There is a lengthy cycle to making pottery. You throw the pot, then let it dry for a few days. When it is bone dry, you bisque fire it, and wait for the kiln to cool. You glaze the pots, and when they are dry, you load them back into the kiln. After glaze firing, you wait for them to cool again.

How they look in the end is a result of your actions, but you can never be sure how they will come out.

The cycle is much shorter in acrylic painting. You prep your canvas and apply the paint. It dries pretty quickly, and you can go back in and change things. 

I wanted my recent pots to look like acrylic paintings, but done in stoneware glaze. As a result, I was unhappy when I saw the finished pieces. It wasn’t that they looked particularly bad, it’s just that they looked different than I thought they would. 

So I learned a lot from that attempt.  I will bring this experience to the next batch of pots.

When I try too hard, I rarely succeed. I want to throw larger pots. I began having some success when I told myself I’m just making a planter for my new sunroom. That took the pressure off.