I have now made it all the way to the fifth Beatles album, which is about halfway through all their albums, I believe. It has been a goal of mine to listen to all of their albums in order, and the best time to listen is when I am doing pottery. The Beatles really have helped me with creativity this year and now is the time when I start lacking in it. For some reason, I went into the school year with so many great ideas for pottery but then right around now, I hit a slump. I start to think I am out of ideas and I forget about why I ever wanted to do pottery in the first place. I mean, I really like pottery, but what’s the point? Am I just making it for the purpose of making it or do I have another reason? I’ve always felt like if there’s not a specific purpose for something I’m doing, then it’s not worth it. Sometimes I feel as though I am throwing on the pottery wheel just for the heck of it and I tell myself that is not a good reason to throw. I wish I could just be okay with not having a reason to create. I tell myself that if I am making pottery, maybe I should be selling it or teaching other people how to do it or showcasing it somewhere. There’s no point in making a bunch of pottery just for it to lay around my house. But this isn’t true. I forget that it is okay to not always have a reason and sometimes that is good because it means you are doing a practice because you enjoy it. But my point is that whenever I start to feel this way, I stop thinking of what to make when I throw. I lose motivation to make things because I feel that I have no use for it. I tell myself that I don’t need to make some random bowl, because I’ll never use it. In reality, I need to remind myself that it’s not always about the function of something, it’s more about the art. It’s not important to keep random pieces I make and let a collection grow overtime. Instead it is important to continue the practice of pottery because I know it brings me joy. So, last week I made a lot of pieces, most of them ended up being destroyed because I practiced letting go of the idea that my pieces needed to serve a purpose. Instead I simply created, just to create.