the birth of a pot= the quest to grow

I am not sure if I should really say anything other than for some reason this particular kiln has been one hell of a journey that started at Salad Days, or maybe firing prior to that with John where we discussed coming into one's own, carving a niche, finding a place and focusing on working from that, deflecting tangent thoughts...? All I know is that somewhere, months before yesterday my journey began with this trickle of a thought. I feel like this was one of those epic experiences in so so many ways, and despite being really happy with the results I can honestly say, I HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO DO!

I am sitting here this morning, looking at my work, getting ready to make that cut, to select those pieces that represent my thought process. I am trying to remember where I stashed Simon Levin's article on self-criticism. If you read this Simon, can you help me out? Maybe, evaluating my work in that manner is not really useful at the moment though. I do need to get it installed at a gallery. Maybe I should just go with my gut and leave my own head out of it? 

What I am feeling right now is not unlike the pre-race jitters one experiences at a sporting event. My work has grown and changed and grown and changed repeatedly over the course of years, always cycling back to that starting point. Its just the past 6 months have been like a growth spurt. I know I am prepared for sharing but I am just as anxious as I would be if I was at the starting line. Maybe that is it, this show is just another starting line. The time leading up to the firing was the preparation.