Pottery lessons.
A few weeks ago Andrew and I attended a ‘Taste of the Wheel’ pottery class. I had been wanting to try pottery for a long time now, so we were both really excited about this class and giving it a go.
And it was a really good class. But at the time I was surprised at how frustrated it made me. I was of course doing something for the first time and that can be uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to expect. I felt unsure and at times confused, and that in itself can feel uncomfortable. I looked around at other people and they seem to be doing much better than I was. I thought to myself, wow I am really “bad” at this.
Then I realized that these feelings are completely normal and yes, part of the process of learning something new. The two instructors made the demonstration look so easy, but they had around 30 years of experience between them. They kept repeating the story that Japanese potters spend 10,000 hours just practicing how to center the clay on the wheel. There is mastery in repetition. When people make things look so easy, it’s normally because it has taken them years of practice to get to that point. So why do we expect ourselves to be perfect immediately?
I suppose it was good to feel these frustrations. And it is helpful to challenge myself, to try something new, to be bad at something. To not get it right the first or second or even the fifth time. What would we learn if we were perfect at everything the first time? If we didn’t have to struggle and persevere. Pottery is definitely a skill that takes years and years to practice and hone.
It is often the fear of failure that keeps us from trying something new. Don’t let being “bad” at something put you off from trying again. Learning movement is like learning any new skill. You have to keep trying, practicing, showing up. You have to be bad at something for awhile before you get good.
But the feeling when you do finally get it. When you do master the skill you’ve been practicing, when all the hard work and hours spent pays off. Well that feeling is priceless. It’s worth the hard stuff. It’s worth sticking around for. Because it’s not just learning something new.
