In this lesson, I learnt that it was muchharder to keep a straight and upright form when coiling a cylindrical form and that it was easier to go astray with the form. But what does the potter desire, really? Of course I would have to agree that one should master the 'right' form first, before venturing to other designs. The virginal beauty of a perfect, upright form can never be denied. But one can't scoff at the beauty of a form gone astray either. A perfect form may demonstrate the potter's skill and control, but an imperfectly formed vessel may perfectly demonstrate a potter's creativity and character. It may even be more challenging to control a form that has gone astray. Personally, I find that it more pleasurable to listen to the clay and let it create it's own desired form. I get my inspirations during the process, not before it. The ideas build on as the coils build up. Clones of perfect pots are not for me as I seek to find perfection through imperfection, where the ideal state may be perfectly imperfect.
"It belongs to the imperfection of everything human that man can only attain his desire by passing through the opposite." Soren Kierkegaard
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