Thank you for posting this. The path to a diagnosis is a scary one. I went through a lot of ups and downs starting last fall while tracking down cancer-adjacent symptoms, and now have a diagnosis and a lifelong prescription to a blood-altering medication. I am glad you are living in a place with gardens and hopefully with clay. Imagining a life cut short by disease made it hard for me to consider what to do with clay, but my hands want to be in the stuff anyway. I hope you are well.
Thank you for reading Elliott. It’s true that a diagnosis such as this can completely alter the way we think about and approach life. My hope is to continue living the way I have been and to not let my health derail my life, as much as possible that is. Even if you change mediums the important thing is to keep creating. I spent much of these past few months doing digital work that I will turn into ceramic decals. Something I could do from bed on my most fatigued days, but something that kept me connected to my creative practice. We are all just living until we die after all. xx
Thanks for your response. My hope too is that I can respond to each challenge as it becomes real, and not put energy into what might happen. It's hard. With clay, it's the voice inside that evaluates things that worries about how the work finds the world, and that is a voice that I had to work to contain before this, too, so nothing has changed, really.
Like a teacher of mine told me: the clay will be there when you need it.
Thank you for posting this. The path to a diagnosis is a scary one. I went through a lot of ups and downs starting last fall while tracking down cancer-adjacent symptoms, and now have a diagnosis and a lifelong prescription to a blood-altering medication. I am glad you are living in a place with gardens and hopefully with clay. Imagining a life cut short by disease made it hard for me to consider what to do with clay, but my hands want to be in the stuff anyway. I hope you are well.
Thank you for reading Elliott. It’s true that a diagnosis such as this can completely alter the way we think about and approach life. My hope is to continue living the way I have been and to not let my health derail my life, as much as possible that is. Even if you change mediums the important thing is to keep creating. I spent much of these past few months doing digital work that I will turn into ceramic decals. Something I could do from bed on my most fatigued days, but something that kept me connected to my creative practice. We are all just living until we die after all. xx
Thanks for your response. My hope too is that I can respond to each challenge as it becomes real, and not put energy into what might happen. It's hard. With clay, it's the voice inside that evaluates things that worries about how the work finds the world, and that is a voice that I had to work to contain before this, too, so nothing has changed, really.
Like a teacher of mine told me: the clay will be there when you need it.