Potters want to save the world.   I’m not kidding. Sit down and read any number of our artists’ statements and you’ll quickly find that we are an idealistic bunch.  And I am no different from the rest.   After all, when I was just twenty- three and fresh out of college, I moved to a very small town in the woods of New Hampshire to live with . . . a kiln.  That’ s right, I followed not a boyfriend, not a job, but a loosely organized stack of bricks with some gas lines attached.  Very idealistic.  At a time when I might have been more likely to be sharing a small urban apartment with three other angst-y twenty- somethings working entry level jobs, I was instead up to my elbows in mud, finding my way around the beginnings of my very own pottery studio. My job is amazing.  The material, the rhythms of labor, the use of fire, the interactions with people who use my pots- I love it all.  And I won’t tell you that I’m not out to change the world, because, in my own small way, I am.  If you enjoy your morning coffee just a bit more because you had it in one of my mugs, I’m doing my job.  If you were just the slightest bit more proud of the dinner you made because it was presented on one of my plates, I’m doing my job.  And if you have begun to discover the subtle ways that using handmade objects can enhance your daily life, I’m really doing my job. But I believe that the magic of all this is found at that moment when you can take that extra bit of joy you feel out into the world and share it with others.   Idealistic?  Definitely, but I think it’s real, and I think it matters.  And that is why I make pots. *If you have a story or comment on how one of my pieces has affected your daily life, please share!  I'd love to include it on my "People Using Pots" page.   Send me an email with your "testimonial" and include a photo of "pots in use," should you have one.  Thanks so much, becca@beccavanfleetpottery.com