My Novel Freshman Experience, Part Eight...Freedom

So it turns out I cared more about grades than I thought.  I got an A on my first test and I will confess, I felt a spurt of glee. So yes, I guess I care.  But I do hope that coming back to grades after a few decades means that while I might enjoy an A, I appreciate even more that I learned a lot.  Some of the clay brands I might need to look up in the future, but I understand the difference between slip, plastic clay, leather hard and bone dry clay.  It's all greenware, but it's very different.  And you know, I do love the idea different but the same.

So we're working on our coil pot.  My idea got approved, though I need to have more emphasis on different shapes, so one of my ovals became a rectangle.  We talked about underglazes and textures.  I already experimented with an acorn texture that gave me glee, and I have an idea for the other half I can't wait to try.

I talked in my last school blog about INTENT when I'm working on a book, or a pot.  Today, as we went through our project ideas in class, I thought about how there was more to writing/pottery than intent.  Both art and books require a sense of IMAGINATION.  And today's sketch was like a synopsis I might send to an editor.  It's the basic idea for what I want to do...the end product of my intent and imagination.  But I know as I begin to work I want the FREEDOM to change direction...to see that something's not working and try another path.  Or to see that something that does work, but is too predictable and change directions...choose the road less traveled.

I love that PH, my instructor, seems to honor that idea of freedom.  As he listened to people's project ideas, he made sure they stayed on point, and gave a ton of helpful suggestions, but also gave everyone a lot of freedom with what they wanted to do.

In both my writing and my pottery (or any of the crafts I pursue) I approach them with the knowledge that once I set it free, what a reader/viewer sees is totally independent of anything I've done.  And while I've just acknowledged that I'm hoping for a good grade, I'll also admit that I know that's not what matters the most.  What matters is following through on my vision.  

I'm a true novice with ceramics—in some ways I feel as if I'm back at the beginning of my writing career.  I know what I want to accomplish, but I may not have the experience and breadth of knowledge to carry it out flawlessly.  That won't stop me from trying.  And I hope that as I grow in the ceramic arts, people will see that growth in a tangible way.  Just as if you pick up one of my early books, like I Waxed My Legs for This? you'll see the humor and my joy at writing, but when you pick up a more recent book like Hold Her Heart, you'll see my skill at execution has grown.  I hope you enjoy both, but if you think my writing has never changed and grown...well, I'd be doing something wrong. LOL

Oh, and if you pick up Just One Thing, I hope you see both my growth as a writer, but also my love of crafts.  I've wanted to learn pottery for a very long time and that longing is very much present in the story (when a reader asked me if I was a potter...I felt so gleeful that I'd done those scenes alright).  That's the thing about writing, it allows me to live out my dreams and hopefully take the reader along for the journey.

Holly

PS.

If you've missed any Novel Experience posts, you can find them here...
Part Seven, Part Six, Part Five, Part Four, Part Three, Part Two, Part One