Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Pessimistic Vision

Sometimes the people in the world, especially the decision-makers and activists, seem like automatic toys that keep moving in exactly the same direction until they bump into something, fall over a precipice, or their battery runs out. Especially here in Jerusalem, people follow their own agendas, come what may, no matter what the consequence, no matter what the facts may be.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Pottery: It's Been Three Years

I went to my weekly pottery lesson this morning, and it occurred to me while I was there that I started just three years ago. I enjoy it so much, that I can't help wishing that I had begun long ago, that I hadn't dropped the pottery class I was taking at Greenwich House because I was the only boy in it, that I didn't get deep into pottery when I was a young man, instead of following an academic, literary, intellectual path that hasn't really taken me anywhere I actually wanted to go.
Of course the wise part of my mind dismisses those fantasies out of hand. Not only that, instead of lamenting, "Why did I get to it so late?" it says: "Isn't it wonderful that a man in his sixties could have begun a totally new activity and gotten involved in it?" I might discover other wonderful activities before I get sick and die!
Anyway, could anyone, looking back at his or her life from the middle of its seventh decade, say,"The path I took was right for me; I am just where I hoped to be when I began"? Wouldn't that be rather dull? I knew just where I wanted to go, I found the right road, and I got there. Where are the surprises?
My skill in pottery is definitely increasing, and I'm actually pleased with some of the things I've made - though, as always, the maker is more aware of the flaws and shortcomings than anyone else. I'm improving at making the clay do what I want it to do - though I'm far from consistent, which doesn't actually displease me. Sometimes the fun lies in exploiting an error, in turning a project that was supposed to have been a jug into a bowl.
From the start I had the attitude that I wasn't trying to produce perfect pottery. You can buy perfect factory made dishes and vases in any department store. A handmade pot should look handmade. Also, in decorating the pots, I know my limits as a painter. If I tried to do dainty flowers and birds, they would just look silly.
Finally, I keep reminding myself that the whole point is that I'm doing it for fun, for the pleasure of doing it - not a trivial kind of pleasure, but the deep pleasure of molding useful and sometimes handsome vessels with my hands, the sense of communication I have with all the people who have made pots for thousands of years.