As a Jew, I have always left a small part undone as a way of showing that creation is not yet complete. It's also a way of acknowledging the importance of the Temple in Jewish practice.
I took pottery classes for a decade and became pretty attached to some of my pieces, suffering if they got chipped. Then in New Mexico I met a man in his late seventies, a jewelry artist and traditional healer, and he told me that for him, an unblemished piece doesn't have soul. It is dead, lifeless. Once it wears its own marks, to him it is more alive, more precious. His favorite mugs are the chipped ones, the cracked ones. That rearranged my cosmos in a fast minute. I can't say that I like the chips yet, but thanks to him I can hold them in a different way. Or at least begin to. This man is also a poet—no coincidence, I'm guessing.
As a Jew, I have always left a small part undone as a way of showing that creation is not yet complete. It's also a way of acknowledging the importance of the Temple in Jewish practice.
I love that! : ) A kind of altar.
Lovely piece of writing Danusha. Looking forward to the workshop this summer!
So much to chew on here, and how I have learned to live my life. Loved this.
I took pottery classes for a decade and became pretty attached to some of my pieces, suffering if they got chipped. Then in New Mexico I met a man in his late seventies, a jewelry artist and traditional healer, and he told me that for him, an unblemished piece doesn't have soul. It is dead, lifeless. Once it wears its own marks, to him it is more alive, more precious. His favorite mugs are the chipped ones, the cracked ones. That rearranged my cosmos in a fast minute. I can't say that I like the chips yet, but thanks to him I can hold them in a different way. Or at least begin to. This man is also a poet—no coincidence, I'm guessing.