I made this thing about 18 years ago in a pottery class I took at SFCC. The teacher looked at it and said it looked awful. Her comments made me feel awful. I felt very discouraged because I had worked so hard on it. I came up with the idea and tried to execute it. There was a middle-aged woman (who was probably the age I am now!) who was mad at our teacher for making such discouraging comments and said she would buy it from me. I thought it was very sweet of her but I declined, because I thought that she was just trying to make me feel better.
I never really forgot that teacher and her words to me. I never tried pottery again, despite the fact that it’s something I’ve always been interested in. But I’m glad I had that experience and I’m glad I kept this ugly piece of pottery (and it is. It really is. I didn’t show you the whole thing). It is a reminder to me. It is the reason why I would never, ever, discourage anyone while they are creating art.
