Week in Review: The workshop was the point

This week was spent in anticipation of the pottery workshop. I prepped for days - getting clay, tools, and texture sheets ready; googling and re-googling to make sure everything was prepped right; cleaning the house, making snacks, and so on.

And it went off without a hitch! It was such a nice time. The attendees were fun, the attendees were creative, and we flowed for hours just making things with our hands.

For many months, (eight, to be exact), I talked about hosting a workshop. I wanted to gather people together sooo badly, provide a safe space for them to tap into their creativity again, and yet…. I chickened out every time. The timing wasn’t right, the house was too messy, I wasn’t equipped to teach a group, and yada yada yada with more excuses.

Eventually in November/December, I swallowed my pride, chose the dream over the ego, and got to planning. Physical preparation was easy - cleaning, buying the supplies, getting things set up. However, the mental preparation was tougher. I don’t like being in the leader seat, in the pulpit, telling people what to do. I like being a moderator, part of a board, mutually exchanging and connecting with a group. I was throwing myself out of my comfort zone and felt ill-equipped to step into the role.

The time inevitably came, and we all sat down at the table to begin the demonstration. Okay, here goes. I showed them how to roll out the clay, how to compress it, cut it, and attach it to itself if desired. I pointed out the water cups, the texture sheets, all the various tools, and that was it. Three minutes of simple guidance and I let them loose. Was it too little? I hesitated. But they ran with it. And by ran with it, I mean RAN with it. They immediately got to work, and for three straight hours, they churned out art.

They didn’t need to be told what to do, they didn’t need a leader. They needed materials, a few basic instructions, and the time and space to be in creative flow. Wasn’t that all I wanted to provide from the get-go? As I sat there, crafting and listening to them chat, I shook my head at myself. I had been so focused on me and my home, worrying for months about what we could provide, that I completely underestimated the third force in the equation - the attendees. Without them, the event would have been nothing. It literally would have been nothing. They carried the workshop.

A coach I follow, Mami Onami, breaks everything into three forces: Neutral, Passive, and Active. The Neutral force = the setting of the event; the Passive force = what is transforming during the event; and the Active force = the will of the event.

Since I was the one planning and seeing the event through, I viewed myself as the active force, my home as the setting/neutral force, and the attendees as the passive force, waiting to be inspired/transformed from my workshop. However, I had it completely wrong. As cheesy as this sounds, I wasn’t the one transforming the attendees, they were the ones transforming me. They were the reason and the driving force for the event, not me. They were the active, I was the passive.

And realizing that was special for me. It was inspiring to be around people who were willing to put themselves out there, attend a random event from Instagram, come with a great attitude, and make some really cool pieces, cooler than most of the pieces I’ve ever made. I am grateful for the opportunity to have hosted these people and have a mutual exchange after all. It was very pleasant and I look forward to hosting many more (ᵔ◡ᵔ)

And I guess that was the point the whole time, huh?

With Love,

Hannah