 Hello, my name is Trevor Youngberg and I'm a working wood-fired potter in Woodbridge, Connecticut So the most challenging part of making a piece is Revisiting it in a way that reflects my personality my interests now Oftentimes I'm working in traditional forms that people are familiar with like bowls cups and jugs But the challenge is figuring out What is it that interests me about this form? really why am I have I chosen to make this series right now and What am I going to concentrate on? What's the what's the sense? What am I trying to convey through this series and what I've oftentimes found is that It's not always very clear what I'm trying to say through that series and I found that with about a year's delay I could see how I felt where I was and what I was saying a year ago But right now it's not always You know, it's not point a to point b. It's not really clear cut I just know that I have this this drive and this need to make this form now And maybe later on know why The most challenging part of creating a life of faith Is navigating my way through Culture um What I love about pottery is that it's accompanied me from age 18 Until now I'm 46 So you're developing your identity You're developing your character From the first day I started making pottery. I was able to apply lessons learned in the studio to my life And so what I found is that in those years since I was 18 I've become more and more comfortable in my own skin My insecurities have diminished my confidence has risen so Find early on the challenge was more How do I exercise my faith and In society where it seems almost like taboo to even bring up Christianity You know, there's all kinds of pushback that you could find if you Come off being preachy with others And so for those many years in my early adult life Where I was just waiting to make a connection in some way With another Christian outside of my family and church, right? So That's happened In more recent years More and more often not only have I been more comfortable in sharing my thoughts and ideas But it's come up more with with friends somehow I've even had a really interesting conversation with a friend who's an atheist about a year ago And somehow through our conversation I was able to share like the rational side of being a Christian with him in a way that was compelling I'm not saying he's a Christian right now, but Through our conversation I had conveyed it to him in a way that he'd never heard it before And he's almost there I'm keeping up the faith that it'll come up a few more times in conversation over time but it's that it's that societal kind of like pressure And in combined with my level of maturity over the years that now I'm kind of to the point where I would I'm a Christian and if it ever comes up or if there's any opportunity to just address the fact that I'm a Christian I'm not perfect. I'm full of faults And just because I say I'm a Christian doesn't mean if I do something that you don't disagree with that You know somehow Christianity is is a farce or something like that, you know I'm going to mess up, but I'm going to admit it. I'm going to apologize too The way I keep growing and honing my skills Is by broadening the footprint of my pottery in general So early on I was focused more on working solo in the studio And doing everything I could that involved just my energy input into my work It was sort of like this almost like selfish focus knowing that there's a bigger picture out there But it was like really condensed on just me So as I've matured over the years, I found that that isn't a sustaining way of going about it It's a very necessary initial component But as I've matured, I found that okay, I have two little ones And I'm like a mature artist now, right? So it's not just about me or just about the sales of work, but it's more about what kind of Impact are you having on others? What kind of Friendships are you creating? What kind of experiences, you know, how How can you share this experience for bettering the lives of others? Which which kind of comes right back to myself? Like that sense of satisfaction isn't derived from just having a kill load of beautiful pots come out It's more about memories created, which is why I get back to the wood firing It's all about the lead up to the wood firing gathering with friends to split wood to glaze pot to load There's so much back work, you know the four days of firing is nothing compared to all the lead up time And so it's getting a group of guys together to work or friends women as well absolutely and Enjoy that process of putting in that work in that effort And uh celebrate, you know, just the time we share together leading up to it So as long as as long as I know that people's lives are being enhanced through these processes That's how I'll continue A passage in the bible that resonates with both my faith and my interest in pottery Is in isaia Three times It's it's referred to that god is the potter and we are the clay So my interpret interpretation of that that scripture Is unique to me because i'm actually a potter So when I think of that scripture, I think of god. Yes being the potter We being the clay in a sense that there's a relationship. There's a development. There's a discovery And as that relationship develops Just the subtlety the strength and the power Increases just like when you're making a piece of pottery you can bring an idea When you're working with that clay directly, there's going to be a growth There's going to be a change and something other than you may have expected And so that discovery brings delight happiness and joy And so that spurs you on to do the next piece If there weren't that discovery and that growth and that joy derived from the process I'd find myself Becoming interested in possibly something else. I'd get bored So there has to be that dynamic aspect to the process whether it's in my life of faith Whether it's in my pottery to keep that excitement about life kind of going