Although the jar in today’s image cracked as it was heated in the firing it is still held together by fire and ash. There is a fierceness to the fragility. The cracks in it speak a sharp language but are vocalizing with a soft voice. I think part of my job is to emphasize that this is compelling. When I put the foot-long Philodendron Monstera leaves, reminiscent of Matisse-esque cutouts, into the cracked vase it takes on even more focus and significance.
I remember as an undergrad my teacher at the time was trying to get me to be a better craftsperson. They felt my trimming was too messy, especially when I often left bits of clay inside the foot. One day someone brought several Sung dynasty Chinese bowls into school. We sat in an office admiring the feeling and touch of the bowls. I began to pick at a bit of trimmed clay that was stuck inside the foot of the antique bowl. I was admonished for doing so because that clay spoke of those Chinese potters. Later I wondered if I left a bit of clay inside the foot of a bowl why didn’t that speak of my hand and my moment in time.
“nothing is ordinary now even when it is ordinary.” Embedded in her poetry she writes, “is my secret work, to be worthy of…this infinite discourse where everything is interesting because you point it out and say, Isn’t that interesting?”
–Ada Limon quoted by Lauren Leblanc in her article “All Writing Is Basically Failure”: Ada Limón Reckons With Poetry in Today’s World, Vanity Fair, 5/9/2022
So ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
― Leonard Cohen, Anthem