July 18th 2016: I had the privilege to participate in a Workshop by Felipe Ortega: The Art and Practice of Jicarilla Apache Micaceous Pottery Manufacturing

This is what Felipe wrote: "Our clay is our Mother and thus we urge you to look into your heart and ask Our Mother the Earth to guide you through the process of clay making. Understand that when we dig the clay we ask her permission to dig from her belly for the clay so that we may co-create her children for her. This is an awesome responsibility you have undertaken for we consider it the same as birthing children. And since this is the case you should also make sure that you are not super-serious nor super-relaxed."