A Mugs Life

Beauty does not cease to be beautiful merely because were are inured to it.

I know that to many people who live "important" lives that my career as a potter is nothing more than a glorified hobby, and that the things which I make and do are trivial and mundane. Well, maybe they're right, maybe I could have done "so much more" with my life.

But maybe they're wrong.

Maybe the important thing about being human is to bear witness to the beauty of nature, to revel in the wonder of life, to give expression to that joy in our everyday lives, every day. I do not wish to change the world, I only wish to draw attention to it.

There is something marvelous about a bowl of fresh vegetables, something miraculous about a delicious meal, something moving about a simple days work. The pattern of light and dark that the rising and setting of the sun leaves upon the tapestry of our lives is ever changing and wondrous. No two mornings are the same, no two evenings, and every day is a precious gem embroidered on our soul.

Every pot, every coffee mug that I make is a moment of my life, a piece of my spirit. No two are the same, like the leaves of a tree, and like a tree I make them so that I can grow. They are not copies of nature, but new expressions of the beauty of nature. When they are finished they will find new life in the hands of others, enriching other peoples everyday lives, carrying the joy that I feel in being alive into the lives of others for years, perhaps centuries, potentially millenia to come. If I only have one life to live, then I will live and love life everyday until all my days are done, and simple though they may be, I will not regret one of them.