“Watch the stars in their courses and imagine yourself running alongside them. Think constantly on the changes of the elements into each other, for such thoughts wash away the dust of earthly life.” – Marcus Aurelius, quoted in “The Daily Stoic”
The Ceramic process is almost like magic. Clay, water and earth elements change through fire to create gorgeous coffee mugs.
“As cosmologist Neil deGrasse Tyson has explained, the cosmos fills us with complicated emotions. On the one hand, we feel an infinitesimal smallness in comparison to the vast universe; on the other, an extreme connectedness to this larger whole.” – Ryan Holiday, quoted in “The Daily Stoic”
Have you ever wondered why I call them “Cosmic Mugs” (cosmicmugs.com) instead of “galaxy” or “nebula” or “stellar” mugs? Art is complicated, and “cosmic” seems like a better word to convey all the complexities inherent to pottery vs. factory made mugs.
“Stoicism” helps me wrestle with these ideas. It helps me ask, “What is most appropriate and honest?” It helps me realize that pottery can be tough, and that even if I get a bad batch of pots, I can recover and make more. If pots have rough textures, that might require building an entire section of our website devoted to explaining it. As renowned artist Richard Bresnahan says,
“It’s 1/3 the artist, it’s 1/3 the material and it’s 1/3 the firing. If you think that you’re going to expect to have control over the 1/3 of the firing, you’re going to be always disappointed.”
– Richard Bresnahan, “The Taste of Clay”
If you’re wrestling with ideas in your own art or struggles in your own life, you might benefit from stoic ideas too. This giveaway that my friends at The Daily Stoic are hosting is a great way to get introduced:
Daily Stoic Giveaway
The Daily Stoic (dailystoic.com) has helped me look more deeply into why I wake up everyday and make pots. You can learn about how a contemporary stoic book called, “The Obstacle Is The Way” helped me train for the pottery Guinness World Recoreds title here:
https://www.cherricopottery.com/2017/01/19/how-meditation-helped-me-set-a-pottery-world-record/
Stoicism sounds boring, but the benefits in my life and pottery career have been remarkable. This giveaway has a bunch of amazing “stoic” items and it’s a great way to get your feet wet in how these ideas might be able to help you:
Daily Stoic Giveaway
No, I’m not getting paid to say this, I’m just a huge fan and have seen remarkable benefits in my own life and business. If you are struggling with anything, then I just thought you might benefit stoicism too. Here is what I find most useful and valuable:
- The Daily Stoic email newsletter (my personal favorite way to absorb their content)
- The Daily Stoic on Audible (my second favorite way to learn about stoicism)
- The Daily Stoic on Amazon
What resources or tools help you get through tough times in your life?
Leave a comment below before Monday 8/28/2017 telling us what resources or tools have helped you get through tough times in your life. We’ll pick the best comment and send the winner one World Record Pottery Planter, ($179 value: $159 + 20 average packing and shipping) shipped almost anywhere globally, totally free!
To enter, you must leave one, genuine comment, or the moderator will not approve your comment or include you in the giveaway. Please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Please allow up to 48 hours for your comment to appear. You must also be on our email newsletter distribution list to qualify, so please make sure you are okay with receiving our email newsletter before you leave a comment. We will pick winners before the following Wednesday around 2pm Central and you will receive the pottery shipped to you nearly anywhere globally, totally free.