I’ve recently started taking glass-blowing lessons. One of my favorite things about it is that it forces me to be in the present.

When you’re walking around with a ball of molten glass at the end of a pipe, the day’s workplace irritation or latest horrific political headline can’t enter into things. There’s no room to think about anything else when you already need to be thinking about what you’re doing, what the glass is doing, what your next step is, what your body position is, which tool to use, how hot the glass is, how hot it needs to be, etc.

The outside world has no place in the workshop.

However, as I learned this week, the reverse isn’t as true….things I learn in the workshop can have bearing on my outside world.

For instance…Here is last week’s effort:

The one on the left was my first attempt of the evening. This was the first time in the workshop after the holidays. After nearly a month off, I was a little rusty so my initial gather and starter bubble were poorly shaped and off-center. Every step after that was difficult in some way and the piece never fully recovered.

Onto my second piece. This time, I took some extra time and focus to get the initial gather and starter bubble set-up correctly. Everything was much easier. Not perfect, I’m still a beginner after all, but noticeably less of a struggle.

When I picked up the finished pieces after they’d cooled, the lesson became even more clear: Starting from a solid foundation makes the following steps that much easier and leads to a better finished project. Something I’ll be keeping in mind both in AND out of the workshop.