are you creating or are you just following instructions?
A few years ago, I took an intro to pottery class. It was always something I wanted to try—I wasn’t thinking about what I’d learn about myself and creativity from it, but here’s what happened...
The first four weeks of the class were focused on wheel throwing and the second four weeks were focused on hand building. I noticed right away that these two classes were taught very differently from a creative standpoint.
With the wheel portion of the class, we were given instructions on how to use the wheel, how to generally make cylinders and bowls, and then we were left to our own devices (the wheel, a blob of clay, and our hands) to play around and create whatever we wanted.
It was very therapeutic, tactile, and open to creativity—so naturally, I loved it (even though the things I made while learning how to wheel throw were, well, total shit).
The outcome didn’t matter to me; I was there to learn, play, and make things 100% from my own head, hands, and heart. I also happened to notice not everyone was this open; a few people seemed upset with the outcome.
The hand building portion of the class was not this way and for this, we were given instructions to make specific things. The same things as the people next to me. We all followed the same steps… Steps I often forgot and needed to confirm 19 times… and steps I definitely did not remember as soon as I left the class, let alone four years later while writing this.
In the end, everyone’s work looked the same. Subtle differences, of course, but the ideas, the processes, the end results, were all just mirrored products of the others.
Creativity was removed and I hated it. I wasn’t creating, I was just following steps someone else made in order to achieve a similar result. I didn’t understand why they didn’t teach us the strategies, skills, provide the tools, and, again, leave us our own devices like they did the wheel throwing portion of the class.
The two main things I made during the hand building portion of the class are the spiral bowl and lantern. With both, they were not things I wanted to build and didn’t feel proud of or attached to in any way (I gave both things away).
The above photo is the spiral bowl which lives at my friend’s house. She loves and appreciates it because it really isn’t a bad piece of art, it just means a lot less to me since I didn’t ‘create’ it—I was just the vehicle building it.
The bowl and lantern didn’t feel like they were made by me. I even tried in small ways to make them more creative than the others, but the idea just wasn’t mine.
I struggled to follow the steps in hand building, too. I kept forgetting what part came next, overwhelmed because I didn’t know, and anxious that I’d do something wrong or out of order.
These are all situations and feelings that have no business being present when creating.
The process for both of these pieces was not enjoyable because the process wasn’t mine. I need to figure out my own process; this is the best way to remember the steps.
In my own words amidst one hand building night, “This is just now how I want to make things. I’m not using my creativity at all.”
I knew I was following and I didn’t like it.
When I am creating something, anything at all, I never forget what to do next. I don’t need to follow anything because I just know. And the more I make that’s my own, the more just knowing what comes next becomes intuitive. No, it doesn’t come easily and it’s uncomfortable and the only way I’ve improved is by practicing… by making more things.
In learning new skills, sometimes following steps is helpful but I think often it hinders innovation as people become dependent and too rigid with following steps.
Focus on learning skills and strategies and putting those towards a creation of your own—similar to the wheel throwing portion of the class.
I learned later that most people who take these classes prefer hand building to be this way: the step-by-step guide to making something rather than being forced to use a creative part of their brain. A lot of people don’t know how to use their creativity (anymore). IDK, maybe they grew up, got office jobs, and were told creativity is for the birds. They need instructions.
Thinking about this likely possibility and the fact that society and capitalism doesn’t see art or creativity as valuable makes me sad.
When I approach a project, of course I can follow a guide or YouTube video all I want to make something I’ve seen on the internet somewhere… but the outcome won’t be my own and it probably won’t be unique.
Creating demands we discover our own ideas and process. A lot of ‘creators’ you see might just be following steps another laid out before them. In my opinion, the most creative people have a strong foundation of creativity and critical thinking skills and are proud of the outcome, regardless if the outcome is a winner or total shit. If it’s total shit, usually the creator has learned something from it.
Inspiration for ideas is everywhere, not just in the expected.
Looking in the unexpected places will usually bring more creative ideas once we know how to take what we learn and create our own magic from it. If we’re not creating from within, we’ll never be satisfied.
This year (starting January 1) I got some air dry clay and made a bunch of things in my own house with nothing but my hands and a few hand tools—no wheel, no kiln, no instructions, nothing—and I’m happy to say I do, in fact, love hand building pottery in the very same way I loved wheel throwing.
I just needed to build my own ideas.
(Disclaimer: Some inspiration for a few pieces did come from other ceramic artists on Instagram but I never copied their process or exact work).
In doing this and every piece I made, I learned something about pottery and hand building which I carried into the next piece to improve. I can’t say I learned and retained anything from my first experience with hand building.
—mal
this essay’s song recommendation: “broken bow” by john calvin abney