Mika continued to study Shodo but she also continued to seek out other art forms and crafts. She was, I think, not seeking the art form as much as she was searching to find herself in some form of artistic endeavor. “Who am I?” she was asking. “How will I find myself?”
It was in this search that she had a rare opportunity to observe a famous pottery maker. He was from Japan where he often made pottery for the emperor of Japan. Indeed, he was a very good and well known ceramicist.
Mika, along with everyone else who was watching this man, was mesmerized by his skill with the clay on the wheel. As the wheel spun around, he shaped the clay up and down and made it wider and then narrow. It was so smooth and graceful. The man quickly and easily made a dozen pieces from tea cups to plates to large bowls.
After he shaped the pieces, he removed them from the wheel and placed them to the side. After they sat for a while, he turned them upside down and returned them to the wheel so that he could shape a small lip… or a foot… on the bottom of each piece. He very carefully made each foot smooth and level so the pot could stand safely. And then he did something that Mika could not understand. Very carefully, he took a small knife and cut a little “V” shaped chip out of the foot of each piece.
It seemed like everyone saw him make these small chips but nobody said anything. Everyone was in awe of this master craftsman and nobody wanted to question him. Since he was the chosen potter of the emperor, whatever he does must be perfect. Isn’t that obvious?
But Mika, spoke up. “Grand Master, why do you cut a small chip out of every bottom lip?”
The master replied, “I am so glad you asked!” You see, I work very hard and very carefully and I try to make every piece as perfectly as I possibly can. But I know that I am human and nothing I do is really perfect. I give my very best pieces to the emperor and I leave them as close to perfection as possible. But I know that even though I try my best, my pieces are never truly perfect and so, in all my other pieces, I cut a small chip out of each one to remind myself that they are not perfect and I must continue to do my best to achieve excellence.
Mika never tried to make pottery herself but she always felt that she had learned a great lesson from this potter. “Even though I am not a potter, I can always strive to be excellent at whatever I do. And I do not have to be ashamed because I cannot make beautiful pottery. I can do other things and become a master if I always try my best. It is not my goal to make perfect pottery but it will be my goal to be a master of whatever I do even though I know I can never do it perfectly."