by Valerie Gillies
We have them, in tightly balled fists. Carefully chosen, each has been kept for a good reason. Most felt deliciously smooth when acquired—just right. Now, they cut us like sharp bits of gravel. Yet, to toss them out is more than we can bear. Instead we withstand pain, expend energy, and often go through extreme gyrations to hold on to them. What are they? […]
by Valerie Gillies
“CENTERING: that act which precedes all others on the potter’s wheel. The bringing of the clay into a spinning, unwobbling pivot, which will then be free to take innumerable shapes as potter and clay press against each other. The firm, tender, sensitive pressure which yields as much as it asserts. It is like a handclasp between two living hands, receiving the greeting at the very moment that they give it…” – from “Centering – In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person” by M.C. Richard. […]