I will never be a professional pottery reconstructor

I am one of those people - and I hope I am not alone - who loves crafty and artsy things. However, I am absolutely terrible at creating them. I cannot paint, draw, sew, dance or anything else remotely creative. So this past fall semester at university, when there was an opportunity to take a class in pottery, I of course thought, "Here it is. This will be my shtick. I will be amazing at this." A week into class and I realized that no, I also do not have a talent for making pottery. I did however, have a blast. 

My pots were always the ugliest out of the entire class and were always the ones that fell apart. I didn't really mind - I was learning a lot and having a great time doing it. When it came time for our final project, I chose to study kiln designs (because, honestly, it was the only option that didn't involve making thin sections, which I really did not want to do). I had already booked a trip home to Arkansas and couldn't join the rest of my group in firing the kiln. So I asked my professor if I could do my own open air pit firing at home for my project and the results were...interesting.

 Pots, pots, pots...

And more pots (the nice grey ones were made by my dad, the ugly red ones were mine, of course).

Our fire pit was gorgeous, if I do say so myself.

A mixture of red terracotta earthenware and raku stoneware pots were made - and looked a lot better before they were burned. 

The most perfect day for a fire, except for the wind blowing the smoke into our faces.

It was a gorgeous day getting to hang out at my grandparent's house with my dad and Jack and all of the dogs. I was pretty excited to be missing all the ice and snow that was happening in Sheffield and instead be hanging out in a t-shirt while lounging in the sun (not to rub it in).  

 I also got to dabble in some blacksmithing when I was there!

Again, not something I am great at. I could barely lift the hammer let alone swing it with enough force to make something cool. My leaf took about three times as long as my dad's. But it was so much fun! I felt like such a beast.

I will not be opening an Etsy shop selling my pottery and metal creations any time soon, but isn't the enjoyment of the process what really matters?