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#267 Should You Take A Break From Pottery?
37 Plays2 years ago
On this episode I talk about if you should take a break from pottery. Will taking a break actually help you discover your own unique pottery voice? I answer all of these questions in todays episode. Listen to this episode to learn more
The Questions we ask will determine how our pottery will look like that's why I created a Free 15 questions to help you discover your voice template go grab it here www.shapingyourpottery.com/questions
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Transcript
Introduction to Finding Your Pottery Voice
00:00:01
Speaker
Will taking a break help you with discovering your own unique pottery voice? What is up, shaping nation? This is Nick Torres here. And for those that don't know me, it is my mission to help potters like yourself to discover your own unique voice with your pottery.
The Role of Breaks in Style Discovery
00:00:17
Speaker
this episode I'm going to be talking about whether or not you should be taking a break and if taking a break from pottery or maybe just from what you're making will actually help you discover your own unique pottery voice. I see this a lot on Instagram or maybe even people I'm interviewing as well where
00:00:38
Speaker
they are one of the things that they contribute to their success is taking a break or they're they're feeling burnt out from whatever they're making so they decide to take a break from that but a lot of people struggle with taking a break because in their mind
Personal Experiences with Burnout and Breaks
00:00:59
Speaker
They think that if they take a break, then all that progress that they've made, it's just going to go down the drain. Whatever progress you're doing, maybe you are trying to start your own pottery business. Maybe you have your pottery business and you have stuff that is selling well, but whatever it is that you are doing, they think that if you take a break,
00:01:20
Speaker
everything will go down the drain and like if you're feeling burnt out they feel like if they take a break then they won't be able to get back into pottery or to where they were if they were taking a break or even if you simply taking a break from what they are making they don't think that if they they take a break it would everything will go downhill but I think in my opinion
00:01:46
Speaker
that taking a break will actually lead you to discovering your own unique voice with your pottery. The reason why I say this is because I have kind of felt it myself and I know a lot of other people have probably felt it themselves as well. I was kind of feeling a little burnt out with what I was making before.
00:02:09
Speaker
And I couldn't really picture... I was going through the motions. I couldn't really do the things to my full capability because I was just going through the motions. I liked wheel throwing at the time. And I just kept throwing on the wheel, throwing the wheel, throwing the wheel, trying to get better, trying to get better.
00:02:28
Speaker
I hit that like plateau almost, and I just felt like I needed a break. I needed a break from throwing on the wheel, from even making pottery for a little bit.
Discovering New Passions through Breaks
00:02:38
Speaker
I didn't take that long of a break, but because I hit that plateau, I decided that I needed that break. I needed that break because if I didn't have that break, I probably wouldn't have evolved my wheel throw skills. And then at the same time, a little later,
00:02:58
Speaker
I still was feeling going through the motion, so I decided to take a break from making the pottery that I'm making. And I started experimenting with something else. There are a couple different types of breaks that you could take with your pottery. The first break that you could take is literally just taking a break where you're not making anything. The second break is you can take a break where you are experimenting. You're not making what you normally make, but you're experimenting and doing other things.
00:03:26
Speaker
And that's what I started doing. I started making other things. And that's how I actually discovered that I like to sculpt characters, my own little characters. And that's how I discovered that is because I stopped focusing so much on trying to make wheel throwing stuff. And because other people were doing it and I thought that wheel throwing was the one all be all.
The Importance of Happiness and Avoiding Burnout
00:03:50
Speaker
But once I decided to take a break from that, that's when I discovered my true love for sculpting. And you can apply that in your own way as well. If you are feeling a little bit burnt out with what you are making or maybe you were just feeling burnt out from making pottery in general, take a break. It's okay to take a break. These breaks are essential and they're going to lead you to discovering new ideas with your pottery.
00:04:20
Speaker
Because at the end of the day, what matters most is that we are happy with what we are making. If you aren't happy with what you're making, then what is the point? You have to be happy about what you are making. So if you're feeling burnt out, or maybe you just want to start changing up your pottery style a little bit, go do that.
00:04:40
Speaker
There's no point in trying to keep making the pottery that you aren't having love for anymore. You're not feeling the soul for it anymore. Go take a break from it. Go take a break for a month, a year, whatever. You could come back and you could start doing new things. You start doing different things. Because we all have time. Time's all on our side. And if you can decide now that you are going to take a break,
00:05:07
Speaker
you will see the benefits in the long run. I want you to think about this for a second. So let's say you are hitting that point where you feel like you need a break but you don't want to stop. You feel like if you stop, everything is going to go downhill if you take a break. But on the opposite end, what happens if you don't take a break?
Benefits of Breaks: Refreshment and Innovation
00:05:28
Speaker
If you don't take a break, here's what I think will happen. You're going to end up hating pottery more or whatever you were making
00:05:36
Speaker
You're not going to be able to communicate with your customers or to communicate with the people that are actually buying the pottery as well because you're not feeling the pottery yourself. You're losing yourself because you think that if you stop, all progress is going to be lost. But on the flip side, if you do take a break,
00:05:59
Speaker
What's going to happen, you're going to feel more refreshed. You're going to feel like you can get new ideas. You could come back and be ready to make pottery again. Taking a break is essential to helping us find our own unique pottery voice. We just have to be more strategic about taking breaks.
Resources for Potters: Free Booklet
00:06:16
Speaker
I hope you guys enjoy this episode and I'll see you guys in the next one.
00:06:20
Speaker
Thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. If you want to start discovering your own unique voice, you must first start with the right questions. That's why I put together a free 15 question booklet for you to start discovering your own unique pottery voice. All you have to do is go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash questions to get this free booklet.