The next step in creating something out of clay is opening. After wedging the clay and centering it on the wheel, a potter will make space in the middle of the mount of clay in order to continue creating the form that exists only in the potter’s mind. Here is how I do the process of opening: I hold the centered clay with both hands, and rest my thumbs on the top of the mound. I bring the thumbs together and when they touch, I press down onto the clay until I create a flat surface. I sink my thumbs in the center of this flat surface until a small opening is made. I then hold the clay with my left hand, and with my right ring, middle, and pointer fingers I enlarge the opening and deepen it. My goal is to get to a half inch from the wheel head. I curve my fingers, pulling the clay until I have the opening I want. If I am throwing a bowl, I will finish this opening with a rounded shape. If I am throwing something cylindrical, this opening will be as close as I can to a ninety-degree angle. As I have the opening I want, I start compressing the bottom of the pot, so it will be leveled, pressing the clay back and forth with the tips of my fingers. When the opening is the size I need and the bottom is flat, I know I am ready to start bringing up walls (I will explore this part of the process next week).
Opening is the first step in making a shape out of clay. Without opening, the clay is nothing more than a lump without any use. As I go through the step of opening, I realize how important it is to make space for things to achieve their full potential. And I think this is the answer for why, in the teachings of the Kabbalah, we learn that the first act of creation happened when Ayin Sof, the eternal energy of God that filled the entire primordial universe, underwent the process of tzimtzum, of withdrawing, of making an opening, in order to create the world. Space was needed for creation to happen, for creativity to flow, for new shapes to exist. Without pulling back the eternal energy of God could not create, since it filled the whole world, leaving no space for anything else to exist. God had to make space for the world to happen. I have to create an opening for the vessel I am creating to exist.
Without an opening, without some kind of retraction, there is no opportunity for any individual or community to grow and for new shapes to develop. When Ayin Sof took the whole space, the world could not exist.
When a potter does not go through the process of opening, there will be no vessel. This is also true of individuals and communities. When a person is not given space to create and to contribute because someone else is filling everything without giving room for others, something significant is lost in the life of a community. Critical gifts are lost because no one wants to contribute when they feel that what they have to give is not being received and appreciated. There has got to be an opening, a space created for new shapes to grow, for new forms to be seen and to be appreciated.
When I take the step of opening the clay, I am giving it space to develop into a marvelous new creation. Something new and exciting will happen. I am opening the clay to new possibilities, to be ready to grow into its potential, to fulfill its purpose. When Ayin Sof entered the process of tzimtzum God allowed for a spark of possibility, for a fulfillment of a creative wish.
Therefore humans must follow God’s example by retracting and allowing others to grow, opening the possibility of fulfillment of other creative desires.
All that is needed is a recognition that retracting a little bit allows others to achieve their potential, contributing to a general feeling of wellbeing, a little bit of tzimtzum, of opening and making space, and innovative forms will, undoubtedly, appear. People will be more fulfilled, energies will be balanced, and solutions to problems will appear. Hopefully, I will see in my lifetime the fulfillment of opening opportunities for new forms and shapes to appear in this world (not only in pottery).