When a bowl of cornflakes means more

To most, this will look like your average bowl of cornflakes. It's a pretty decent way to start the day.

To me, this is a little more. See that bowl, the shape, the glaze? I did that. I MADE the bowl I'm having my breakfast out of. How mad is that!

I picked this up yesterday from the studio when my new entry-level 3 course began.

SideNote: For those of you in the Hull area or able to get to a Hull Adult Training and Education, I thoroughly recommend taking a look at the classes they offer.

I had felt a creativity block for some time and had tried to start pottery a few years back when I was caring for my mum with dementia. She was always a crafty person, so I thought it would be great to find something she could do. But it was too much for her.

After Mum had moved into care, I felt stuck, unable to create simple stories or even a blog, and work was put on hold.

I started pottery in September, and it's been an amazing journey since, of course having the right tutor was essential and Ericka has been that for me. Patience in abundance!

To say I have been a hormonal mess (menopause and breast cancer meds), is a HUGE understatement, struggling with issues that I really should have seen a counsellor for, but that's not me. Usually, mine is the paper I write on, and the books and plays I write are my therapy. But as I was stuck, unable to write, it just wasn't happening.

Then came along clay.

From the moment of rolling it (wedging) to get the air out, you feel a connection. This lump of 700g of clay is yours to mould, (kind of like being a parent again with less risky consequences!) every mistake you make will tell, and it takes time for you to understand this, like when the clay has a twist or an air bubble.

Pottery has some basic rules: dig your elbows into your stomach, watch the placing of your hands and lean. But while clay is simply a tattle-tale on those little mistakes, it can be so healing. Nurting a lump of clay into a new form is great for those whose mind tends to wander because you simply can't think of anything BUT the clay in front of you.

I'm sure more experienced potters will disagree, but I start with a rough idea of what I want, a small cylinder about 6cm tall, but each lump of clay feels like it moves differently under your hands. Like it's urging you to go another way, hinting at what 'it' wants to 'be'.

You will get messy, I' have come home with clay in places I honestly don't know how it got there. Clay gives you the freedom to release that inner child, make a mess, get dirty, and just play until you have something you like, such as this bowl.

But for me, it has also been a welcome return to my creativity as a whole. I am back writing, ( a new writers guide, 'So You Want to Write a Novel?' is now out), a new play is on track, along with a new fiction book.

Every single time I now use that bowl, I'll remember that I made it. Me. Me, feeling like it couldn't get much worse, me sitting on the floor bawling with pain and uncontrollable heat, me unable to string a sentence together. Me.

What I'm trying to say here is, finding a distraction or a new hobby (creative or not) can do you the world of good. It can build you back up and like most creative skills the next version will always be better stronger, more in line with your goals, as you have learned the basics, and know not only that but can recognise them before you go to far down the rabbit hole.

Find your pack; people who you can be yourself with, cause the goddess knows you will be in a blubbery mess when it all comes out. Use that and grow, fly on the wind of a new found freedom and keep soaring because we all know you are worth it.

If you wish to join and be part of a BRAND NEW Writing Community, that is absolutely FREE, then come along and sign up here: https://group.thecoffeehousewriter.com

Mandi