I realized rather late that one of the things I really wanted to do at Gaya was to continue to explore the concepts and techniques that I started to play with in China – so I had Made Bracuk make me moulds of my three Euclidian forms: the sphere, the cube and the prism – only this time much larger, moving from 8cm diameter to 14cm. I had the production centre make up some coloured clays – and away I went. Honestly – the frustration and disappointment has been intense, but also a big reminder to live in one of the guiding principles for my life: non-attachment. But – the great news is that I am learning and adjusting and working with all kinds of constraints I never thought I’d have to deal with – like the casting slip is not casting slip – it’s just porcelain, watered down. So unlike China, where you can pull a cast i 15 minutes, it took 24+ hours for each cast, and then another day to dry each piece to the point where I could decorate it with the transfer decals. I also read a very inspiring piece by Wouter Dam on patience and persistence – and realize that I am not spending enough time or taking the care needed to get the success that I’m striving for. I am invigorated to take it back to basics when I return home and start building up my skill arsenal to take things to another level.
