Hey,
Happy October!
I'm still very new to the world of clay. I've been extremely hesitant to just get my hands dirty and figure stuff out. I've always been somewhat cautious about approaching new things. I need to understand the why and how of it all. It's not enough to just copy someone else and say I Did It! This can have positive and negative effects. In this case, it created a barrier to entry. I was so focused on being the perfect clay potter that, I lost touch with my inquisitive nature.
I love YouTube. It's becoming an ad-ridden hell hole, sure but, I've learned a lot of niche skills and discovered interesting and unique ideas that I may not have otherwise. It's like the Universal Library of information. However, one of the largest trends is the How To genre. It's filled with videos of, seemingly, professionals showing you how to do anything in 4 Easy Steps! Most of them are alright, this isn't about knocking the ones that aren't terrible. However, even amongst some of the well meaning ones, a trend has developed among the community.
With so many videos online showing how to do anything, most people have stopped asking Why? Wanting to know how something is done, simply to recreate it, is fine. It's a great starting point but, for most people, it seems like it ends there. There's not many videos of people receiving knowledge. Everybody wants to come across as the all knowing giver of knowledge but, most of the smartest people in the world are learning, rather than teaching. There's an entire culture of people obsessed with and satisfied with a result, rather than appreciative of the journey of exploration and understanding. Try this analogy.
Imagine society has broken down. You are humanity's last hope to build shelter. All we have left is this IKEA style, snap into place, home building kit. It's easy, you just put piece A into piece 1, etc. That's fine. It works but, what happens if the instructions are corrupted and some of the pieces are destroyed? You don't know which piece goes where, let alone why the foundation and supporting beams are put where they are to support the ceiling and the roof. You just knew the simplified answer was, put A into 1. With that little How To, you could do it but, if you had taken the time to understand the Why of each piece and how it was connected, you could take that knowledge and adapt it to something outside of the context of the How To Instruction Manual.
Knowing the Why, you could find suitable materials to replace the ones you lost, apply the principles of building a sound structure, and make adjustments based on what you have at hand. A truly knowledgeable person's power comes not from being able to recall the right excerpt from the book but, in being able to recall the understanding of the concept and applying it to the current circumstance. What good is knowledge if you aren't building on to it?
I know. That analogy gets a little wonky but, I think you're smart enough to understand what I'm getting at. What good is having all of the knowledge of the universe at our fingertips if, once it becomes inaccessible, we are useless? It's great to be able to reference anything whenever we want but, we should be using that reach to expand our core systems, instead of simply relying on the cloud. From a networking perspective, access to the cloud network is fine but, just in case, let's keep a hard copy offline.
Let me try to tie it in with this. I began my clay journey with a sustainability goal in mind. I wanted a cost-effective, ecofriendly solution to my need for many small pots, used to store and transport seedlings and rooted cuttings. I knew I didn't want to use the plastic cups that were so readily available and I knew I didn't have the budget to buy the fancy Eco-Friendly Biodegradable Pots at the scale I had in mind. That's when I fell back on my fascination with ancient technology. Particularly, ancient pottery.
It seems so easy. It's literally just dirt, mixed with water, and shaped into a bowl. Now, as I ventured down the rabbit hole of information about Wild Clay, I was inspired but, also deterred from beginning. While I'm sure most of the accounts mean well, I felt this strong deterrence. There was a mental, or spiritual, blockade: You can't just go and get dirt from your yard. I agreed. It couldn't be that easy, right? There was all of this information about clay sediments, and locations, and private and public land, etc., etc. Don't get me started on the fancy modern pottery vernacular, with the cone firing ratings and what not.
The more I learned, the further away I was taken from my goal. Listen. I get it. Some dirt is just not clay. It may not hold up well, it may not last long. Sure, there are some limitations but, why wasn't I just getting my hands in some dirt and seeing what's what?
🪬 Handcraft by a man who's soul sees better than his eyes do at SoulSeesBest.writerjoshua.com
So, today, I decided to do some experimentation of my own. I'm not going to name any specific accounts because this isn't meant to be disruptive. If anything, despite all of this, I still learned quite a bit, and have been inspired just the same. The adbreaks are still a GIGANTIC TURN OFF but, that's another entry (I mean, I don't even like watching ads in professional television, why would I want to watch ads from someone I don't even know is going to give me the right information, yet?). The point is, I choose to understand the why and how of clay, instead of simply relying on what YouTubers say. I'm going to take what I've learned and apply it to my current circumstance, and that means some experimentation.
- Read: What Happens If I Don't Seal Air Dry Clay? - #SoulSeesBest #AgEcoResearch (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
I have also received a lot of information about sun drying clay. You're not supposed to sun dry clay because, it is said, that it will crack and become useless. But, I want to know, how useless? I've also been looking into adobe mud brick. I am currently living in the Southwestern United States. Adobe is prevalent so, why not see if it can be a solution for me.
- Read: What Happens If I Sun Dry Clay Pottery? - #SoulSeesBest #AgEcoResearch (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
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Sincerely yours,
Joshua Lucero
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WriterJoshua Around the Web
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