7 April 26 2026 Tuesday

i had wheel-thrown clay class after work. last week
was the first once-a-week session, but i didn't throw. 

i believe the last time i threw prior to tonight was 
in late 2022/early 2023. i took an eight-week (ish?) 
class at a nonprofit clay center. prior to that, i took 
two semesters of ceramics at a community college in fall 
2020 and spring 2021. before that, i hadn't taken a
clay class since high school (class of 2001), and i 
don't think we had wheels. 

i made a few pieces i feel proud of in those classes. 
in particular a bowl that i now use daily to whisk matcha 
green tea. it's not fancy, but it feels really good to 
me, the heft and shape and balance of it, and the glaze 
never ceases to please me. it's a mix of lavenders and 
greens with hints of more ethereal colors here and there.
i used wax around the bottom edge to create an organic
pattern where the clay shows through in a sort of upward
drip in places.   

i wasn't sure if anything i learned would have carried 
through after so long away from the wheel, so i've been
approaching this return with a 'beginner's mind' 
mentality. the teacher asked last week if i had 
experience, and i told him. he gave me a throwing demo
last week and another today, and then i tried. i was
happy that i was able to center the clay on my first
ball of clay. and while my column wasn't tall as i 
would have liked, it was columnular, and will make a
nice flowerpot. the teacher then showed me a method
for throwing plates that i hadn't tried before, and i
made a little plate to be attached to the flowerpot 
once both are leather-hard next week. 

i've had rather intense pain throughout the day, 
related to my cycle. usually i don't get it so 
badly. 

e made fresh pasto and linguine tonight. he used
the recipe he got from his belated best friend, who
passed away in late April a couple of years ago. pine 
nuts and fresh basil, with kalamata olive garnish. it
was lovely.

i feel a bit bad about yesterday's log. at times i have 
a hard time balancing my belief in my own wisdom 

with my desire to see the validity in other viewpoints 

and my awareness of my own fallibility

and my wish to avoid unconstructive judgmental thought.