the making of a pot

it all begins with a lump of clay. to our unimagining eyes, it's a lifeless lump of clay. but the potter sees it differently: he sees the POSSIBILITY of clay.



the potter takes a small lump of it, rolls it...



and he places the lump on a wheel and he lets the wheel turn. he may or may not know what form that lump will take, but he lets the wheel turn.



the wheel spinning, the potter takes his hands to the clay, and the clay gives way.



so softness isn't always bad. softness can mean flexibility, the willingness to take new form...



the acceptance that we can be better than what we are now.



thus formed, the pot can now enter the oven that will give it the strength to be a pot...



... a pot that can say to the rest of us, 'yes, because i was once a lump of clay.'

photos taken in vigan, ilocos sur, may 2008