The life of a pot || Some things are meant to be broken

The conversation started at a recent arts festival.  A woman picked up a mug of mine and told me that she could see my personality in it.  We talked for a while about the relationship you have with something you've made, and how you put a little bit of yourself into anything you make.  More than your touch, you put your soul into it.

The woman asked if I ever thought about where my pots would end up.  Would they be given as a gift?  Would they be put on a shelf somewhere?  Would they be used?  Would they become someone's favorite?  The possibilities are endless.

I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now.  I realized that somehow in the end of every pot I make, it will be broken.  I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but whether it's in a week, a year, ten years or even a century from now, each piece of pottery will be dropped, knocked over, chipped in the dishwasher, or smashed by a clumsy husband (maybe I speak from experience...).

This is a good thing for us potters.  The relationship you have with a piece of pottery is like a friendship.  There's a level of trust you build, a fondness, and eventually an end.  But once that mug is broken, the search begins again for the favorite mug.  On the search you hold many mugs, imagining your favorite coffee blend, researching the hold of the handle, feeling the weight, and deciding whether it's well suited for you.  Once you find that new mug, there's a courtship.  The first time you test it out.  The trust you build that the mug won't splash your face or cut your lip.  The satisfaction when the mug has done it's job and has become your new favorite.  

What if no one ever broke another mug?  There would never be a need to make more pottery, and I'd have to find another passion. 

So when it all comes down to it, I'm thankful for things that are meant to be broken.  Just like in life with relationships with people, with every mug I make I have new learnings, failures, trials, and successes.  My hope is that my pottery will have a relationship with someone someday before it breaks.