft. It’s a satisfying process for me.  Pottery has become a deeply spiritual experience for me. I ask God before I throw, “Show me yourself. Show me how you are the Potter and how I am the clay. Mold and shape my life.” This poor little pitcher was a flop. Chubby wubby was a pitcher, chubby wubby was its handle. If you ever make a handle, don’t do it like that. I keep pieces like this so that I can examine my mistakes and experiment with the firing process; on this pitcher I’ve experimented for the first time with my underglaze watercolors.  …

a Conversation :: Clay to Potter

I said to the Potter, “Why have you made me this way? Why must I be in pain?” I heard in my spirit, “My power is made perfect in your weakness. My shaping is making you a treasured vessel. I am the Potter, and you are the clay. You are the work of My hands.” I wept bitterly and answered, “But I don’t understand. My heart is broken. I will live with this pain, this crack in my vessel, for the rest of my days.” I remembered in my soul the scriptures, “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.” I proclaimed in earnest, “You are the Potter. You are Sovereign. You are Elkanah. You are a covenant keeping God. You are righteous in all Your ways. You are for me and not against me. You will not forsake me… …When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” I knew deep in my being that My Creator replied, “You are mine and I love you.”  

Clay: Sculpted for Purpose

“I am the clay and He is the Potter” … While in high school, I took local college courses; I was mostly focused on completing the fundamental first year academics before transferring to a small Christian liberal arts college, but I took a couple art classes, because I have always loved art and my brain spins creativity constantly. For some strange reason that I don’t remember, I hesitated to sign up for a sculpture class, but my designer/builder brother practically begged me to take the class, knowing that it would broaden my horizons and teach me skills that I didn’t have; I finally agreed within a couple weeks of the fall semester – a decision which merited me a huge brother hug, some of my most treasured “in-my-head” creative moments, and many life-lessons about the world and myself …