The story you meant to tell 💭
Issue #76
After , I promised myself this would not turn into a pottery newsletter. Yet here I am, writing about pottery again! But it’s only because pottery, like most creative pursuits, is an excellent metaphor for everything else.
For example: this past Tuesday, I was not looking forward to class. My husband and I had spent Labor Day weekend drywalling our shed and the thought of plunging my hands into yet more clay was not exactly appealing. Plus, I’d been disappointed with my pieces thus far. My bowls were lopsided, my mugs crooked, my clay bruised by clumsy fingers. It’s not that I expected to majestically unearth David on my first try, but I thought I’d at least manage a passable bowl.
Things started to turn around as soon as class began. To my great relief, we were not making new pieces. Instead, we were trimming our existing ones.
Always a dutiful student, I placed my sad, ugly bowl upside down on the wheel, set it to a slow spin and made sure it was centered. Then, using the small trimming tool, I began moving the hooked end over the clay. Slowly, like magic, the hard, abrupt edges began to disappear, smoothed into a beveled edge. The lopsided curves evened out just enough. A foot appeared at the bowl’s base. I carved a tiny ridge into its side, which I am told will later catch glaze in the kiln beautifully. When I was done cutting and trimming, smoothing and accenting, the lumpy vessel on my wheel had been transformed. It looked like a bowl. I was surprised, excited, and reminded of the power of revision, of returning to that which seems hopeless, but isn't.
When it comes to pottery, it makes sense that I like trimming more than throwing. I've never gotten a ton of pleasure from the messy first draft. There’s no art in it, at least not for me, not even when writing. Creation is pure muscle in the beginning, pushing through to get the bones down. Later, during revision, is when the magic happens. When I can begin to trim away the excess, smooth the bumpy sections. Center the story and add a decorative flourish.
A few weeks ago Laura, who writes Ampersunder, an excellent monthly newsletter about writing, recommended I read The Last Draft, and I started it last week. Early in the book, the author talks about the goal of a second draft. “This is the draft in which you understand the complexities of your story better and learn more about what you were trying to say all along. The primary goal is to strengthen the story.”
I haven’t looked at my book since I finished the first draft at the end of July. Instead of writing, I read books, watched a lot of TV, went camping, worked on our shed, , visited my nephew, started pottery classes. But now it’s September. There’s a shift in the air - not quite fall, but close enough. In pottery class, my bowls and mugs are beginning to harden, transforming from wet clay into something sturdy and useful, if not beautiful. But that’s part of the process - locating the center, figuring out where the edges are, strengthening the piece. Discovering what it wants to be, and helping it become.
It's time to begin again, to see where we end up. 💛
Snack of the Week
Once upon a time, I was a pretty committed vegan. Then I spent two weeks at the Vermont Studio Center, where the lunch spread featured a table of local cheeses, and, well, here we are. I do, however, still love a good vegan treat, and I'm happy to report that these Cheese-Less Cheesecakes from Trader Joe's are incredibly decadent, extremely delicious, and wonderfully delightful. Indulge today!
Relatable Reads
I Used to Go Out. Now I Go to The Home Depot, New York Times. "Americans are so used to doing—and spending, and bettering themselves—and that energy has to go somewhere: like into the spaces we’ve been forced to inhabit for the past six months." Having just finished another big home improvement project, all I can say is: WOW, RELATABLE. 🏡
The Clocklike Regularity of Major Life Changes, The Atlantic. "If we understand transitions properly, however, we can curb our natural tendency to fight against them—a futile battle, given their inevitability. Indeed, with a shift in mindset, we can make transitions into a source of meaning and transcendence." 🌼
The Hottest Day Ever, And I Was There, Sierra. "The closer we got to San Francisco, the less I felt so front-row-and-center special—we were pretty much all sitting too close to the screen at the summer blockbuster that is the climate catastrophe." My very dear friend Katie was in Death Valley a few weeks ago when it hit the highest temperature ever recorded on earth, because of course she was! Come for her great essay about the experience, stay for the amazing photos. 🌶🌞
If You’re Already Dreading Winter, Here Are Some Small Ways to Prepare Now, VICE. As someone prone to SAD, this was very helpful! ❄️
How to make your workday better. 🌅
A Tiny Challenge
This week, commit to an imperfect beginning, a clumsy first step, a messy first draft. Let yourself appreciate the ugly parts without rushing to fix them.
See you in two weeks! 💌
Thanks to Carol D. for (once again!!!) supporting this weird little newsletter!
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