Since the launch of my website I’ve been asked several times what “Prakun” means. The short answer is that it’s my middle name.
It’s more than that, too—“Prakun” is Thai for “grace.” And that’s an apt word for me, both as a Christian and a potter. I’ve struggled with perfectionism for a long time. As an eldest sibling and a high-achieving student, I was used to demanding the best from myself and punishing myself for failure.
When I started pottery in high school it became another arena for such striving. I’d work hard on a piece, and if it survived my obsessive ministrations I’d give away with pride—only to be embarrassed several months later, when I’d increased enough in skill to appreciate its glaring faults.
But my pieces didn’t evaporate on demand. Neither did the gratitude of my friends, who insisted on continuing to enjoy the mugs and bowls whose flaws I so carefully elucidated. Through such friendships in college I had to learn to receive compliments and make peace with what is. I also had to learn to respect the limits of both the clay and myself.
When my worth as a potter or a person is not on the line with every new endeavor, I’m actually more free to throw and love well. Grace is not an excuse for sloppy work. It’s the condition of acceptance (from God, others, and myself) from which good work proceeds.
So, Prakun Pottery. Raise a mug and drink with me to a life of growth from grace.
