Many things to contemplate. What is a mission? Is it a calling, a goal, a pilgrimage?  A task, a style of furniture, a place? What does it mean to choose? A decision, a weighing of possible outcomes, a judging of value or dismissal of worth, usefulness or importance ?

And to revisit. There is an elusive quality to the final result of atmospheric firing. You see one area that is so delicious, and then there are areas that fail to make the grade. The surface is touched by the fire, which gives it a different feel. I may have to learn to separate the feeling I have for the process from the final work. I do have a love hate relationship with all of the processes. From the work on the wheel, the altering afterwards and then of course the arduous task of firing. I love the fire, and I feel such anxiety about reaching the cone temperature. I know I am not alone there, but I have been alone in these firings. I would hate to be responsible for someone else’s work in my kiln. Really, I don’t want the pressure of having anyone here. I’m thinking that putting a window on an oven was a really big deal! Being able to glimpse the interior and it’s goings on. Stacking the kiln, then bricking up the door, well it leads to an anticipation that is a combination of Christmas morning and bracing for an impact.

There is no real connection between imagine, understand and know. And there is no understanding what exactly the mission is.