Albuquerque Pottery #1

We arrived at my parents' two weeks ago. My dad has been working 7 days a week so his time is very limited. I spent the first day moving, cleaning and rearranging my dad's pottery studio in the garage. The first week I spent practicing, practicing, and practicing. My dad's equipment is a decade older than I am and so it has taken me some time to adjust. That and the climate in significantly different. I can throw something, take the bat off the wheel and be able to trim it in a few hours!

I had two very frustrating days in a row where everything I touched fell apart. I was having a hard time with the basics like centering and getting very upset. I asked my dad for some help when he got home and after dinner we went to the garage. The first thing he asked me was, "Is the wheel how it has been all day?" Yeah, why? He then showed me how it was rocking back and forth and not level! Ha! After a few pointers about centering I tried it again. Needless to say, I am much more encouraged and had two full days of pottery Friday and Saturday. To the left is a tea mug and infuser/filter I have been developing.

One really exciting thing in my time here is that I have been able to sit down, sketch out ideas, wedge clay and throw pretty much what I had in mind from the beginning of the process. This has been very encouraging. I have been spending many hours at the wheel and just started keeping things this last week. I have been sketching some pitchers, mixing bowls with spouts and handles as well as mugs. Below is a picture of some mugs, pitchers and mixing bowls I threw Friday then trimmed and applied handles on Saturday.

Reflection on Good Friday

For years we have followed this man. We have been with him for every moment. We have left everything behind to know him. We have seen him touch people, heal people, love people in a way so completely different than anyone else. We have heard him speak, sing, teach and pray. His voice has become as familiar to us as our own voices.

All that changed last night.

We are in shock. We cannot believe what our eyes have seen. They came and took him by force. He did not fight and would not let us fight. We feel sick with disappointment. We were certain he was the one. All our lives we hoped prayed and waited for the moment we would hear news of his arrival. It came but in an unexpected way. Even up until the last few weeks we questioned if he was really the one. Then he spoke to us plainly and we believed.

Then last night came, the longest night of our lives.

We had spoken so boldly but when the time came to act we found ourselves frozen like a sword in its sheath. Why? Why didn’t he fight? Why didn’t he let us fight? If he really is the one we have waited for what kept him from being arrested, tried and condemned? The rulers most have been right after all. He cannot be the one because this is not how it is going to happen. He was so convincing in every aspect of life. We will never be able to shake the memory of him-alive with so much joy and now so utterly lifeless-dead.

We have never seen such a dim morning.

All our hopes are lost. This is the worst Sabbath of our entire lives. The songs have lost their meaning. The food tastes bland. The wine brings no joy to these broken hearts. We are overcome with sorrow. We are undone. The thought of him is too much. We can still hear the echo of his voice as we walk talk and pray. Never in our lives have we been so disappointed confused and angry. There seems to be a heavy cloud surrounding our every thought and movement. Darkness, like the day he died, covers our hearts. Darkness seals our hearts like the stone that sealed his grave.