‘Hats off,’ I had an occasion to say to myself and to my sister, when my four ceramics pieces were fetched. Last month she had the idea of giving me a ceramics workshop as a birthday gift and we went over to a local ceramicist for it. First we formed, and then we glazed. ‘No shit,’ I thought, ‘this is art,’ I then further thought, given that I have zero experience in this field. The bowl you see lots of pictures of here is my first. I didn’t use a wheel and I had close to no instruction. I just sat in a chair and got my hands in the mud. But what glory came out of it! The ‘chalice’ is almost a whole oracle in itself, what with many faces coming out of it: fish, the Madonna, Santa Muerte, and dancing fairies are all in the bowl. The other three vessels are for incense burning. I’m in love, and I’m filled with gratitude. My four pieces are very photogenic and they serve just the function they were intended for, though I have to admit that I went to the workshop utterly unprepared. It goes to show. If I weren’t an old hag already, I would consider making stuff like this in my next career, swearing to myself that I have talent. Closer to truth, what I have is an obsessive appreciation for nanban yakishime pottery, but I never thought I’d fall in love with what I got to make myself on first try. Now I wonder what’s next, as I’ve been looking at a thing called, ‘Mars raku glazing.’ I have to make a deal with the lord of time, though, as I wasn’t counting on this fun to occupy my days. Wish me luck.