If you ask a working potter about making mug handles, they’ll tell you that you should make them all the same and line them up, ready to be fixed to the cups one after the other.
They’re right, of course.
As artisans, our most precious resource is our own time. Making things faster and more efficiently is necessary to earn any profit at all, yet most of us can’t wait for that rarest of days when we can luxuriously focus on personal work without feeling the crunch.
When I began learning the basics of functional ware, I tried to follow the established practices of my trade by producing series of pieces meant to be quasi-identical.
I say “I tried”, but I honestly didn’t try very hard.
Early on, I realized that I saw my pieces as little beings with personalities of their own. The piece on the wheel didn’t always want to submit to my intention; whether it wanted to be wider, taller, curvier – I made the choice long ago to let it guide my hand without any expectations.
And I’ve never looked back.
