Create from a Place of Plentitude

Recently, I had the great privilege of doing a 7-day ceramics residency in Mallorca, Spain. I soon discovered that Mallorca is a small Mediterranean paradise replete with carob, pomegranate, fig, citrus and cypress trees and aqua sea coves at every turn. The people are friendly and the food is good. The city streets are pristine and the sky is always bright.

And despite these ideal natural conditions, I wasn't altogether relaxed during my residency there. I only had so much time. So I filled the long days to the absolute brim with conversation and art making and touring and hiking. To be honest, I didn't let my body rest at all and as result carried some physical and mental stress.

Creativity and openness become much more difficult when we push ourselves in this way. One thing I learned is that the clay will often mirror back our own physical and mental state. So when I carried tension, the clay would directly reflect that back. I could see when and where I needed to relax or lighten my grip or simply breathe.

"When you touch the clay," my instructor Anastasia said. "The clay touches you back." In this way I discovered working with clay is a form of intimacy with self.

I noticed when I took the time to breathe and connect with my body and the earth, my hands were freed up to experiment, express, and make something new. This is why I feel art making is deeply somatic and potentially healing. We get a glimpse of where we're free and open and where we're still gripping. At its best, art making gives us an opportunity to settle into ourselves and into a generative flow of the moment. It requires our presence and rootedness and asks us to continually find ways to return to it.