Last week, the air finally changed.

I stepped outside into that first cool morning, went back inside for a sweater and a warm mug, and caught myself smiling. I had missed this.

It’s been a while since I’ve written here, and coming back feels a little like that first cool morning — familiar, comforting, and really nice to settle into again.

As I’ve been getting back into the studio and thinking about the coming season, I’ve also been thinking about something I wrote about earlier this year: how joy doesn’t depend on everything around us being just right.

Sometimes joy is much simpler than that.

Sometimes it’s found in the moments we savor and the moments we share.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time." — Ecclesiastes 3:11

Savor

To savor a moment is simply to slow down enough to really be in it.

For me, that looked like stepping outside on that first cool morning with my sweater and warm mug. Nothing remarkable happened. I just noticed how good it felt to be there.

It also looks like using the pretty bowl on a Tuesday. Drinking from the mug I love. Sitting on the porch a little longer because the weather is finally comfortable enough to do it.

And sometimes it’s something as simple as opening the studio door and getting that first smell of wet clay.

Those little things can be so easy to rush past.

But when I stop and actually notice them, they become part of the good stuff of life.

Share

To share a moment is to let someone else be part of the good you’re experiencing.

Recently, I sat on the porch with my grandson, snacks in hand, watching the almond trees being shaken.

Nothing was planned. It wasn't an outing or an event. We were just sitting there together watching the trees.

And yet, it became one of those moments I knew I wanted to remember.

That’s what I love about sharing. It doesn’t have to be something big.

It might be lingering around the table after dinner. Inviting someone over for coffee. Calling a friend because you thought of her. Or handing someone a handmade gift because you know it will make them smile.

Sometimes the simplest moments become the ones we hold onto.

Savor & Share

Maybe that’s part of what I love about this time of year.

There seem to be more opportunities for these kinds of moments — cooler mornings, meals around the table, evenings on the porch, gatherings with people we love.

And I’m thinking about it in my studio, too.

I don’t make pottery just to sit on a shelf. I love imagining it becoming part of someone’s moments — the mug they reach for every morning, the bowl that finds its place on the family table, or the handmade piece they give to someone they love.

That’s the part that makes making things meaningful to me.

The pottery becomes part of a moment.

And the moment becomes part of a story.

Come Create Memorable Moments

Fall Artist Open Studio
October 17–18 · 11am–5pm · Location #24

I usually only open my studio in the spring, so this one feels a little special.

Come see what I’ve been making, watch some live wheel throwing, try your hand at a little clay, and spend a little time in the studio.

Maybe you’ll find something for your own table. Maybe something to share with someone else.

You can download the tour booklet at StanislausAOS.com.

And save the date for the Holiday Art Market at the Graffiti USA Museum in Modesto, November 28–29.

A Little Something to Think About

As the season changes, I’m going to try to notice more of these moments.

Not make them happen. Not make them perfect.

Just notice them.

And when one feels especially good, maybe share it with someone else.

Because sometimes a warm mug, a cool morning, a porch, a grandson, or a few minutes watching almond trees can be more than enough.

— Tammy Jo