Sidh Jaddu

I’m a student at Thomas Jefferson High School, and pottery is where I slow down, get my hands dirty, and learn the most. I mainly work on the wheel, then push my pieces past their original form through hand-building, carving, and experimenting with surface and texture.

Pottery has taught me patience. A tiny change in pressure, clay, or heat can completely change a piece or ruin it altogether. As a 16-year-old still figuring things out, this is where I learned to accept failure as part of learning, to look at what collapsed or cracked, figure out why, and give it another try. I’m inspired by artists like George E. Ohr, whose playful, unpredictable work showed me that clay doesn’t…