I recently read an article* about the trend of doing the harder thing now so that you’ll have an easier time later; a movement gaining traction in self-improvement circles. The author set up the article by describing how an increasing number of people are backing into parking spots rather than simply pulling in so that your future self can “reap the benefits” of getting out faster. This isn’t an entirely new concept, as people have been going to bed early, saving for retirement, packing lunches the night before, and tidying up the house before bed for many years, all in an attempt to help their future selves. Often, such tasks don’t stick because it takes a fair amount of discipline to do something boring or difficult now for an unknown future self. There is no way to predict that you will actually benefit from all the work.
The article made me think about how the idea of future planning is much of what we do in ceramics. Everything about it is baked into our processes: ribbing rolled slabs, compressing floors of wheel-thrown pieces, adding coils to joined parts, wedging, reclaim, and the list goes on. Ceramic artists are nearly always working in advance of a future object. We are not painters or wood sculptors, whose results are immediate. We work toward something that is a guess, a hope, a vision. Sure, we get good at those guesses, but the future planning never stops. One only stays in ceramics if they enjoy both the process of discipline and discipline of process.
In this issue, we celebrate wheel throwing and all the future planning that it requires. Matt Hiller (A), our cover artist, teaches us the process of first creating a pour-over coffee set, then adding a cohesive surface decoration to both. Noel Bailey takes us through his approach to his unique, handle-over-the-top teapot design. Frank James Fisher (B, C) returns to demo how he turns a plate rim into a frame, then adds a layered graphic design in the center. Lyndee Deal (D) debuts her two-piece, see-through mug, which is full of color and play. And, Ted Neal (E, F) shows us how he creates his signature buttressed vases and shares the recipes he uses when wood firing to create a metallic surface.
One could argue that reading this issue is also a bit of future planning. After all, it is the first step in creating your own version of the pieces described above. Happy making! (*New York Times, Feb. 21, 2026.)
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I recently read an article* about the trend of doing the harder thing now so that you’ll have an easier time later; a movement gaining traction in self-improvement circles. The author set up the article by describing how an increasing number of people are backing into parking spots rather than simply pulling in so that your future self can “reap the benefits” of getting out faster. This isn’t an entirely new concept, as people have been going to bed early, saving for retirement, packing lunches the night before, and tidying up the house before bed for many years, all in an attempt to help their future selves. Often, such tasks don’t stick because it takes a fair amount of discipline to do something boring or difficult now for an unknown future self. There is no way to predict that you will actually benefit from all the work.
The article made me think about how the idea of future planning is much of what we do in ceramics. Everything about it is baked into our processes: ribbing rolled slabs, compressing floors of wheel-thrown pieces, adding coils to joined parts, wedging, reclaim, and the list goes on. Ceramic artists are nearly always working in advance of a future object. We are not painters or wood sculptors, whose results are immediate. We work toward something that is a guess, a hope, a vision. Sure, we get good at those guesses, but the future planning never stops. One only stays in ceramics if they enjoy both the process of discipline and discipline of process.
In this issue, we celebrate wheel throwing and all the future planning that it requires. Matt Hiller (A), our cover artist, teaches us the process of first creating a pour-over coffee set, then adding a cohesive surface decoration to both. Noel Bailey takes us through his approach to his unique, handle-over-the-top teapot design. Frank James Fisher (B, C) returns to demo how he turns a plate rim into a frame, then adds a layered graphic design in the center. Lyndee Deal (D) debuts her two-piece, see-through mug, which is full of color and play. And, Ted Neal (E, F) shows us how he creates his signature buttressed vases and shares the recipes he uses when wood firing to create a metallic surface.
One could argue that reading this issue is also a bit of future planning. After all, it is the first step in creating your own version of the pieces described above. Happy making! (*New York Times, Feb. 21, 2026.)
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