POTTERY IS FOR rest.

The importance of respite, for pots and humans alike.

Ceramic pot making is a slow, slow business. It’s easy to forget the importance of slowing down when I live in a city that moves at warp speed. Recently things have been moving unintentionally slow for me, almost stagnant. It’s been feeling like I’m not making any progress at all. But then, a shift. Much like how a pot will take so long to dry and then! Then it’s suddenly ready to be fired and enters a whole new, exciting stage. You need the slow rest to make space for the windfall.

Last week, I drove to Maine and spent quiet days in a countryside cabin. I showered outside and took long baths. I lingered for hours in salvage and vintage shops tucked away in tiny towns. I followed my pup up a mountain and looked out over lakes surrounded by endless treetops. I rested on the wraparound porch every morning, my fingers curled around a mug made by a stranger’s hands. I slowly sipped my coffee, and stared out at the mountains in the distance. I did absolutely nothing. My mind quieted, even with horrible things happening in my own country and in the world. Sitting in the silence of the rolling woods I felt clear for the first time in months.

On the drive home to Brooklyn ideas poured from my mind. When I finally reached my cozy chair tucked under the bookshelf in my living room, I feverishly captured my thoughts one by one, letting them blend and dance together. I can’t wait to shepherd them as they grow in the coming months.

In gifting myself the space to rest, just as I give my pots as much time as they need to dry before firing, my thoughts eased and then flowed. We all need rest, pots and humans alike. May you find the space and rest you need in these heavy times.

• Tomorrow I send out June’s mindful pottery subscription! I have a few open spaces this month - click here if you’d like to join.

• A few snapshots from Maine, if you’d like to see (they’re mostly of Cooper smiling because everyone we met loved on him!)

• And if you’re looking for a little magic in your life, I have a few more magic mugs + it’s the last week to order a magical mystery mug for a fun August surprise in the mail! xo