AND a trend that has been rampant for some time and, after the pandemic, has taken on new impetus: pottery courses are becoming more and more successful. Consider yourself in the same league as yoga and pilates, shaping clay, getting your hands dirty, shaping clay to your liking, has become one of the best stress relievers out there. A great teaching that you learn in these courses? «The possibility of being wrongthat we are not always perfectionists,” she explains Daria Dazzan, founder of Mani Milano Labceramic workshop a few steps from the Navigli.
Ceramics and the desire to do something concrete
We all have the scene in mind Ghosts, when Demi Moore teaches Patrick Swayze the art of pottery. But, sensuality aside, there is much more behind modeling ceramics. It is no coincidence that these courses are overtaking those of yoga and pilates in enrollments and that some Instagram accounts have exceeded one million followers. One for all Tortus, founded by ceramicist Eric Landon who holds very popular ceramic courses in Brooklyn. And that’s not the only case.
Why this great curiosity and success of ceramic courses? «Maybe we all have a need to do something, literally. Simply sitting for hours in front of a computer is no longer enough, there is a desire for something more concrete. In addition to the fact that they are courses truly suitable for everyone, regardless of everyone’s dexterity» explains the founder of the Milanese laboratory.
The anti-stress benefits of ceramics on body and mind
The pottery courses are therefore proving to be not only therapeutic, so much so that we are talking about pottery-therapy, but above all they are very similar to mindfulness courses. Dedicating yourself to clay, to the movement of the wheel, using your hands to create something requires strength be focused on what you are literally doing. He therefore leaves no room for other thoughts, thus putting his own problems aside: «It suffices to say that during our courses, for the two hours of lessons no one ever picks up their cell phone. It seems obvious, but it’s not like that» they explain from the ceramic workshop.
Of course, this also includes the great exercise that is done on concentration: in an era in which the level of attention is now increasingly low, a study conducted by the Tate Modern in London highlighted that eight seconds is the average time that each visitor dedicates to a work of art, a pottery course greatly stimulates attention and concentration. In addition to being a continuous stimulus for the brain: clay is in fact something plastic, in continuous movement that challenges the mind and people to constantly have to adapt by finding alternative creative solutions in rather rapid times.
Learn to play, to let go and to be less perfectionist
«We like to say that ceramics is the new yoga: putting your hands in pasta is a real stress reliever. Alongside the kitchen, this too has a strong creative power to which abstraction is added: technique aside, it’s all very spontaneous, you give up a bit, even giving yourself the chance to play with the materialto. A concept, that of play, that we tend to forget as adults because we are much more disciplined» explains Daria.
A moment in which you let yourself go, therefore, putting aside even perfectionism: «When you are in front of the you can also be wrong. It’s a luxury that very few are granted nowadays and which creates a space for self-acceptance which then also affects everyday life. Let’s say that you learn to become a little softer on yourself» concludes Daria Dazzan.
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