The Stages Of Learning a New Skill

Today was supposed to be a full ceramics day but I came home mid-afternoon to pay home bills and unsnarl my medical bills. *Sigh*. Paperwork just made me tired and aggravated, so back to ceramics!

Whenever you attempt to learn a new skill you pass through a couple of distinct stages in the process. At first--no matter what you're learning--the teacher gives you instructions on how to do something, and you blindly follow them with no understanding of what they mean and no physical feeling of doing them correctly. Then comes the moment where your brain connects to whatever part of your body is trying to pick-up the new skill, e.g. your hands, and the brain remembers the instructions, and the hands know the feel of what they're supposed to do. Oh they probably can't do it yet, but they can feel where they're going. Or it could be your mouth as you pronounce a new language or sing a song. Whatever the body part is, the practice begins. You can feel your mistakes, and you frustratedly fumble around trying to overcome them. You get to the point where you can concentrate and will your body into a posture or series of actions to get the result you want. Eventually--if you practice enough--you get to the point where you don't think with your conscious mind anymore about doing anything, you just do it, and it flows as naturally as breathing.

Today I had the moment while I was throwing the clay where I could feel both where it was and where it should be as I manipulated it. I could feel when I did something that was going to cause the piece to fail before it failed. I am still abysmal at correcting my errors and saving the piece, but I am on the path and can see what it will feel like to succeed.

Now if I could just throw pieces with thick enough bottoms that they could be something other than flower pots.