Friends,

The Back Road Christmas Trail ended at the close of November. My back went out. The kilns mostly cooperated. And I ended up learning more about trust and generosity than I expected.

Running on Fumes

The week before the show I was behind on everything. Pots still needed glazing. Candle cups were waiting. I had just come back from a three day wood firing at Bill Moon’s kiln. I was tired but had picked up more knowledge about draft ports and listening to a kiln breathe.

I almost talked myself out of showing up. Too tired, too behind, too unprepared. But showing up is the practice. Not showing up when it is easy. Just showing up. So I went.

Cold Winds and Hard Honesty

Day one of the Back Road Christmas Trail was cold. Snow flurries, thin sun, strong wind. The night before I had unloaded the kiln and found pinholes in the glaze on ten of sixteen larger pieces. The kiln cooled too fast. Even with the kaowool packed around the base to block the wind.

I made a video about it and explained what went wrong. When you make things by hand, some things fail. Being honest about the mistakes shows the process has weak spots. It shows you are human.

I made one sale that day. But I met my goal. Showing up and saying “see, look what I made” is a kind of generosity toward yourself. Making things for people who care extends that generosity outward.

Trust Over Rules

By the last day I saw something I had not noticed before. Last year I required each shop to donate certain items for the prize basket. Clear rules, clear demands. I got what I asked for and nothing more.

This year I covered the marketing myself. Donations for the basket were optional. Folks could give if they wanted.

The result was more donations than ever. Far more than last year’s required list.

It felt like throwing with tense hands versus relaxed hands. Fight the clay and it fights back. Work with it and it becomes something better.

Give freely and others give freely. Trust and you receive trust back. Show up open and people answer with generosity. Good vessels, whether made from clay or people, come from gentle pressure and patience.

Flat on My Back

Right after the show ended, my back gave out. Not from the wood firing. Not from loading kilns at three in the morning. From putting on my shoes.

I spent days flat on the floor typing on my phone. The screen kept flipping between vertical and horizontal because I refused to get up and lock the setting.

While lying there I thought about how I stand to throw pots because I worry about back pain later in life. I lift correctly. I try to take care of myself. Still, a few times a year my back slips over the smallest things.

The body keeps score. Twelve hour shifts at the factory. Wood firings. Last minute rushes. Sometimes it just says “enough.”

The Greeks had a word for it. Ponos. Toil and pain that pushes you forward. Almost ten years of ponos at the pottery, and I would do all of it again.

No Kiln Gods

While recovering I wrote about kiln gods keeping me humble. I was wrong. There are no kiln gods. No trimming gods. No glaze gods. The kiln does math, not magic. You control the schedule, the airflow, the climb, the cooling.

If I had cooled that kiln slower and sheltered it better, the pinholes might not have happened. That is on me, not fate. Taking responsibility feels better than blaming luck.

Back to Work

I did get a small break. My wife and I visited a few Christmas markets and had a quiet date without pottery deadlines or factory shifts.

Now I am back in the studio. Another holiday event is coming on Saturday. Candle cups need glazing. One more firing to do. After that I want to pause and look at things again. Mission statement. Guiding principles. Core values. The change I seek to make.

Many creators ask “who is it for” and “what is it for.” Not many ask “what change do I seek to make.” That question may guide my new year.

What Comes Next

The pottery turns ten in February. I want year ten to be the wood kiln year. I want to finish the build and fire my own work in it.

I am also thinking about these daily writings. Almost seven hundred entries now. Maybe they do not all need to be daily diary posts. Maybe I keep writing each day for myself, but only publish the pieces that matter.

We will see. For now, I am grateful for everyone who came to the Christmas show, each shop that joined the trail, and everyone who reads these reflections from a potter doing his best.

From the Kiln

This month I learned to trust the process in clay and in community. I learned that free giving creates more generosity than demands. I learned that honest failures bring people closer than perfect successes. And I learned that there are no kiln gods. Just us, showing up, doing the work, and learning from what does not go as planned.

That is enough. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Al Wayman
Creek Road Pottery
Laceyville, PA

If I live to be eighty six, I may have twelve thousand four hundred eighty eight days left. Today was one of them.

What I Am Reading

I am still working through Greek Tragedy by Elizabeth Vandiver. Only three actors played all the roles. It has me thinking about the many parts we play in a single day, from factory worker to potter to organizer to writer. How many of those scripts do we write ourselves?

Workshop Update

I finished the pottery cohort with Amy Plainick. Free time has opened up. Now I have no excuse not to finish that wood kiln arch in the spring.

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