Happy Meaninglessness

So the wheels have been turning about 100 miles an hour around here the last 3 weeks or so.  I went to the Burlon Craig festival about this time last month and sold more pots than I thought I would.  So in response to that I had to make a load of work for the Fairgrounds show this weekend.  I had about 3 weeks to turn work and believe me it got done.  School pretty much hit the back burner during this very short, yet strong period of concentration on my work.  

I finished up the throwing last Wednesday (Nov 4) of cups and little things.  There were about 100 pieces or so total.  I loaded and fired at the beginning of this week and got them out this afternoon.  They all look pretty crazy awesome except we had an accident with some of the ceiling falling down on a bunch of the big pieces.  The kiln got a little hot too, but it really just made things look crazier.  The clay and glaze took it fine so all was good.  

So needless to say the past few weeks I have been in another world concentrating very hard on making the best work possible.  I have also been reading in Ecclesiastes lately and it has really been speaking to me.  I am very thankful that I am doing work that if looked at from a certain angle is extremely meaningless.  I mean, people don't really need pots to stay alive or give life meaning.  They are simply a luxury or enhancement.  I am glad it is not something like selling tires or something that seems very needed by the world.  I prefer to live life in happy meaninglessness.  Seeing the work like a spiritual act of worship that is for the furthest thing from myself is the most gratifying choice I make on a daily basis.  When the work it is looked at after being fired into a physical object it almost humors me to thing that I put all my time into what comes out to be a simple physical object that can be held or touched.  Something on the same playing field as every other meaningless worldly thing.  

We make the choice as the artist not to get too attached to the work we do, nor to ourselves as the maker.  When you loose touch with what the work needs in order to start focusing on what will make you look better as an individual, the work suffers and doesn't speak for itself properly.  If you look at making pots like a natural living response such as breathing or walking then what you make should speak like a natural living responsive act.  Hopefully, subtle yet bringing life and energy to the surrounding environment. 

I suppose the first thing anyone must do in order to obtain a subtleness to their stride is learn to stand up and walk.