I was gifted a Kintsugi kit at Christmas and I’m finally ready to give it a go. I’ve got three plates I’m considering using it on and would love any tips, hints, or things you wish you’d known before starting. If you’ve tried it before, I’d absolutely love to see photos of your pieces too 👀 In my last kiln opening, I had two plates crack quite badly—both broke in half. I’d love to keep them as glaze references, so I’m hoping to repair them so they’re complete and safe to handle rather than sharp. However there are also some additional cracks visible on the back, so I’m wondering… 👉 Do I leave those as they are? 👉 Or is it better to break the piece further so I can repair everything properly? I've seen recommendations to sand the joins significantly before starting the process- is this to make sure that there is sufficient room for the glue to 'fill' a crack? Ive got visions it wont all align up afterwards! LOL I also have a little trinket dish that Nat at MudMagic sent to me which broke in transit so want to try to repair - but I don't want to mess it up! I’d be really interested to hear how well these kits actually work in practice if anyone has used them before. It comes with a two part glue, and three metallic powders. Any advice, experience, or photos would be amazing 💛

With our lives being chaotic it is so important to focus on joy. Perhaps it is the taste of a biscotti dipped in morning coffee, a flower or leaf that wasn’t there the day before, the feeling of sunshine on your face, a creative moment, a stroll through a park or downtown or walk in the beach, or watching young ones at play. For us this week Shane and I went to a friends studio and did an impasto class. I could feel the joy all day long. My wish is for each of us to actively boost our joy in some small way each day.

I’m borrowing this from @Ronda Bynon, who said during the call that this community feels like CREATIVITY on steroids, and honestly, she is absolutely right.🤪 What was supposed to be a one hour recap of NCECA Detroit with @Clare Fuchs, @Renée Glasgow, and @Ona Papageorgiou beautifully guided by @Jeanette Stevens, turned into almost two hours full of inspiration, information, and excitement.✨🤸🏻‍♂️ Now I already feel like there is no way I will be able to experience everything Baltimore has to offer. Not just NCECA itself, but also meeting all of you, which will be such an important and special part of this journey, along with hopefully some successful pottery shopping 😄 It was a wonderful call.🥰 We recorded the part that focused on NCECA, and we will upload it to YouTube as an unlisted video. You will be able to watch it either here or via the link, whatever works best for you. Jeanette will share the link in Discord as soon as it is ready.🚀 Thank you all for your participation, your curiosity, your input, and the constant support you give each other. This community is something really special.💝 I truly love it 💛

I don’t know about y’all, but most of my pottery journey (years in fact) have been spent in my studio in somewhat isolation. I go into the studio and let the clay become - sometimes it’s amazing and sometimes it slop in a bucket. However, this journey is blossoming. It started with Mystie contacting me and asking if we could meet up as she was visiting south Mississippi, then almost simultaneously Suza created this Skool group and Jeannette organized the NCECA Baltimore Discord (which is a post entirely on its own), and now me stepping out and traveling to meet and spend time with Angela. If you have the opportunity to spend time in another potter’s journey, I highly recommend seizing it. The joy I experienced getting to be present for a kiln unload that wasn’t mine, sharing my knowledge and experience, then being taught skills I did not possess were fabulous. And the joy of sharing meals, hanging out, playing games (Angela got to see my ugly competitiveness lol). I am also truly grateful to our respective spouses because we literally threw them together and burrowed into her studio. Thanks guys! 💗 My cup and heart are full. Now I’m returning home to the rest of my break, and I expect for this joy to flow into my pots. May joy flow into yours too!

I think this is something we struggle with over and over again: accepting gifts. And it is kind of crazy, because we know how full our hearts feel when we give something to someone and make them happy 💛 And yet, on the other side, we find it so hard to receive. I believe it has a lot to do with self worth. I have reflected on this many times before. And the topic came up again recently. I even found myself tearing up while watching that video of @Natalie Duff receiving those textured rollers from @Lori Turner. That was so kind and heartwarming🥹 And it made me realize that maybe we should stop resisting the love that others are trying to give us. They simply want to show us how much they appreciate us, how much we mean to them, and to bring us joy ✨ And if we block that or push it away, we might even take away their joy of giving. Maybe it is time we allow that in 🤍 I wish you all a beautiful day. May we accept every smile, every gift, and every kind word that comes our way today 🌸 And we do not always have to balance it out with a gift or a return. We do not have to earn it. We can simply receive it for what it is 🌿 Let us learn to do that. Let us work on it, together 💫