This week I'm attending a 5-day ceramics workshop at Sierra Nevada College and I was led here by my ancestors. What does what some might call an indulgent week in the pines making mugs and bowls have to do with the ancestors?
I have a BFA undergraduate degree. That stands for Bachelor of Fine Arts, which means I went to an Art School. Degree in hand some 24 years ago, I had no confidence in my abilities. My college was a Stick It Up On The Wall And Critique It type of school. I couldn't even call myself an artist.
I also had not experienced "It"--the one thing I could feel legitimately obsessed about, ignoring all other sensible choices my friends and family would have me make.
Fast forward to 2009. I was shopping for some large pots for my bamboo plants (I just realized while writing this that that was another clue-bamboo is an ancestral plant for my Chinese ancestors.). As I walked through the yard I started to have a visceral reaction to the pots.
I immediately wondered about any ancestral connections and realized, "Oh yeah, there's just a little connection between China and ceramics,isn't there?". I resolved to take a ceramics class right then.
I knew as soon as I threw my first pot. This was something I could dedicate myself to wholeheartedly, without concern of practicalities. I knew without a doubt that my ancestors would support me; in fact they had led me to my medium. Given my better-late-than-never start, I am taking as many classes from as many teachers as possible, thus my trip to Tahoe. Perhaps a trip to a Chinese ceramics school is in my future. Thank you ancestors!