leaning into feeling

the freedom of throwing plans out the window

my first quilt top, created with no patterns or plans

I began this year’s desert pottery collection full of trust that my hands would pinch and connect and smooth the clay into what it was meant to become. I had no predesigned plans or the slightest thought about what I would create before I settled into my little desert studio.
Moving through the creation process, questions of design and function surfaced:
Did the skull-like vase need a tall, slim neck?
How many arms would each saguaro vase have?
Would it be cute to have a sprinkling of holes for stems so the cactus blooms with many or just a single hole for a sole flowering bud?
At each turn, instead of fretting or seeking answers in a premeditated plan, I leaned into the feeling. Gently placing a coil atop the skull-like vase, I felt how it felt - and it felt nice. So the skull-like vase got a sweet rounded neck. Each saguaro vase felt different - some needed two arms and some felt like having none at all. A few yearned for enough stem holes for at least five buds while a couple wanted enough space for a single bloom.

I find this process of leaning into the feeling in so much of life. You can’t plan it all, plus it’s delightful to navigate through life with feeling. Sometimes it’s best to throw the patterns and plans and calculated designs to the wind, and lean into trusting the feeling that lives inside us all. Nothing will be perfect, as exactly it should be. I sink my expectations just a bit, erase should be pictures from my mind, and relish in the charm and surprise of what comes.

Wishing us all the space and self trust to throw forecasts and plans out the window and delight in the imperfect beauty that comes.

• Exciting news! I’m delighted to offer a new way to order custom pottery in partnership with Maestro! I love the format of working directly with customers to create bespoke pieces with updates for you as I move through the creation process. You can find out more here, if you’d like!

• We’re finally journeying back to NYC! We’ll be on the road all weekend long and I can already feel my heart yearning for the mountains, but can’t wait to snuggle back into my city home and studio again.

• My studio photo this week is the pretty pink ceramics shop in tucson where I got my clay and glazes for my desert collection and have worked closely with Jackie in firing my work.

The personal peace and creativity toolkit are weekly accessible mindfulness and creative prompts to fold into your life in 30 seconds, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes, bringing a little more thoughtful calm and creative spirit to your days.

This week is focused on building up trust with your own personal feeling that lives inside of you through three creative prompts (including some goofy illustrations!), no matter how much time you have.

If you’re not already a paid subscriber, I hope you consider joining and building some reflection and creativity into your life with me <3