The Shallows
Clay is a material I have been drawn to all my life from making mud pies in the garden as a child with my mother to the classroom at school, then for my MA in Ceramics at Cardiff University and now in my studio in Bristol. When handling clay I am aware of its material properties, too wet and it flops, to dry and it cracks, some clays are so fine they take a finger print and others are gritty with texture. I am so engaged in the process of making that it shuts all distractions out, at least a for a while. I also see this when I teach. People who are normally easily distracted become fully engaged with the process of making, they go quiet, pull faces, and concentrate as they become involved with properties of the malleable material. They are fully present in the moment, the room is silent. There maybe the odd expletive as one drops the clay form and it distorts as it hits the floor but but the presence returns as they pick it up to reform it.
Not long ago I had a block on making, I’m not sure what caused it but I felt the consequences as I could not shut the noise of other distractions out, it was a tricky time but I managed to work through it by tentatively handling clay again for a few minutes each day. Sometimes when we lose our way its not easy to dive back in at the level you were before, it’s probably better to go into the shallows first. During coaching sessions I see clients making gentle progress, it’s important to them to not rush into things but to step into the shallows first and as confidence grows the more they feel they can go deeper. The coaching space allows them to have thinking time and be listened to. I see transformation happen during this time, clients have insights they would not have had if they weren’t given the space that we co-create together. Presence its everything, its not easy to find in our lives when we are constantly distracted by life’s rabbit holes.
If you feel you would like to step into the shallows with coaching give me a shout on my contact at Rock Pool Coaching.