Most folks know Julia Child as an icon for gourmands and lovers of boeuf bourginon. The French Chef TV host may seem like an unlikely inspiration for throwing pots rather than cooking with them. What the connection? Here are 10 quotes from Julia Child that offer great advice for pottery...and living life.
1. "Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."
If you haven’t found that passion yet, it’s never too late to seek one. Julia was just shy of 40 years old when she graduated from the Cordon Bleu cooking school and published her first cookbook at age 49. When her passion was sparked, she launched into its pursuit whole-heartedly. Similarly, I was in my forties when I first found pottery. “A passionate interest in what you do is the secret of enjoying life,” Julia says, “whether it is helping old people or children, or making cheese or growing earthworms.” Or making pots!
2. "You'll never know everything about anything, especially something you love."
I got into pottery both to strive for mastery and because I’ll never be able to fully achieve it. I love that pottery allows for lifelong learning. Julia says: "If you're in a good profession, it's hard to get bored, because you're never finished—there will always be work you haven't yet done."
3. "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure…you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."
Strive for expertise, but don’t let perfectionism get too far in the way. The only way to learn how to throw good pots is to allow yourself to throw (maybe a lot of) bad pots. As it turns out, cooking and pottery have much in common. Julia says: “Cooking is one failure after another, and that’s how you finally learn.”
4. “When you flip anything, you really just have to have the courage of your convictions, particularly if it's sort of a loose mass like this.”
Julia was talking about a potato pancake. But if that doesn’t sound like a new potter turning over a fresh pot, I don’t know what does. Your potato pancake may fall on the stovetop—or your freshly thrown pot may flop. “But the only way you learn how to flip things is just to flip them,” she says.
5. “The main thing is to have a gutsy approach and use your head.”
Have the courage to try…whatever that new thing is. Use the skills you’re acquiring to guide you.
6. "Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need."
Pottery shrinks. Once it’s fired, that “small teacup” is going to look like an espresso cup. Start with more clay than you think you'll need.
7. “The important thing is how to time it so neither one of you collapses!"
That’ll sound familiar to potters. When pulling clay—that’s potter’s talk for making it taller—you have to move your hands upward in timing with wheel. Move too slowly, and you’ll thin out the clay too much. Move your hands quicker than the wheel spins and you’ll throw the clay off centre or cause the pot to flop. Julia was actually talking about a soufflé.
8. “I think every woman should have a blowtorch.”
Is your pot is too wet? Cue the flame. I believe a trip to the hardware store is in my future!
9. "If everything doesn't happen quite the way you'd like, it doesn't make too much difference, because you can fix it."
I used to think—in whatever creative venture I was trying—if something didn’t turn out, it was a sign of failure and that was that. Now I realize that problems are inevitable, and creativity requires creative problem-solving. The question isn’t whether the unexpected happens. The crux is the ability to create a solution.
10. The last word goes to Julia: “…learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun!"
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Photo by Sheila Pedraza Burk.