Hi @soyrosa, these are really great questions! Most of the pieces I do span several months and even a tiny piece like this one was stretched out over 2 months because I'm always juggling several projects and can't just do one at a time. This works well with ceramics given the frequent waiting periods of drying, firing time and allows for decision making to happen in an organic well-considered way.

This also helps the whole critical issue. Making the piece over a long period of time can go 2 ways - either I can gradually love it and watch it coming together or I can decide to remake parts during the process because I don't like how it's working. This is always at my own expense and unfortunately very time consuming, yet I always do it if needed because I can't live with shipping a piece that I don't feel good about. It helps too that I work with my partner who is an artist with a really great eye. Very often we pull the each other over to look at a piece one of us is making to help assess how things are working. Generally by the time the piece is finished I feel good about it. If not I keep reworking it until I do!

Often deadlines are tight and we have to simply do the very best possible within the timeframe but usually it's ok. For the most part having 25 years of doing this under my belt has helped me to make peace with the natural process of what I'm making. Projects rarely come out as I plan but usually something else that's good comes forth.

Thanks for your support and thoughful questions!