when’s the last time you let yourself learn something new, just for the sake of learning, being curious, inquisitive ... allowing yourself to just simply play and explore? after a therapy session a few months ago I found myself asking myself this very question ... after pondering sitting with this reflection I decided to sign up for an @artshackbrooklyn Intro to Wheel for POC Adults class I had been eyeing for quite some time We just wrapped up our last class this week and after learning how to center, open the clay, play with shaping, and trim, this cute lil vase was my very first finished pottery piece 😊 I glazed it with a robin egg glaze during our last class as we sipped wine and celebrated the wonderful space we had created for each other to exist vulnerably as we learned a new craft alongside each other ... can’t wait to see how it turns out cheers to treating yourself to exploration, a learning journey, a new experience, something playful just for the sake of playing A lil pottery history lesson, cuz she’s that gurl 🤓 Sometime between 6,000 and 4,000 BC, the first potter’s wheel was invented in Mesopotamia. This brought about a revolution in the way ancient people could create items out of clay. No longer were pottery makers restricted to the long process of hand molding clay — they were then able to have more freedom in experimenting with new forms and aesthetics. The first mechanical potter’s wheel wasn’t invented until the 19th century, so the first manual potter’s wheel was truly a lasting innovation Dried in the sun in the past, nowadays, pottery is heated through the use of a kiln. It’s widely accepted that the ancient Egyptians created the first kilns, lined with bricks made with clay and straw for insulation. They were also among the first to glaze their pottery before firing. Much like their modern equivalent, this glaze gave the pottery a glass-like sheen and texture and made the item non-porous #ceramics #pottery #clay