Week One!

 This week, I went to the ISU craft shop to begin my new occupation and realized that I’ve got a lot of progress to make this semester! I bought clay and practiced ‘centering’ on the pottery wheel. It was difficult to keep my hands steady and make a smooth shape. Moral of the story, I think next week will be spent doing some research on technique rather than just jumping in. This was a great learning process though. I now understand the value of preparation and thinking through tasks.

On the Recker/Wong continuum, I think that I quite clearly have a "poverty of experience" with making pottery. As they described in the text, that usually leads one to conforming to societal expectation. For the first bit of time that I spend practicing pottery, I will have to lean heavily on the direction of others before I can experiment things on my own. I need to practice conformity to have a base level of understanding and technique. The mug I make will be meaningful because of the time and work it will take to get there, although it will become more meaningful to me as it becomes more my imagination than me conforming to someone else's instruction. Thus, as I transfer to the other side of the continuum and practice more unique self-expression I will find more meaning in my new occupation.

Similarly, I believe that another shift will take place with time. The beginning of my new occupation will include calculative thinking that will then shift toward meditative thinking later in the process. Currently, I need to practice calculative thinking to learn which type of clay to use, techniques for centering and shaping, drying times, glazing processes, etc. Meditative thinking will come later and be more relevant as I begin to design the outside and choose a design that will reflect the meaning of the project.

Thanks for reading my blog and I wish you the  best in the learning, accomplishing, and failing associated with your new occupation!