A Series on Self-Reliance in the Studio: Part 2

For sure, I am no expert on hardship. I’m just a normal person like you who meets challenges each day. Self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and sustainability are things we might already think about and have built skill for without even realizing. The quicker you can get a bird’s eye view of your situation you might be able to work out some solutions to your hardships. I find that having a good, positive attitude helps, and also a few drops of humor if needed.

The first step is taking stock of what you already have. Not what you wish you had or what you think you need, what’s actually here right now. I did this exercise yesterday by walking through the studio and writing down every resource I could use if things got harder. Five hundred pounds of reclaim clay. Enough glaze materials to mix batches for a year. Scrap wood for kiln firing. Old electric kilns that could be converted. Shelves full of test tiles showing what works and what doesn’t.

Then I looked at skills. I know how to wedge clay by hand. I can mix glazes from raw materials. I’ve built kilns before, which means I can build them again. I know how to fire with wood when gas gets expensive. I can reprocess clay scraps when new clay can’t ship. These aren’t special skills. They’re just things I learned because at some point I had to.

The pottery business has always operated on thin margins. Clay suppliers raise prices. Propane costs fluctuate. Shipping gets expensive. Shows get canceled. This isn’t new hardship, it’s the same hardship with a different face. The skills that got me through before, those are the skills that will get me through again.

What I found surprising was how much I already had that I’d forgotten about. Materials stored in corners. Tools I bought years ago and never used. Knowledge I picked up from Jack Troy’s books or from other potters that’s been sitting dormant, waiting for the moment I actually needed it.

Self-reliance doesn’t mean doing everything alone. It means knowing what you can do yourself and what you need help with. I can mix clay. I can’t mine it from the ground, at least not yet. I can fire a kiln. I can’t build a gas reduction kiln without help from people who’ve done it before. I can make pots. I can’t make them if I’m so exhausted from trying to do everything myself that I never actually sit at the wheel.

The bird’s eye view shows you what’s possible with what you have. Not someday when conditions are perfect, right now with what’s in your studio. The 500 pounds of reclaim clay means I don’t need to order new clay for months. The wood pile means I can fire when gas prices spike. The skills mean I can adapt when things change.

This isn’t about preparing for some apocalyptic future. It’s about looking clearly at what’s already here and recognizing you’re more prepared than you think. The grasshopper wasn’t unprepared because he didn’t have enough. He was unprepared because he didn’t know what he had or how to use it.

So take stock. Walk through your studio. Write down what’s there. Not what you wish was there. What’s actually there. Then write down what you know how to do. Not what you wish you knew. What you actually know. You might be surprised how much you’re already working with.

If I were living yesterday a second time: I’ll start using some of those materials I found in corners instead of ordering new ones just because it’s easier.

Things I am grateful for: Five hundred pounds of reclaim clay I forgot I had. Old tools that still work. Knowledge from books and other potters sitting dormant, ready when I need it.

Days remaining if I live to 86: 12,742

What resources do you already have that you’ve forgotten you have?

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