Pottery tools. Photo by Father Theophan
By Father Theophan
Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church
Los Alamos
I’ve come to realize something over the years of puttering around in my workshops, both here and in the previous places I’ve lived and worked: I like tools. If there is a hobby that requires a bunch of tools, equipment, and/or skills, there is a better chance that I will like pursuing it. That may be why I’d rather rock-climb than run. All the harnesses, ropes, and carabiners are fun and interesting! Running shoes? Bah! Everyone has shoes!
Pottery is one of those things in which, the deeper you go, the more tools and equipment you’ll acquire. It is as simple as clay, a table, and a kiln, but as complicated as you want to make it.
In one of the pottery groups I belong to on Facebook, a newcomer asked how much it costs to start up a small studio. There were answers like $5,000, $10,000, or even more. And they were right, if one were to get all new and top of the line equipment. My answer was different. Pottery is one of those things that calls to the scrounger, the wheeler and dealer, and the maker. Get in with the right people, be willing to learn some woodwork or welding, and find a good scrapyard, and most of the stuff needed can be got for a song.
I recently saw a little video of a “hippie” throwing a pot sideways, using the running wheel of a VW Bus as a pottery wheel. Whenever anyone complains about a wheel that’s not balanced or level, that’s where my mind goes. It’s a poor musician that blames their instrument.
My wheel is used, both kilns I have are used (I’m working on rebuilding one, I’ve never done that before), and some of my favorite tools are made from scrap I had in the garage. I use that excuse whenever I need to buy some piece of woodworking equipment.
It’s the difference between The New Yankee Workshop and The Woodwright’s Shop on PBS. I tend to identify with Roy Underhill. Alas, I betray my age.
We all have our tools and our skill set. Some things come naturally, some things we struggle with. And those things are different for each person. Some tools we are given by our parents and we learn early, they are second nature to us. We get them new. Some tools we hobble together as we go, sometimes desperately when an unexpected crisis arises. But each new tool, each new skill helps us deal with the opportunities and challenges we face.
“Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.”
Hopefully, we are flexible enough, open enough to recognize new ways of doing things. A new tool can be unexpected: a new breathing technique, a hobby, a new peaceful place, a philosophy. I’m currently on the lookout for an old fashioned can opener. I saw this guy make amazing pots with one.
Let go of the old tools that don’t work for you anymore and accept the help of the new ones.
“The sleeper must awaken.”
