🌱 Rebuilding with Clay, Rebuilding Within
by Clarice Song, curious participant of Rebuild through Pottery with Gold & Behold
I’ve been through countless pottery classes, from the big established studios in Singapore to random pop-ups in Malaysia. Yet, last Sunday’s experience with Winnie at Gold & Behold moved me the most.
It wasn’t about the technicalities or the satisfaction of walking away with a handmade piece. It was about the state of being while I was crafting, a space of healing I never expected clay could bring.
This session, titled Rebuild, was part of Bold At Work’s Pop! Into the Weekend activations. Over three hours, we explored what it means to practice building from scratch, the fears, the doubts, and the little joys of shaping clay at Gold & Behold’s studio. Fun fact: only on the actual day did I learn it was Winnie’s very first pottery class!
Winnie's Story
Winnie began by sharing her journey. After years of mastering Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with gold, she was ready to embrace a craft that asked her to start fresh. Clay became her outlet, tactile, grounding, and therapeutic. What had served her was now being opened up to serve others.
Her introduction was short, but purposeful. Then she dropped the question that shifted the room:
👉 “Not what do you want to create, but what do you wish exists?”
That single reframing changed everything.
My Own Process
I had come in with a checklist: a double-spouted chasen bowl, maybe an eclectic iPad stand. But when I sat with her question, other words surfaced: a warm embrace, uneven grounds, a space for the ignored but important things.
We were invited to sketch our vision on art cards, colouring them with markers before touching clay. Mine turned out to be freeform, with irregular edges and stacked slabs, a tribute to the diverse influences in my life and the solid foundations I’ve built over the years.
The clay itself was presented beautifully, 500g in a sourdough tray, like a bun. This small detail gave weight and respect to what we were about to create, aligning with the big question of: What do you wish exists?
Through the process, Winnie neither overwhelmed us with instructions nor left us adrift. She guided when needed, encouraged when we were ready. For me, that balance mirrored life, a mix of impatience, curiosity, caution, and play.
What I eventually made was a humble holder for onions and garlic in my kitchen. And yes, it connected back perfectly to my vision words.
The Afterglow
What surprised me most was what I carried away in my body. That evening, I went for dinner. Normally I can’t finish my food, but I ate with ease. I felt balanced. I may be overthinking it, but I believe part of me was physiologically healed.
Rebuild wasn’t just about shaping clay. It was about shaping space for new questions, new ways of seeing, and new ways of being.
I walked away not only with a piece of pottery, but also with a gentle reminder: Sometimes healing doesn’t come from fixing the broken. It comes from daring to begin again.
