Blog #10
My occupation went well this week and I finally tired out throwing on the pottery wheel for the first time since high school. The techniques and difficulty of throwing vs just molding clay with your hands is so much different. There is a lot of trial and error in this and I definitely had a few failed attempts where my pots got lopsided and I had to start over. I am so happy I tried throwing again even though it was a little daunting to try it without an instructor as I had the last time I threw. In the end I made a small bowl that I will let dry a little and carve some designs into. Even though this is my last blog post I have experienced so many benefits from my occupation and it brings me a lot of happiness, so I plan to continue my pottery and continue to create to pieces.
Being a first year grad student has definitely played a role in my participation in my occupation. In the beginning of the semester I thought I would spend my time between classes in the craft shop and be working on my occupation multiple times each week. However, instead I often met for group projects or found myself studying during these breaks. I then only went to the craft shop almost exclusively on the weekends when I felt I had time to take a break from my school work. I think in the beginning of the semester I was slightly disappointed to myself in that I wasn’t able to spend as much time working on my occupation as I had originally anticipated. In high school when I was in my pottery class, I was working on projects for an hour every single day and finishing a project every two weeks. Due to the amount of time, I was able to dedicate to pottery in the past I think I had slightly unrealistic expectations as how fast I would make progress. Over the semester I came to the realization that finishing my projects super-fast and making all of this progress wasn’t actually my goal. Through reflection, often in my blog posts, I found that my occupational engagement was my main focus. As long as I was engaging in my occupation, I was gaining balance and all the benefits that come along with it. I think this realization is the reason I want to continue doing pottery. I don’t have stress associated with this occupation, instead it is an escape and a way for me to relax. I am excited to see what I can create in the future and how I can grow in this new occupation!
Hi Brenda,
ReplyDeleteI love that you took this opportunity to challenge yourself for your last blog post. It's cool to see the ways that reintroducing an occupation on your own when you learned it before in a more formal setting has sort of pushed you to be confident in your ability. Hopefully pottery continues to bring you enjoyment as you find time to engage with it. What are you most looking forward to making in the future? Is there a certain shape or type of ceramic you would like to try?
Have a great rest of your week!
Thanks for your comment Halle! I am looking forward to making a few different things. I want to keep getting better at throwing and hopefully one day make a really big vase of some sorts but I also want to try out sculpture. I have done a few in the past like a hand sculpture and I remember them really challenging me so I think it would be cool to try and explore that again!
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