Personal: Bent, Not Broken

quinsairahooidesign
Jun 30
2 min read

“..As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand..” - Jeremiah 18:6 AMP

For a while now I have felt the urge to try something new. That urge led me to clay, but as often happens with new things, I put it off. Until I could no longer ignore it. And what started as a small experiment, became an experience that not only taught me about the material, but thanks to the physical actions gave me new insights into how I should look at myself.

What working with clay has taught me:

1. Clay forces you to listen

What I soon discovered: you can have a clear vision, but if you don't understand the clay, it won't work. Too wet? It will sink. Too dry? It will crumble. Clay requires tuning. A balance that you only learn by working with it and feeling it.

2. Time and patience are essential components

This relatively small work took me almost a week. Not because it was big or complicated, but because the process has its own pace. Partly due to beginners' mistakes, but a professional potter is working on a work for at least 3 days. It is recommended (for small works like this) to give it 48 hours to dry completely. The minimum next step is to add the protective layer that needs at least 24 hours to dry.

3. Vulnerability makes you cautious, and that is not a weakness

As the work began to dry, I noticed that I automatically became more cautious. I had put hours into it and not only effort, but also pride. And although it felt harder now, I knew: this is still fragile.

4. Cracks can be fixed

At one point I discovered a crack. In the past I might have thought: this is a failure. But I learned that you can repair it. A mixture of clay and water with the right consistency (a kind of yogurt-like glue) makes it possible to heal the crack. Then you fill it with thicker clay. Clay taught me that cracks do not have to be permanent fractures. They are places that need attention. Places that you can care for.

In a world that teaches me that I have to be tight, smooth and ‘finished’, I have moments of unsecurity in which I wonder if I fit in/with something because of my “shape”. But that clay with its own shapes, that is me. My shape, my person is good.