I found this really cool story, today! It is the story of a pot, told by that pot, about why it wasn't thrown away, even though it is broken. You can read the story here.

What a delightful way to think of things like broken crockery! What an interesting way to describe what such a piece of broken pottery can tell us today about life long ago!

What will your own pots say in ages to come? Do any of your wares tell a story, even now in the present? Please do share your own "Pot Tales"! Just write them up in a comment. Right now! Yes, you can do it!

Have you ever wanted a vacation to last forever? One potter is helping others take their vacation memories home with them. This article tells how Cheryl Liburd sends folks home from her pottery studio in the West Indies with luscious dishes, plates, tiles, and other pottery, all brightly decorated in ways to bring those West Indies memories back.

As potters, we can do that same service for others, too. What would you like your customers or pot recipients to take home with them?

And even further. What memories do you want to keep alive for yourself? How can you capture them in clay?

Consider this extra dimension the next time you sit down to the wheel or work table. And have fun!

What's coming up this month in the world of pottery? You can check out Ceramic Arts Daily 's May listing of events here. They also have listing of workshops, although these are separated out by place, not time. Don't forget to look in on the ClayStation, too. You can find various opportunities for potters on their calendar.

Want more, or want to find something closer to home? Contact your area art centers, council on the arts, and artist associations. Need help finding them? Ask you local art supply retailers. They almost always have a good idea of what's going on, too.

Happy May Potting!

I've been sneaking some time away to do my own pinching this week. I've got two little guys I can't wait to fire and post on our Share Your Pinch Pot thread over at the forum. Kate P has added a pic of her lovely pot. How about you?

Brushes aren't just for watercolors anymore! Or acrylics or oils, either!

That's right...brushes are (and have been) an integral part of creating pottery. They are used for slapping slip over scored lines when joining clay parts. They allow us to paint with slips, underglazes, glazes, and overglazes. They help us coat our kiln shelves with kiln wash. We use them for applying wax resist.

And yes, I admit I even use one when cleaning up clay dust from my work table.

Cornell Green of the Erie Time-News (Erie, PA) wrote an interesting article on how various people unplug from the stresses of life. (You can read Cornell's article here.) Three adults taking pottery classes at a local pottery studio were interviewed and spoke about how clay soothed their stresses.

In this hurly-burly world, creating pottery gives you time alone...just you and the clay. The clay allows you to relax, put aside the worries and frustrations of the day. A time to get away from the increasing demands on your time and attention.

I know for myself, centering clay on the wheel is analogous to giving myself time to center my Self. To get time away from the demands of cell phones, television, computer, job, and everything else. To find that quiet "voice" within.

Pottery isn't just about pretty bowls on the table. It is also about finding a place of quietude, refuge, and personal expression for yourself in your life. Are you ready to relax with pottery? Here are some articles that may help:

• Starting Out With Clay
• Where to Look for Pottery Classes
• What to Ask When Finding a Pottery Class

Well, I agree! Show off your pinch pot pottery! Ah-ha! I even have the perfect place! Come post your pinch pots, and see what other people have been doing, too! Just head on over to Share Your Pinch Pots!

Did you know that using the pinching method is probably the very first way people began to form with clay? It has an enormously long history behind it, going back at least 12,000 years.

Even contemporary pinch pots are often associated with a very rustic approach. Don't be fooled, though. The limits of these deceptively simple pots is really only the limit of the maker's vision, patience, and skill.

Would you like to know why pinch pots can be valuable to your growth as a potter? What kind of pottery pinching be create? Perhaps you would like some tips in how to create pinch pots? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Pinch Pot 101.

Pinch pots are wonderful little things! They can be rustic and downright primitive....They can be delicate and refined. They are a great way to spend an afternoon, or even just an hour.

Do you need a relaxing time away from it all, and need something new and hands-on to do? Try making your own pinch pot! All you need are your hands and a bit of clay.

When a loved one has died, it is a time of separation, grief, and readjustment. Coping with that loss can be truly difficult.

Marjorie and Eldon Hoachlander knew that Eldon, a physician, was dying. As they prepared for his death (which came in 2003), they discussed having his remains cremated, then used in creating pottery. It was a way to keep his presence close, and I suspect also a way to celebrate the beauty of his life.

The pottery created using Eldon's cremains has done just that. Marjorie has felt so much benefit, in fact, that she eventually created a company, Phoenix Memorial Art, which has been assisting grieving families find artists who can help them honor and remember their loved ones through the incorporation of their cremains in works of art.

Your first reaction may be, "how macabre", but after the initial shock of the idea, I must admit that I would prefer my own remains be used to create a thing of beauty, with the endurance that ancient pottery has shown as it has survived through thousands of years.

It would be a comfort to my own self as I prepare for death, and I hope also a comfort and reassurance to those I leave behind.