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NOT MANY DAYS AGO, I mentioned to the man who was eating dinner with me that I didn't think I'd stick with pottery-making much longer. There's the problem of having to deal with the items that I create (they beg me not to consign them to the trash bin), as well as the relatively big chunk of time taken by a three-hour class each Friday and another three-hour session each Monday. There's no denying that the time spent manipulating the clay passes quickly, and that noodling around in my brain on a search for creative ideas is fun. But, well, too often my pieces seem to be waving tiny flags announcing, "Ha! Not Exactly a Pro." Furthermore, whenever it comes time for glazing the pottery, my enthusiasm fades, and I start thinking about how I'm running short on available hours for other endeavors.


And then, I went and got myself a big load of make-more-pottery inspiration! You see, in the Entertainment section of yesterday's paper, I happened to read a little article about a national pottery show being held at a local studio. The reception opening the show was to be that very evening, beginning at 6 p.m.

I immediately glanced at the clock; it was 5:55 p.m. Alas, there wasn't a throw-a-perfect-pot chance of taking in that event!  Reading on, however, I saw that there was to be an all-day workshop held the next day. Those attending would get some tutelage from the celebrated potter who had judged the winners of the current exhibit.

I'm acting on a whim, I thought. And, Fabulous! There's nothing like a whim to act upon!

Today, I went to the workshop, where the hours flew by. I was infused with a notion that from now on pottery-making would be much simpler (I mean, surely I had been making it more difficult than necessary in some way). Look how easily this man could transform a lump of clay! And he claimed not to have any special skills. Can you believe? All it took, he said, was patience and timing.

Hmmm. 



Well, at any rate, it boosted my fantasies about what I'll be carrying home from pottery class in the coming weeks.

And that's enough to keep me scurrying off to work the clay for a little while longer!
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