In the Potter’s Hands: Forming Faith, Friendship and Clay

Tucked away in a quiet area of the basement of the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration is a room alive with bright green walls and the smell of creativity.

The pottery studio has long offered a space for Sisters to learn and hone their craft. Today, it has also become a place where friendship, formation and faith take shape – one spinning lump of clay at a time.

Centered Hands, Centered Hearts

Sister Sophia Becker, OSB spent almost two decades as a special education and elementary teacher before entering religious life. She thought that chapter of her life was behind her – “my whole other life as a teacher? I had put it aside,” she said. So when layperson Laura Provance asked if she would teach her pottery, Sister Sophia paused, prayed and then – with community approval and a two-hour weekly class – reopened the door to teaching.

Provance, originally from Springfield, Missouri, works at nearby Conception Seminary College. She is the Latin instructor, fluent in five languages and has always been drawn to creative expression. But pottery brought a new spiritual dimension into view.

“If the potter’s hands are centered, the clay will be centered,” she reflected. “For me, making pottery is a form of prayer. It is an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with God the Creator, a potter perfectly loving, perfectly centered.”

It’s a truth she learned quickly.

“Just a little too much pressure and, in a split second, what you thought was going to be a lovely vase is back to being a ball of clay!” she said. “Pottery requires so much patience, presence and care.”

Through those lessons, she discovered something deeper.

“I think through pottery lessons, Sister Sophia has helped me grow in my identity as a daughter of God,” Provance said.

Teaching with Joy and Imperfections

In the class, Sister Sophia draws not only from her artistic experience but her years in education, especially special education.

“Students are never on the same page at the same time,” she said.

When students enter at different points – like Novice Amberina, who joined the class in May – Sister Sophia adapted. She moves between wheels, giving a nudge here and a guiding hand there, letting each woman learn at her own pace.

Her teaching philosophy is simple: mistakes are part of the process.

“The best teaching is to let students know your own mistakes,” she explained. “Then they know it’s not because they’re stupid. They are simply doing something wrong, but it’s fixable.”

Novice Amberina appreciates that grace-filled approach.

“Learning pottery with Sister Sophia has been a great opportunity to try something new,” she said. “I’m not the strongest in pottery technique. I kind of just get lost into the clay and try new things with it – treating each ball of clay as another adventure.”

She said her journey with clay has mirrored her spiritual one: patient, humble and open to transformation.

“There are days when nothing comes out right, and that’s okay,” she said. “I put the lump of clay in the bucket and try to use it another time.”

Novice Amberina recalls a lesson from “The Little Monk” by Harry Farra, a book she and her novice director, Sister Ruth Elaine Starman, OSB, read before she began pottery. “It taught me that not each pot will make it – it’s okay to fail, just try again,” she said.

She laughs remembering one of her frequent exchanges with Sister Sophia.

“My most challenging part is when Sister Sophia asks, ‘What do you want the clay to become?’ to which my reply is usually, ‘I’m not sure yet, we’ll see what happens.’ Then her reply is, ‘You’re the clay’s master.’ This just makes me laugh, because being a ‘master over anything’ isn’t a role I’m striving for,” Novice Amberina said.

And while shaping clay can be unpredictable, glazing brings her joy.

“I think my favorite part is the glazing because there are so many colors and combinations possible,” she said.

The class celebrates each triumph together – especially opening the kiln after their first glaze firing.

“The excitement,” Sister Sophia said, smiling wide at the memory. “There’s nothing like seeing what your own hands created.”

Creativity as Community

Though the sessions are technically class, laughter often fills the room. Stories are shared. Ideas bounce between them like playful sparks.

“Laura and Novice Amberina have become friends outside the class,” Sister Sophia said. “We support each other. We laugh…and we are loud when we say goodbye!”

The creativity extends beyond technique. The women design their own unique signatures and experiment with glazes, textures and designs. Their boldness inspires their teacher.

“They are so creative and not afraid to think outside the box,” Sister Sophia said. “I’m learning from them how to let go. Anything goes if it works!”

The Benedictine Way: ‘Work and Prayer’ in Clay

For a community rooted in balance, stewardship and prayer, pottery fits beautifully.

Sister Sophia uses supplies purchased long ago and even reglazes pieces to ensure nothing goes to waste. Broken pieces may one day become birdbaths or stepping stones – a continuation of beauty.

“It’s good stewardship,” she said.

As for the spiritual side? She doesn’t separate it from the craft.

“God is the potter and we are the clay,” she said. “You can’t force clay to be something it’s not ready to be – just like God won’t force us to be someone we’re not ready to be.”

The work nourishes her too. She often loses all track of time while throwing clay on the wheel.

“Pottery feeds me spiritually,” she said. “And along with prayer, balances everything else I do.”

Lasting Impressions

Every piece the students make is theirs to keep – but what they take from the class is far more than vases or bowls. Life lessons of patience. A deeper trust in God’s timing. The joy of creativity shared in community.

Sister Sophia is uncertain how long she will continue to teach – other responsibilities call – but the impact of these months is already lasting.

“I enjoy this class because they enjoy what they are learning,” she said warmly. “That’s the teacher in me.”

And in a small pottery studio beneath the monastery, faith continues to form – centered, like clay, in the hands of a loving Creator.