That one rainy Tuesday last August where everything went right with my pottery wheel

I spent months trying to center clay on the wheel back in my early 20s (my dream was to open a little studio). One day after a huge storm, the power flickered and my wheel slowed down to half speed. For some reason that slower spin let me finally center a 3 pound lump perfectly on my first try. I made 4 bowls that afternoon, all even walls, no wobbles. But I quit pottery 6 months later when my hands started cramping from the wrist strain. Has anyone else had a random perfect day chasing a dream that just didnt stick?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade5171mo ago

Man that's such a beautiful story and I totally get it. I've noticed this weird pattern in my own life where things only click when I stop trying so hard to make them happen. Like when I was learning to cook and kept burning everything, then one night I was super tired and just threw stuff together without thinking and it was the best meal I'd made in months. It's almost like our brains get in the way when we're chasing something too hard. Maybe that slower wheel helped you relax and just feel the clay instead of fighting it. You think we sometimes need that moment where the pressure's off to actually get good at something?

michaeltorres1mo ago

Your brains get in the way" is exactly right @jade517. It's like the second we care too much, we lock up and lose whatever made it work in the first place.

ryan_shah381mo ago

I dunno man, I kind of disagree. I've seen too many people who stopped caring and just settled for good enough. Like my buddy who played guitar for years then quit lessons because he was "overthinking it," now he just plays the same three chords every time we hang out. There's a difference between choking under pressure and just being lazy or unfocused. I've been cooking for 15 years and trust me, half my best dishes came from obsessing over technique and failing repeatedly until my hands knew what to do without thinking. That tired night cooking thing works sometimes but it's not a strategy, it's luck. You think the potter would have ever made that vase if they hadn't spent months learning the wheel before slowing down?