I Made a Lamp

I want to tell you a story about a lamp. A lamp I had no plans in creating, but ended up building my favorite piece yet.

It all started with my desire to take another class at Denver Clayroom. "Hand building for the Garden" was filled with such inspiration that I wanted to continue that inertia to create. Upon signing up for another class, I saw the title "Candles, Sconces and Lamps, Oh My!" I made a candle holder and a wall scone I absolutely love. But a lamp? I have always wanted to build a lamp, and honestly had no idea how to go about it. Well, lucky for me Tess, class instructor, to the rescue. Her teaching style is very open, she starts with the basics and just encourages you to create. When I say I started my lamp with no plans, I truly mean it. I started with an oblong base and has some fun using coils to build it. When I got halfway I remembered I wanted to make a lamp with a hole in it, but didn't know what that meant...stylistically. So I just kept building and eventually just punched a hole in it and continuing on my way with coils. As I built up I realized: hey this really looks like an arch in Arches National Park. Once I saw that I couldn't stop!
You see Arches NP has a special place in my heart. I first visited in 2020 with my husband, it was hot, it was quiet (because of the pandemic), and it was mesmerizing. I had never stepped foot on a place so foreign to the eyes, so orange but also so serene and even void at times. The never ending rock formations, with its mars like landscape can make you question life, but in a good way! It evokes gratitude and it provides space for contemplation. So when I realized my lamp looked like an arch, an arch that could easily be set in a place so meaningful to me I knew this piece would be special to me.

The hardest part was finding the right glaze, and some could argue its darker than the arches of Arches NP. But frankly I am so happy with how it came out. Glazing can be anxiety-inducing. You either see a test tile or you create one yourself but its so small you really can't see what it looks like on a larger scale. Plus any potter knows. The glaze kiln has a magic tough all on its own. A new friend from the lamp class actually sent a photo of the lamp via text before I saw it in real like. Fresh out of the kiln. I was blown away. I have never been so proud of piece, and so excited to wire it up. Actually creating something functional within my home feels like an accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, I love pottery, its an art. But often it feels like an experiment. But when that experiment results into something better than your wildest imagination, that is the whole point of pottery.