Pottery Zen

When I'm teaching clay to my students, I'm always telling them that one of the things to adapt to is that more often than not, clay doesn't do what you want it to, so you have to want what it does.

I learned my own lesson this time! I was working on the wheel next to one of my students, and trying to make a serving bowl. But at the critical moment when I should have stopped, I didn't, and it went blooop, and I lost the structural integrity. I said "oh, xxx, I guess that's that, I'll have to start again" -- and she said, no, it's cool, why don't you keep it? So I took it off the wheel and put it on the shelf to dry. 

A week later, I was going to throw it out, and again, she said, "no, you should tidy it up and glaze it. So I did.

And now I'm glad I listened to her, and pleased that she actually took my own lesson and gave it back to me!