Story of a Failed Pot

I’m not on instagram or facebook so pinterest is my go to app to search for inspiration. One day while browsing I spotted a few different ideas for planters. I’m also not much of a gardener, you might say I have a black thumb… or at least brown. The idea I really honed in on was a type of hanging planter. It was different from others I’ve seen… the usual was just a regular vessel that you would then use rope/macrame to go around the pot to support it for hanging. This had a tall hollow spire in the middle of it to send a singular rope through that you could knot to secure it to then hang. It fit in with my aesthetic, it was minimal and not fussy. 

I set out to try to figure out how to make this form. It was similar to other forms I’ve done before, but there was a certain proportion I had to achieve when splitting the clay to make sure the base was wide enough and the hollow spire wasn't too wide or tall. I also had to work with a larger amount of clay in order to make it big enough to hold plants. I tried and failed at this a couple times before finally feeling like I had the right amount of clay and proportions.  At this point I was actually getting a little excited. This could be the start of something new - ideas starting swirling about doing a lot of these and enlisting my friend who is a master at plant caretaking to collab and sell finished planters with plants already in them. 

Before I start getting too ahead of myself, it was now time to let it dry to leather hard in order to trim the bottom before it can be bisqued fired. A few days later was time to trim and put on the shelf to fully dry out or bone dry in order to be fired, so far so good. About a week later it came out of the bisque fire and I still had that little bit of excitement, but then the questions started from the community studio that I work out of. Nearly everyone who saw it asked me what it was and how it could be installed, which was met with “ohhhhhhh…. Okay…” - not exactly a vote of confidence, but it was permanent and I needed to see it through. Onto choosing a glaze and realizing that this vessel was too large to be dipped and would require too much glaze to paint. The other option was to spray it… easy enough right? Well, spraying is very intimidating to me, I needed to psych myself up. I chose the color of glaze, went over the spraying directions and was ready to go. I sprayed and sprayed… and sprayed… and sprayed. It seemed like I had good coverage and the glaze would be vibrant. Another week or so passes before it’s out of the glaze kiln…

The glaze coverage is, uh… not quite what I was hoping for, BUT it was going to get filled with dirt and it kind of made a cool ombre effect so maybe that’s okay. Then I turn it over and there’s a large crack on the bottom that was not there when it was bisque fired. I was a bit bummed. Then the questions came again, this time it was “did you make a bundt pan?” Over and over, each person immediately thought of a bundt pan, which I could totally see, but it was also not the intention. My day dream was dashed, but I was also trying to figure out what I learned. I want to make pottery that people know exactly what it is and how it would be used while also being pleasing to the eye. 

So how do I move forward from this experience? First and foremost, I keep throwing. Pottery is all about failure. Sometimes I throw something and it doesn’t work out on the wheel. Sometimes it doesn’t come out of the bisque kiln intact - cracks in the base or handles break off. Sometimes, the glaze doesn’t turn out how I was hoping. It is always a crap shoot in some sense. Of course there are techniques I can refine or glaze combinations that are reliable and serve the piece, but it’s not always guaranteed. Secondly if I’m not exactly a green thumb, maybe making planters is not my calling so I need to figure out what form would be more purposeful for me. What do I use and think would be useful for others? I love coffee - make more mugs. I love jewelry - make jewelry trays or vessels for nightstands or dressers. Despite my lack of plant caretaking, I do love flowers - make more vases. And lastly, I need to listen to my inner voice. It’s more important that I’m making what I want to make without the opinion of others. It’s also okay to try and fail.