words by Beans Bonsall
Illustration by Joe Scordo
Skating and pot making are both about brief instances in time. A place where thought, intention, and action converge into something personal and expressive. They are both about the moments.
It is said that skill is when your expectations match your results. Any skateboarder can understand the insanity that goes into learning a new trick. Not only landing a trick, but doing it to match your intention. An expression of personal style. Creating moments.
My approach to ceramics has always been guided by the creation of a mental “checklist”, which has evolved from deliberate choices to almost instinctual movements, ultimately revealing my personal style.
I compare this to skating in the way where these conscious decisions become something physical, second nature. With the desired results in mind, the body takes over. While throwing on the potters wheel, I’ll tap into each individual fingertip to feel what needs to happen and when. Similar to skating. Applying pressure at the right time, in the right place, keeping the desired results in mind.
The potters wheel and a skateboard are simple objects, but both deeply personal. Anyone can ride a skateboard, but when you see certain people doing it, everything just makes sense. The act of turning something simple into something profound. Once you’ve learned to throw a pot or land a trick, that’s only the beginning. Anyone could make a perfect cylinder or do a kickflip, and maybe that’s your goal. But it’s the personal style or expression that follows which resonates.
Hiroshi Nakayama is the perfect example of this. He uses the potters wheel as a tool to create innovative pieces causing others to question how it is even possible. He takes the potters wheel as a tool beyond its traditional bounds. Just like skating, it’s about transforming a simple tool into an expression of innovation and individuality. Both while making and skating, it is important to embrace failure. The physical process is the focus, and the results follow.
While in ceramics the results are more “permanent” and tangible. You can see, feel, and use the finished piece. In skating, the results are more abstract. Fleeting moments of accomplishment or progression. It may be landing a trick, putting a line together, or filming a clip. It doesn’t matter. The intention which brought you to that point holds the meaning. The moments.
