500 Pieces in 2022

Why I set a goal to make 500 pieces in 2022.

I started pottery about seven years ago for the same reason as many pottery hobbyists: I was working in front of a computer all day and was looking for an activity that had nothing to do with screens and could hopefully help relieve stress. Pottery definitely fulfilled the requirement of not requiring a screen, but I’m still not sure if pottery relieves or causes additional stress. Just thinking about the times when I can’t center an-y-thing on the wheel or the glaze I applied over several days comes out of the kiln with blank patches on the clay… In all seriousness though, pottery has had a really positive impact on my life to remind me that I need to set work-life boundaries in order to have time for pottery and to take care of my body/health in order to be able to create.

I started pottery with a couple classes and continued making as a member in a couple community studios in Berkeley and then Los Angeles. In March 2021, I moved to a house with a tiny garage that was the perfect size to set up a home studio. I verrry excitedly purchased a wheel and set up up a wedging table with a table left by the previous tenant, a canvas drop cloth, and a staple gun. The learning curve has been pretty steep with figuring out how to recycle clay, properly dispose of water, mix glazes, and transport pieces to/from a studio that provides firing services. After about nine months, I’m starting get the hang out things but know I still have a lot more to learn.

I’ve been really fortunate to be able to work from home throughout the whole pandemic, but I’ve struggled with maintaining a healthy work-life balance with enough time to cook healthy meals, exercise, and do pottery. I didn’t spend much time in the studio for a lot of November and December, which occasionally made me feel like I “wasted” money on setting up a home studio and was losing the progress I made when I was throwing more consistently. Earlier this week, I was scrolling through Instagram and saw Trish B Pottery’s story linking to a blog post about why she decided to throw 1,000 pots in 2021. I respond really well to setting goals (e.g. when I was in an exercise rut a couple years ago, I decided to sign up for a half-marathon, which resulted in me running three to four times a week as part of my training because I wanted to be able to finish the race in a reasonable time) so I decided to work towards making 500 pieces from the end of December 2021 (i.e. this week) to the end of December 2022.

I decided to aim for 500 pieces because that amount is a stretch goal for me. I think if I tried to replicate Trish’s challenge, then I would be discouraged from the start and would probably hurt myself from trying to make so many pieces. 500 pieces comes out to about 41-42 pieces a month or 9-10 pieces a week. I think I’ve probably make an average of 5-7 pieces a week for the last couple years. In an effort to set some goals within this larger goal, I’ve set some parameters to this challenge:

I decided to focus on repetition because that is the only way I will improve at throwing pieces with even walls and consistent shapes. I’ve always wanted to work on this, but I got lazy and just worked with whatever shape came out on the wheel. I also included handbuilding because my storage space is limited, pieces need time to dry, and this is a skill I’d also like to develop. There are so many pieces I could potentially make! Bowls, mugs, tumblers, planters, vases, dishes, and lidded jars in varying shapes and sizes.

Not every piece needs to make it through the full firing process in order to count towards this goal. I’m planning to post updates on my progress, which will not only contribute to keeping me accountable but also help me develop my website, which has also been a goal for some time.

Here we go!