I often crave wheel-throwing when I feel stressed. Not in order to make, not because I need stock, but simply for the joy of being on the wheel and working with clay. I get that 'itchy' feeling when it's been a while and start to get overwhelmed more easily by daily stresses. I have always been like this; crafts provide stress relief and are a tonic for my anxieties. I used to use pointillism in this way - hours of repetitive dotting, millions of marks made toward a final image (much like the process of creating mandala), creates a detached meditative state. Clay serves as the perfect balance between the pleasure of that uber-focus fugue and the dopamine hit of instant results that pointillism didn't quite achieve (it took me 5 years to finish one piece).
It's no wonder then that my students often remark that they experience a similar feeling after trying the wheel. They often say how absorbing the focus is, how they feel re-energised after the time on the wheel and how they couldn't think of anything else. It really is like a meditation where your mind and body are working together with no other goal. It can be truly exhausting work too - students also comment that they're knackered after hour 2.5hrs of learning. I think that's also a good thing; it feels good to wear yourself out doing an enjoyable task. I think a lot about this factor of clay work how much joy it brings me to see people learn about this therapeutic result of the craft and it resulted in 6 key factors:
Mindfulness: Working with clay encourages mindfulness and focus, allowing individuals to be fully present in the moment and pay no heed to the outside world. The most common thing people say after trying the pottery wheel (other than it's harder than it looks) is that they felt completely absorbed by the focus and it relieved a lot of anxiety or stress from their daily life. A few hours on the wheel or sculpting is like a nice long meditation.
Stress Relief: Working with clay can help reduce stress and anxiety levels by providing a calming and meditative activity OR you can take out frustrated by wedging clay, using controlled force to mould it to what you need. I don't promote any kind of violence as a solution but wedging is like a workout - it can feel really good to work hard at getting that clay to behave.
Creative Expression: Clay offers a creative outlet for self-expression, enabling people to express their emotions and thoughts in a tangible form - sometimes this can be harder than we want, sure, but ultimately you learn about yourself while you make and it can be super rewarding to find that your inner thoughts and ideas can be made real through your hands.
Sense of Accomplishment: Creating something with clay can boost self-esteem and provide a sense of accomplishment, giving that sweet dopamine hit of a completed task.
Therapeutic Benefits: Clay therapy is used in art therapy to help individuals process emotions, improve cognitive function, and enhance overall mental health. Oftentimes, the hands will start to work unconsciously, bringing out textures, forms and symbols that you might not have actively planned to make. Clay work is often used with people with physical ailments, visual impairments and dementia to access a creative process that isn't usually available - the link between working with your hands in a meditative task is massively beneficial.
A little pipe dream of mine is to become an art therapist and use all the crafts I've ever tried as tools to help mental health and create community. My weekly pottery course students all call it their weekly therapy session already (it helps that we have two therapists who come as students), where we can talk freely while we make. It's almost like the act of making and focusing on our hands helps us feel less vulnerable. The shared task of making, the shared goals of the group and the equal playing field of newbies touching clay for the first time seems to help too, I think.
All this to say, art is therapy both in practise and in consumption and if you've not tried it - give it a go. Your brain will thank you for it.
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