We all have something we love, something we're passionate about, something we would never not want to do. And, for me, that is ceramics. I absolutely love it. The ceramics room at Delta State is my happy place. I have realized that some day I want my own ceramics studio. You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not. Art has always been a love of mine, and now ceramics is, too. It's truly a beautiful art form. There's so much I love about it.

This is a piece I threw on the wheel. I was trying to make a bowl, but I ended up making a plate. I've come to appreciate the times when I make a mistake and have to improvise. Beauty exists in failures. Character is created by flaws. Through ceramics, I have learned a multitude of lessons about life. Nothing is perfect, and if we strive for perfection we are striving for failure. To create something beautiful out of something flawed is one of the greatest glories of life.

In addition to gaining an appreciation for my mistakes, I have gained an appreciation for the strange. By that, I mean that I have made a collection of strange pieces in ceramics. They are all different from anything that I ever imagined I would make. Gaining an appreciation for the strange means gaining an appreciation for the weird. There is beauty found in the strange and the weird, as well.

Ceramics is to me as food is to the Gilmore Girls. It is what life is about, manifested. All of my frustration is let out when I make a piece, and happiness forms out of my frustrations. Something beautiful is made out of something ugly. It's personal, and it's true to who I am and who I want to be. When I don't have anything to say, my artwork speaks for me. It allows me to better understand myself.

You may be thinking, "Wow... It's just ceramics." But, you're wrong. It's so much more than that. It's my happy place. It's my home. It's who I am.