The Steady Hand: Finding Love in the Wobble

There is a specific kind of “secret noise” that happens the moment we sit down to create. You might be alone in your studio, your office, or your kitchen, but the air suddenly feels crowded. As you begin to shape your work—whether it’s a blog post, a business plan, a song, or a physical piece of clay—you start to hear an echo.

It is the voice of doubt. Often, it isn’t even our own voice; it is the imagined voice of a person who hasn’t even seen the work yet. We feel their eyes on our “unformed” mess, and we begin to apologize for it before it’s even finished. We feel like our secret concerns about our worth are being broadcast on a frequency that the whole world can hear.

In the pottery studio, this has a literal, physical equivalent. When you throw a fresh lump of clay onto the wheel, it is rarely centered. As the wheel begins to spin, that off-center weight hits your palms with a rhythmic, jarring thump. It isn’t a scream; it’s a persistent, silent resistance. It feels like the clay is trying to push you away, stubbornly holding onto its chaotic shape while you try to bring it into alignment.

The Pearls: Anchors for the Maker’s Heart
When we feel that “thump” of doubt—when we feel the pressure of an outside world that seems ready to point out our every wobble—we have to reach for truths that keep us soft and formable. To be a maker is to be vulnerable, and to be vulnerable, we need anchors.

From the Celtic Tradition (The Anam Cara): The ancient Celts believed in the Anam Cara, or “Soul Friend.” They taught that “A friend’s eye is a good mirror.” In a world of harsh judgment, Love looks like a mirror, not a hammer. A true friend doesn’t point out a “wobble” in your clay to shame you; they do it so you can see what you are too close to notice. Accepting their eye is an act of trust, a realization that we aren’t meant to center ourselves in total isolation.

From the Torah: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). When the “thumping” of the world’s opinion gets loud, this is the ultimate centering thought. If you are being guided by the Shepherd, you don’t have to “want” for the approval of the crowd. Your value isn’t a variable based on the quality of your current “pot”; it is a constant based on the love of the Potter.

From the Bible: “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14). Think of Love as the “slip” or the water on the potter’s hands. Without it, the friction between you and the world creates heat, blisters, and pain. With Love, the friction becomes a smooth, constructive force that allows the work to slide into shape without tearing.

From the Stoics (Marcus Aurelius): “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” This is the shield for the artist. If someone offers a harsh word, it is merely their perspective on a work-in-progress. It is not the final verdict on your soul or your potential.

From the Eastern Path (Wabi-Sabi): This is the Japanese art of finding beauty in the “imperfect” and the “incomplete.” Sometimes the “wobble” we are so afraid of is actually the thing that makes the piece human. Love allows us to leave a few fingerprints on the clay instead of demanding a cold, factory-made perfection.

Reframing the Outside Voice: How to Receive Feedback
We often treat outside perspectives as an intrusion, but in a healthy build, they are a resource. The challenge is learning how to filter the noise so we only keep the “fine silt” that helps us grow. Here is how to handle the weight of others’ words without letting them crush the vessel:
1. Distinguish the “Noise” from the “Signal”
Not all feedback is created equal. There is “Noise”—voices that want to tear down because they are uncomfortable with their own unformed clay. Then there is the “Signal”—voices that speak with the intent of Love, aiming to help the vessel hold water. If a comment doesn’t have the “lubricant” of Love behind it, let it fly off the wheel like excess slurry. Don’t let it stay in your hands.
2. The “Levigation” of Words
In the early stages of preparing clay, potters use a process called levigation. They stir the raw earth into water and let it sit. The heavy rocks and impurities sink to the bottom, while the fine, usable clay stays suspended at the top. Do the same with the words people give you. Let the heavy, jagged insults sink to the bottom and be discarded. Only keep the fine particles—the small, helpful truths that actually improve your “plasticity.”
3. Don’t Pull Away from the Thump
When you feel the clay hitting your hand—when a critic points out a flaw or a doubt strikes your mind—the natural instinct is to pull your hands away. But in pottery, pulling away only makes the wobble worse. The act of Love is to lean in. You brace your elbows against your hips, you steady your breathing, and you hold your position with a firm, gentle resolve. You meet the resistance until the clay has no choice but to find the center.

The Secret Echo is a Bridge
If you feel like your secret concerns are being echoed by others, don’t let it lead to fear. Let it lead to Connection. We are all made of the same earth, processed through the same fires of life. If you are struggling with a specific fear or a “wobble” in your character, chances are the person looking at your work is struggling with it too.

Your honesty about the “thump” in your own life is actually what makes your work “hold water” for someone else. A perfectly “centered” person with no history of struggle is often a vessel that no one can relate to. It is the fingerprints, the slight asymmetries, and the history of the “thump” that make a piece of art feel like home.

Final Reflection: The Permanent Build
The goal of the Potter isn’t just to make a shape that looks good on a shelf; it’s to make a vessel that can survive the fire and be useful to the world. We are all “in-progress.” We are all, at some level, a little off-center.
But remember: The “thump” isn’t an ending. It is the physical evidence that you are on the wheel. It is the proof that you are being handled by a Creator who thinks you are worth the effort of refinement.

Don’t be afraid of the voices that tell you the clay is lopsided. Don’t be afraid of the resistance. These are the tools of Love. They are the friction required to make you smooth, the pressure required to make you strong, and the truth required to make you permanent. Stay soft. Stay on the wheel. The work is good.