About

Emily Murphy

This moment in time. 
January 2015

I had a conversation a few years ago with another ceramic artist about balancing clay with family. She told me about a friend of hers who was a writer.  She usually wrote novels.  When she had little kids she couldn’t do that.  It was too hard to complete a thought.  Her time was too disjointed and she was always a bit sleep deprived.  So she started writing poems. She could complete her thoughts in poetry. I realized that I was basically doing the same thing with my own clay work.  I couldn’t make an elaborate thrown and altered teapot or a 36″ tall bottle that needed to be thrown in parts.  Or anything else that demanded lots of uninterrupted time and very particular timing. Clay is tricky. Timing is everything.  It might not matter that I have an afternoon free in the studio if I don’t have another one for several more weeks. If I can’t get back to finish the pieces I started, what was the point in doing them in the first place? I realized that I needed to focus on smaller pieces that I can finish in a predictable amount of time.  Just for now.  Accepting that this was what I needed to do was really liberating.  If I kept trying to do more than my life would allow, I would always feel like I was failing.  But if I keep my expectations realistic, it was oh so satisfying. Bigger pieces that went unfinished were just clay shaped guilt trips. And what fun is that? My studio should be filled with joy, not guilt! With this realistic perspective and approach to my work, I get to spend lots of time with my babies AND get my hands dirty with some clay regularly.

There is a wonderful parenting podcast, focusing on babyhood, called The Longest Shortest Time. Isn’t that a fantastic term to describe the time when children are little? Time does go by quickly. I want to be present with my family. But I need to work.  It makes me happy.  It keeps me balanced. It keeps me sane. These days, I make lots of mugs.  And honey pots.  And plates and small bowls.  Forms that I love.  Pieces that I can finish before the baby wakes up from her nap. Or before I have to pick up big sister from preschool.

I’m able to do studio related work almost daily. Sometimes that means listing some new pieces on Etsy.  Other days it is photographing work.  Other days it is throwing a dozen cups that I’ll be able to get handles on in a few days. On the occasion that I have longer than 3 consecutive hours to work, I sometimes wonder what I’m going to do with all that time! I’ve scaled back on gallery representation for now and I’m focusing on direct sales from my studio and through Etsy.  I really could make only mugs for years and years and never get bored. I’m happy with this moment in time.  For the time I get in the studio each week and the snuggles with by babies.