Maybe Iβm sentimental, maybe Iβm just bad at throwing stuff away, or maybe itβs because the house I grew up in has too much storage space (e.g. my mom has dozens of boxes of decorations for every occasion and my dad has many thousands of tools). Whatever the root cause, the result is that I have a lot of random things. And these things have been schlepped, by me, all around the world. My compulsion to hoard doesnβt mesh well with my habit of frequently moving.
One small item in my collection is this angry little note from 2004 written by my former ceramics professor Ron Kovach. It was penned (penciled) while I was between pieces and I had just cleaned & organized my area* β this paper was waiting for me the next day.
I canβt say why I kept this ephemeral note. It wasnβt of any consequence at the time and there was no reason to not just throw it away. But seeing the note again after nearly twenty years both reminds me of my past and is inspiring like a motivational poster. It’s similar to those prints that say things like βhang in thereβ or βperseveranceβΒ β this implies the same idea, but passive-aggressively.
Get to work. Make something. Anything. Just work.
* Reflecting on the amazing studio space and unlimited resources I had as a student makes present me jealous of past me.
P.S.β As of this writing, there is a lot of work happening on my table π