are you creating or are you just following instructions?

as i’m pet sitting right now at a friend’s house, i saw this spiral bowl i made once in a hand building pottery class a few years ago. it was my first hand building project i ever built and was a bit of a ~journey (anxiety, stress, and, of course, some tears… you know, the usual creative process) and the result is imperfect in all its glory.

i gifted it after that class to a friend who appreciates it more than i ever could. when i see it, i’m reminded of a process i didn’t like: sure my hands built it but the project was not my idea, i merely followed steps laid before me.

since i’ve been experimenting with hand built ceramics more this year on my own with air dry clay, i got to reminiscing a bit and then wrote this essay in relation to all of this.

i think when it comes to ‘creating’ anything, the key is to actually… have the idea. you can get ~inspiration from somewhere but the specific idea to make it your own and the process you go through to build it must be your own. following instructions may be a good way to learn but if you stick to the ‘steps’ and rules too closely you’re not actually being creative.