The first time you hear that a potter is “throwing a pot,” you might get a quizzical look and picture pottery flying across the room, reduced to smithereens in the destructive chaos of a good Polterabend. But of course to throw a pot is to create it, not destroy it; the term refers to the process in which a lump of clay takes shape on a potter’s wheel, becoming a beautiful vessel through centrifugal force and the action of the potter’s hands and tools. So why call that “throwing?” Turns out, the term hails from the Old English word thrawan, meaning to twist or turn, a specific and appropriate meaning that’s become obscure in the shift to Modern English. And there’s another twist to this etymological tale: the words “throw” and “throe” are both spin-offs of thrawan, so the twisting tension you might feel when in the throes of some stressful situation shares a word family with an essential pottery process—a feeling all too familiar to novice potters trying to get things to turn out right.
Stoneware Apple Baker | $25
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