Limitations and a New Direction: An Unexpected Surprise

In recent weeks I’ve grappled with taking the financial leap of purchasing a piece of equipment to help along my ceramic business (ahem, thanks for the help mom and dad). And I’ve mentioned before that space is a challenge, trying to carve out a nook in a two bedroom apartment and competing for space with my two year old daughter and her ever-growing collection of toys is a feat, my friends. But seeing how things are I decided it just wasn’t worth the financial risk. This has forced me to adjust the way I am accustomed to making work. Much to my surprise I have found great satisfaction in working this new way. If I’m being really honest with myself, looking back I may have been using the lack of funds to purchase this tool as an excuse to avoid working in a way that has proven in the past to be challenging for me. 

My type-A personality tendencies, my perfectionist thought process and my impatience has kept me from being a hand-builder. I’ve always relied on the potter's wheel to make my creations. You wedge your clay, forcefully put it in the middle of your potter's wheel, add some water, press the pedal and go. In about 5 minutes I can have a perfectly centered cup just as I envisioned it and then I’m on to the next. Hand-building takes forever. (Insert a huge sigh and my begrudged face here.) It’s not a process this instant gratification seeker is thrilled about. The laborious act of rolling out the clay to the right and consistent thickness, measuring and cutting multiple pieces to size, making and using alternative forms to encourage the clay to dry a certain way, and the list and steps go on and on. All of that to say it’s growing on me. At times it’s even been quite therapeutic and I’ve gotten a lot faster the further along I get. Which then brings me to the glaring thought at hand: why did I make so many excuses for so long? It’s actually kind of painful to think about. Wasting time. TIME as a thing. The older I get the more I realize how precious it is. All the things I’ve waited for, all things I’ve worried about or I did or didn’t devote time to. It’s a poignant time to realize this I guess. We all are, and have been, readjusting, reanalyzing and reevaluating our lives in some way, shape or form. 

It’s been a while, but I’m actually really excited. I’m glad I finally decided to embrace the challenge I’ve run away from for so long and while I’m sad that I’m just realizing that's what I was doing, it’s never too late to adjust and move in a new direction. I hope that you all are following along here on my blog and on social media at @castandpressed on Instagram. You can see what new things I’ve been working on and hopefully they've been inspiring you. Is there anything that you all have realized lately that caused you to make a change? Anything surprise you like it did me? Let me know in the comments below. As always, be well my friends, get inspired and be inspiring. 

Best,

Lindsey