Ten Past Five

I always enjoy the start of a new cycle in the studio…it’s always a time of great anticipation as I reinvent myself yet again. I have plenty of ideas for new work, but I also need to build up some of my standard inventory. Juggling those two is always a challenge, but I have a new idea this year that is contained in the title herewith. I have always made pots in big batches…when I started out it was normal to make a hundred mugs, or bowls, or creamers etc. Then at some point that was reduced to 50…But nowadays I find 50 mugs tedious…there is little to learn from them after all these years (although they continue to evolve slowly…lately more slender with softer changes of form…).

Many years ago ‘our fearless social media leader’ Michael Kline introduced the concept of 12 before 12…it was a personal challenge to make at least 12 pots before noon, a fun way to bring a little discipline to our studio practice. It was a brilliant and infectious concept and went pretty viral for a while there. I will confess here that it’s quite possible that I never achieved this, charming though the idea was. I rarely work with wet clay in the morning…I generally start my day by finishing up work from the previous days and moving to the wheel in the afternoon. So, what’s that got to do with my new brainchild?!

So my intention this year is to make 10 mugs starting at 5PM each day I’m in the studio. I can easily do that in an hour, it frees up the rest of the day for more challenging work and in no time I should have plenty of mugs! Ten past five. 10 past 5. It’s my new thing. It could be yours too!