"i used to think art had to be great to be worthwhile; now, i only think it has to /be/ to be worthwhile." good reminder for my frequent bouts of unwieldy perfectionism 💜
If you want a podcast about the brain (and today's being especially about perfectionism), check out What The Hell Is My Brain Doing? by Julie Lamb. She's a practicing therapist and a number of other things and I edit the podcast and... like... it's really actually pretty great...
+1 I was moping today because for the first time in a long time I sat down to write something, and I did not think it turned out very good. But I really want my little story to exist in the world because I think it is worthwhile. But even if I don't think my skill is worthy of my worthwhile story, that doesn't change the fact the story is worthwhile.
I think someone noted once said "Visual arts are how we decorate space. Music is how we decorate time". Else you can head off into various routes from there, Animism, Shinto, Daoism, other 'Pagan' related religions. Me? I go to Alan Watts on this one. "The meaning of life is to just be, alive". A fabulous fellow who was half Green Punk before it existed, half church sermon. Sometimes he is credited, somewhat inaccurately as: The first British Zen Master.
“Please don’t correct my pottery technique. I’m not trying to be good…” serves as a reminder to me as a ballet teacher. I teach a lot of adult recreational dancers, and am so inspired by their passion. I think amateur artists deserve the respect of being taught good technique and belief in their ability to achieve big goals. However, sometimes I forget to step back and just let them dance.
I only learned this last year in which I don't give art critique unless someone asks specifically for art critique. Sometimes people need to just express or destress.
Only a little related... I recently started taking a swing-dancing class with a few friends. It's been years since I felt good about moving my body in front of other people, and last night I went to a dance social after the class with a bunch of more advanced dancers and professionals and got to dance with them and it was so fun, I felt graceful (until I trod on someones toes!)
I would like to better understand secret storage techniques and best practices. Are the vessels secret-neutral, or bespoke per secret, or do heavier secrets need a secret keeper with a higher strength rating or something like that?
It's a common mistake to not pressure-test your secret keeper before use. 30-50 PSI works well for most secrets, but the heavy duty ones need to be made of something other than clay
@@niceguy191 This is the expertise I am looking for, thank you. If the weight of the secret includes both trauma and shame, do you need to pressure test against the total weight additively, or do you just need to be robust against the higher of the two values?
@@Vihart The pressure of a secret is actually the weight times the trauma and shame squared. W(T+S)² It's really easy to get high pressures with relatively low-weight secrets once you factor in the trauma or shame and overburden your vessel if you're not careful.
I believe if you're worried about your secret being too heavy, splitting it between two secret keepers can significantly lighten the load each individual keeper needs to withstand - unfortunately i haven't refined a formula for specifics
All weekend long, I kept thinking, if you showed this to 15-year-old me, who just discovered Nerdfighteria, back in 2011, she would be blown away. She almost would not believe what a huge part of her personality this community was going to become, and how proud she'd feel to be part of it. How lucky am I, how lucky we all are, for this beautiful thing we direct our attention towards together.
I feel the same, though I joined both earlier in life and later in actual years. My past 11 years with this community have shaped me in ways that I never considered and never would have considered at 13, and I am so incredibly grateful to this community and to John and Hank for showing me what it means to be a person, showing that compassion is not a weakness, but a strength and a blessing.
That move toward the end where you’re closing up the hole and everything is wobbling wildly is sort of what I see in my brain whenever I hear this community say “doobly-doo”
I didn't tune in for very much p4a this year because I was mourning a loss and while the p4a brings me hope and joy every year, I just couldn't engage with the beautiful jolly-ness of it all this time. Just needed to be quiet. But I stopped in for a couple minutes here and there to give my donations and read the chats. Thank you for those who were kind to me. We're here because we're here because we're here
I would like to understand John's definition of hope. I often feel very wierd about hope, like when the pandemic rainbows were popular they felt dissmissive of the grief many people were going through. Things did not go back to "normal", history itself changed into something else. I believe the future always ends up somewhere unexpected in between our fantasy and our fears. Hope often feel like creating an expectation that can make dissapointment more bitter (like when you don't get the job, the person doesn't feel the same, the tests don't come back negative) How do we distinguish hope from expectation?
@@gabrielamacleod5403 I think for me, hope is possibility. I feel like expectations carry much more weight but possibility just gives you more light in the darkness. If I were expecting to get a job, I would surely be dejected on not getting it and probably internalise the rejection. However if there's hope and I enjoy the possibility of getting the job and then not get it, I would still be upset but I think I'd be more open to seeing other possibilities, because I'd not take the rejection as personally I'm not sure if I explained it clearly enough but I tried 🙈
I’m still not ready to move on from the P4a yet, I’m so glad I got to experience it for the first time as a nerdfighter, it was the absolute best! thank you john, I love this community
I feel that. It was my first P4a as well and it felt surreal when it was happening and after it was over I kept feeling this feeling of absolutely joy at being a part of this community. Thank you to everyone in the community for making it so welcoming.
"I used to think art had to be great to be worthwhile; now, I only think it has to BE to be worthwhile." As someone who chose to completely flip their life path for their love of art, specifically cello playing, which I began at 23 and then proceeded to give up my entire 20's to focus on and study diligently and is just this upcoming Saturday about to have my audition for admission to a graduate program for cello performance, this thought has been the theme of my last two weeks. I am constantly feeling overwhelmed by the presence of better artists, economic pressures to give up and simultaneously intrusive thoughts that my own art is not good enough to merit my change of focus and career path. This statement resonates so hard with me on this third week in which my brain is really struggling to let go of comparisons and not allow it to burgle my joy and losing focus of my own personal mantra in which each day and every time I go to play I tell myself "I am a good and capable cellist". Sometimes I am just really overwhelmed by my thoughts like yesterday when I fixated on the next set of strings I want to try for nearly 3 hours so I really needed that reminder this morning from the outside greater consciousness of the human experience. Thank you John.
The P4A was, indeed, awesome. It was truly awe inspiring to experience, and to see this community come together. This was my first time participating, but I will not be the last. Thank you all.
I’ve been taking a pottery class and the best thing I’ve learned so far is how to accept that I don’t have to be amazing or perfect at it. I’m loving just doing it, whether I produce something I fire or not. For the first time I’m making just for the beauty of the act and the moment, not for the end goal. (Also, that process at the end is called collaring in btw John)
I love how this channel started out largely as an elaboration on Ze Frank's way of expressing his ideas about participatory, low-barrier art, and now we've seen what it means for those ideas to mature through a significant chunk of a human life.
I'm dealing with a lot of heavy stuff and couldn't make it to the p4a this year. But I am so proud to be a part of a community that does things like it.
Thank you for being a part of the community! I missed most of P4A because I had work over the weekend; life sometimes just gets in the way of things. I hope the heavy stuff passes, or at least becomes less heavy over time
There are a few things I think about with this video. For one, I'm basically a folklorist at this point, and as part of that I adore seeing folk art, made out of necessity or just pleasure of the craft and expression. For another, I'm learning crochet these days and so am thinking a lot about what my own metric of perfection is for any one project, and how I should really tone that down so I can make anything properly and not just worry.
Started watching in 2011, followed closely, took a break. Coming back feels like coming in from the cold where there's a cozy fire waiting to welcome me. How lucky we are that you both are still doing this
Something about this video made me realize that one day, one of the Green brothers will die, leaving us collectively bereft of one of the most amazing fraternal relationships ever shared with the wider world. As I was contemplating that sad eventuality and reflecting on the relationships that I fear losing in my own life, I heard John remind me that hope is the correct response to consciousness, and that often things that cannot be seen can nevertheless still be felt. Now I'm crying and I miss throwing pottery on a wheel. Thanks, John. You are a great human and you make me feel things.
Hank would have definitely chosen to make a video like this before the P4A and increased the price of the pottery that I now missed. This is a very John way of marketing and taking it down a notch, and I love it.
And, in a sense, it's a way of keeping promises, perhaps? Making good on the promise of the pottery - made all the better because everyone involved will enjoy the process: John making it, and the recipients receiving it :) (and meanwhile we also get to enjoy watching John make it!)
2:06 I know exactly what you mean. I have only directed two plays. And both times, I've given a speech after the final rehearsal about how we are carrying out an ancient tradition. And to be proud to carry on the tradition, and the story of humanity.
As someone who produces pottery day-in and day-out, mostly mugs that are meant to be functional, I love your wobbly, closed-form secret keepers. Thanks for sharing your art, they're the antithesis of my work and I need to make one!
I got a secret keeper perk so it's extra fun to see one getting made! Also I love the P4A so much and now that the withdrawals are over my heart is very full 💜
John: so we're just gonna do some chill pottery today, nothing too special also John: *writes a beautiful piece about humanity and history and art and unity and hope and community*
I find it so liberating to remember I am making music and doing research for the benefit of my soul and that it does not have to be grand or important for me to find joy and self growth in it. Love your secret keepers, John.
Hearing you talk about a thing that I also remember being part of, with some of the same shared community feelings and emotions tied to it, might be my favourite thing about P4A and nerdfighteria in general. 48hrs of wholesome connection across the span of the internet is truly amazing to take part in, and the sense of pride and hope and other inexplainable emotions that I get from it is glorious. So thank you John, and Hank, and this whole community, for being what you are. We are strangers on the internet, but we are strangers on the internet together.
During the final hour of the P4A livestream I was cutting vegetables. When the 'here because we're here' started, I suddenly felt enormously connected to the world. I agree with you, John, it was my favourite moment of the P4A as well. It was a pleasure to be a part of this and to many more P4A's to come!
“it reminds me that hope the correct response to consciousness.” that is a quote i have so desperately needed to hear all my life, and i’m glad that i clicked on this little video in order to hear it.
I loved every second of this video, the secret keepers and how art doesn’t have to be great to be worthwhile, it simply has to be. The P4A was thoroughly awesome as it is every year, and I was in awe of how many thousands of people joined in commenting ‘we’re here because we’re here’. I love every vlogbrothers tradition, thank you John, and Hank; dftba.
The ending of the P4A was also my favorite part (and there were a lot of good parts! I watched ~20 hours of the stream). Seeing everyone in the Green families celebrating together with 6,000 people in the chat was a great feeling. 💛 (Plus the stream ending with Orin saying "I got confetti in my mouth" was very on brand.)
"Hope is the correct response to consciousness" is the vibe that has me coming back to Hank and John over and over again. I'm 24, which means I've been a (legal) adult for about two and a half presidencies at this point, and it's been really difficult for me to remember that just because the whole world seems to have been on fire for the last six years of my life doesn't mean everything is awful. Thank you, Hank and John, for helping me to have just a little bit easier of a time doing that.
I missed the P4A livestream this year cuz of a family emergency but was able to donate and snag the 3 pack of socks cuz the fundraiser was still up Monday. Glad you guys keep the page up for extra time after the official stream is over. Happy 3 mill!
Thank you for being where you needed to be for your loved ones this year. That, too, is a great way to spend a P4A weekend. I hope your socks are extra cozy when they get to you. Best wishes!
when you started the sentence “wheels weren’t originally made for transport, they were made for…” I swear I thought we were in for another unexpected tuberculosis fact. this was so soothing, John, thank you. I picked up pottery early in the pandemic as a means of being creative and soothing my frazzled mind. I got reasonably okay at it and loved it, but keeping studio space became unsustainable so I had to drop it. watching you throw brought me back to that beautiful headspace, and I’m grateful for that.
It was so wonderful to celebrate the P4A with all of you, nerdfighteria! What an amazing, magical, awesome thing we get to do together. I hope we get to do it for a long, long time. Same time next year? DFTBA!
Though I've been fans of both John and Hank's books for awhile now, this was the first time I knew about the P4A, and as I was sick in bed with COVID (my second time, ugh), it was so lovely to feel part of something, to have the stream on my laptop on the table next to me, to zone in and out and always feel not only entertained, but like I got to be a tiny part of doing something good. Who knew there were others out there who enjoy nerding out about TB? My 2nd book of poetry deals a lot with a TB epidemic in a small WI town where my ancestors grew up, so I enjoyed all of the TB facts. And just when I was starting to feel sad about the P4A ending, my library hold for Turtles All the Way Down came in to keep me company the rest of my COVID convalescence. Thank you.
I think I have been around for most P4As. I'm always so happy to see so many people joining for the first time. It never gets old, the overall feeling is always the same each year. Any while monetary achievement is not the most important aspect, it still amazes me to see people come together to raise so much money for charity, from what I always think of a a smaller online community. I can't wait for another 16 years of the P4A.
thank you. i needed this. ive been in a serious depression for the last few weeks and it's been difficult for me to care about anything while also caring about so many things so much and thinking that im stupid caring about things and this video helped. ive been thinking about what you said in the anthroposcene reviewed foreward, about letting the world crack you open. i think i let it crack me open too much sometimes, and then i close up because why would i want that but i always end up letting it, maybe in a perfect world i could let it crack me open but i think closing myself off a little is just harm reduction at this point, but i still yearn so desperately to be known. to write my feelings in the comments of a TH-cam video, to talk to someone, anyone but i can't talk to the people in my life who care about me because what if they leave me?
much that you wrote also describes my current state, and I want you to know I hear you and know it’s hard. hang on and keep reaching for things like John and Hanks videos, which help me remember there’s light in the world. that’s what I’m trying to do.
i have an art degree and i've been struggling to get back into art without feeling like it has to Be Something. your secret keepers remind me of a summer where I visited my friend on her college campus. We had the whole ceramics studio to ourselves (plus a trapped bird). I hadn't thrown a pot before, but I had a grand time learning the basics and working with the clay. it was nice to work with something physical. To make a thing.
I always stay up weird hours for P4A but make sure I am up in time for the last hour. This year, I woke up but somehow fell back asleep. I know it is probably good that I rested if I needed rest, but I love that last hour and am sad I missed it. But I did buy the “we’re hummus because we’re hummus because” coaster which fills me with that ridiculous and joyful togetherness just thinking about it. It was a very good weekend.
This was the first year I really participated in the chat, even though my first P4A was 2015. And it was incredible to engage in the madness and kindness displayed there. The collective excitement and joy are indescribable.
This was lovely and calm, John. Thank you! I've been keeping tabs on P4A, so I had already noticed that we'd passed $3M, and while I know the number itself isn't that important, it does make me very happy that enough of us have had 1. the ability and 2. the desire to contribute to it :)
This was my first p4a and while tuning in on and off to see what was happening was a nice thing to do, to know it was there for me when I was ready for it, I’m so glad I was there for the ending, too. I’ve been very isolated these last few years, and something about typing “we’re here because” in a chat full of “we’re here because we’re here” was healing in a small but important way. I love how you call it a global chorus- and for those few moments of celebrating our own presence, I got to be part of something. Thank you for that. ❤ And also for the crabs I look forward to receiving 😂
I'm watching this video sitting next to a little pot that I threw after not making ceramics for almost 4 years. I went to art school but was constantly surrounded by people in my life saying that art wasn't worthwhile and that I'd never be able to do anything with it as a career. I listened to those people for far too long, but I'm slowly getting back to it. The quote about art simply being to be worth while is exactly how I feel. Thank you for the lovely video and a great p4a!
Dude....this is so relaxing to watch. John please do more of these kinds of videos sometimes. They're almost meditative...for you and for us. Thank you for the "brain break".
I’m taking a pottery class right now as a last semester senior in college, and man do I wish it was more the vibe of this video than the somewhat stressful forced mastery it has become 😅
That seems to be experience for some reason. I took ceramics my last semster in college as well, and it honestly made me hate it. The instructor was a ridiculously bitter ceramicist, always had things to say about big names or people who he thought didn't take it seriously. No matter how much time I invested in the class, I just couldn't keep up with the pace, but I needed it for my art credit or else I wouldn't graduate on time. At the end of the semester, the class of 20 had been whittled down to only a couple people. I passed with a C, which I'm pretty sure was awarded out of mercy.
"Hope is the correct response to consciousness" - That line made me pause, immediately. That's a big and very interesting statement! Interesting as art, as fact, and as ethics. A few thoughts: 1- The phrase is comforting... even consoling. But I can't really explain why? And that's super tough to pull off! It bypasses the logical brain and goes straight to the gut, and it does so in Plain English. As someone who writes - game respect game. That's a banging line. 2- It's an inspiring but almost *risky* statement, psychologically speaking. It's like a paraphrase of a twist on Descartes - "I think therefore I am" becomes "I am, therefore I ought to hope." Hope implies an individualised improvement-oriented perspective that is 'away-looking' (in terms of *here* and in terms of *now*). That framing can be hugely productive - that's literally how the world is improved. But hope is a dangerous horse to bet on. As we know, the world has an awkward way of not giving a damn what we hoped and dashing out hopes. If we accept that hope is the correct response to consciousness, then we risk implying a different thought when the world takes that hope from us. Specifically, "I have lost hope, therefore I am responding incorrectly (and I ought to stop)." And that has it's own implications. 3- Each word in the phrase is doing its own bit of work. But IMO the word that overplays its hand the most is 'The', followed by 'Correct'. IMO, Hope is not *the* response to consciousness, but *a* response... and it's A Great response, but not necessarily THE Correct response. I acknowledge that this change makes it a weaker turn of phrase. Hope inherently looks 'away' from the here and now. Hope is not action. It's unsatisfied and too passive, and there are other responses that are more sustainable and less vulnerable to the harshness of the world. Empathy is a great response to consciousness. Kindness is a great response to consciousness. Building community is a great response to consciousness. If we want to be individualistic and emotion-centred, then contentment is a great response. All these phrases place the material state of others above the emotional state of me. To a greater degree, they put the *is* over the *ought*. 4- This begs the question - what is *the* correct response to consciousness? I don't know. But the phrase you've given the audience really gets us thinking about that answer, and that's probably more important than any one answer in itself.
so so grateful for the p4a every year. it’s lifts my spirits and reminds me that there is action being taken to conquer the worlds problems and there is still cause for hope. this community is so special and i’m thankful every day that i get to be apart of it
I love your Secret Keepers! What a wonderful and healing idea. P for A was fabulous, as always and every year I get a little misty eyed at how awesome humans can be when we come together for others.
I think this is my new favorite video that I'll come back to. 1) because I want to make a secret keeper (started pottery last December and it's pretty awesome!) 2) because everything it represents makes me cry 3) because I want to know the secrets lol
My favorite technique when I'd work on the wheel was always chattering, where you'd let a bit of metal bump across the semi-dry surface creating thousands of shallow divots. Not only is it fun and a little noisy but the resulting textures just make a piece that is so tactile and beautiful to hold. Pottery was always meditative for me as well, in fact I think it helped me learn to let go of the perfection of things, so this is actually a nice Tuesday treat. Thanks John!
I made a playlist of your videos to listen to while I'm depressed or anxious. I find your voice incredibly soothing, and your words, extremely heartwarming. I wish there were more of these videos.
I love this style of vlogbrothers videos recently. I'm in the middle of a very anxious week, moving out of an apartment and roommate situation that's become hostile and bad for my mental health. and this video really calmed me down in the midst of stress packing. than you for that
this year was the first P4A i’ve watched and i’m so happy i did! it was amazing and seeing all the guests and silly activities and all the donations made my heart so happy. can’t wait for next years ❤
I completely agree with you about art. I think that’s one of the reasons why I keep making it in many different forms even when the end result isn’t what I was aiming for or I’m frustrated with its reach or I’m burnt out. I really, really liked this video and your secret keepers are wonderful! The whole idea of them makes me happy.
I'm a ceramist, I do pottery for a living and after decades of trying I still haven't mastered the throwing wheel, so no, I will not attempt to correct your technique, all I know for sure is that is fun and relaxing and you have those down.
I've been thinking a lot about Tommy Wiseau's "The Room" and the subsequent book-turned-movie "The Disaster Artist". On the surface, it's the story of a bad movie made by an egotistical amateur filmmaker and the fallout from its so-bad-it's-good infamy. But at its core, "The Disaster Artist" points our attention to the inexorable human *NEED* to make art. Sometimes it's a cosmic struggle for immortality... sometimes it's a personal struggle to process and express ideas... but deep down, almost every human feels it. Children feel it, prehistoric humans felt it, Tommy Wiseau and John Green feel it. It's universal. And kind of excruciatingly beautiful. And I think the quality of the finished product doesn't matter as much as the making of it, you know? Maybe bad art is okay. Maybe it's MORE than okay. "Maybe art only needs to be."
Watching this while taking a break from beating my head against the wall that is my dissertation project, and taking some time to just make some pottery and decompress would be lovely! This helps even though I only get to experience it vicariously.
Please take this gentle encouragement and vote of confidence, too: you will get through your dissertation. Even though it is challenging and frustrating at times, I know you can do it. Be kind to yourself: you are doing something incredible. You've got this.
@@untappedinkwell thank you kind stranger! I teared up reading this. It's been a really hard slog recently and I've been pretty tempted to give up at times. I certainly need all the encouragement I can get!
John, I've lost track of how many times one of your well said quotes has saved my life. All I know is that today is one of those times. Hope is, indeed, the correct response to consciousness. We're hummus because
As someone who has been unable to put pen to paper for two whole months because of fearing that what I'm doing is not enough, hearing that it only has to /be/ to be worthwhile... really got to me. Thank you, John.
Please never stop making these these simple, quiet, introspective, and profound videos. They stick with me deeply and I often ponder your little mantras throughout the day "Huh, hope really *is* the best response to to consciousness"
Nerdfighteria had a large impact on me in my developmental years, and I am so Profoundly grateful. Nerdfighteria is definitely part of who I am as a person, and dammit the brothers need to come to Canada!
The secret spiral of the secret keeper! As someone who uses drawing as a meditative get-away-from *gestures broadly* I can totally agree, art just needs to be (and my own is mostly just for me)
one of the best john made vlogbrother's videos in my opinion. there's something about making a point, and then giving words to it that sets you up to feel something more than just being told the same line outright. the video was 99% explaining that art doesn't have to be for others, and 1% saying it
I'm an artist (kinda) and I haven't worked with pottery in nearly 13 years and my 3D modeling skills are limited. however, John has inspired me here to work with clay again because I'd like to make my own secret keepers. Update: I made my own secret keepers, waiting for them to come out of the kiln now
The P4A will never stop amazing me. This year I was going through some things and I wasn’t able to donate as much as in the past. I’m just so grateful to get to do this every year. Thanks for making this community.
I had to stop and cry at the end of this video because I experienced a deep catharsis from seeing your art that I always try and feel from my own art. I have wanted to be a writer for forever, and just hearing that "art just has to BE to be worthwhile" helped me further break down my internal editor. Thank you John. Thank you
My competition shooting instructor was in a wheel chair and could not follow any of the best practices. But he was still one heck of a shoot. That taught me a lot about following best practices and doing it "the proper way". Doing it "the proper way" will help you learn quickly but desire and practice can take you farther then you may think.
i recently came to this same conclusion regarding art as well, and its made creating art fun for me again. its a difficult hurdle to cross but once you do its so liberating! love your little guys, may you create many more
I agree. Making art calms my anxiety tremendously. It can't if I'm already panicking, but if I feel myself ramping up, or wake up shaky, or come home ready to hide under my desk, making art opens a part of my brain that lets some of that terrible vibration drain out, and makes me breathe easier. And it doesn't seem to be any particular art form (though I think secret keepers are a great idea and might try that), as long as it engages my eyes and hands. Sometimes I need a hammer and sometimes I need a feather but whatever works, works. Thank you especially for this one John.
John, I subscribe to no other media platform except Facebook. I love TH-cam, because I can view the entire world for free. Of all the sites I enjoy; you and Hank are my favorites. I have also read all your books. I think you along with Hank are two of the Best Human beings currently in the public eye. We will soon lose Jimmy Carter. He was the finest human being I know of. I am sure you already know how brilliant, intuitive, wonderful, humorous, creative, entertaining and just plain fabulous you are. Hank is also. He is different, but you both possess qualities that rise far above the average human being. Love you both. Keep up the brilliant work helping the world.
I was bummed to miss P4A this year -- first time since 2008 that I didn't catch it. The first thing I did when I emerged from the Canadian wilderness was check the campaign to see how much money had been raised. I was very glad to see the weekend had been so successful, and I got my digital download bundle this morning!
So this is what it's like to be early for a vlogbrother's video! For all u early people: my honours thesis proposal just got accepted and I am excited lol
A great reminder that hobbies are not always good because we're amazing at them, or can monetize them. Hobbies are good because they make us feel something.
This video is an instant favourite that I will try and come back to regularly. I have always had this desire to do things "right" or attempt to do them well. This year I've tried to get more into art because I realized I lacked a creative outlet but I struggle with wanting it to look good rather than just letting it be what it is.
I've always felt that if I could afford a comfortable space with a small pottery wheel kiln setup, I could finally feel a bit of human peace. I hear it in your voice often, but I cannot find it in my own. Thanks for sharing your secret keeper peaceful moment with us, and all the other things over the years.
This video has good vibes. It's a nice throwback to why we're all here in the first place. How lucky we are to have found such a community of brilliant, thoughtful, creative people. It's a joy to get together virtually every year. Til next P4A. ❤️
it's always comforting to hear you speak. if only for 4 minutes, i can focus my attention on being alive. consciously acknowleding my privilege of being here. and i am really thankful for being able to access the things you (and Hank and Sarah!) create. from reading your books as a teen to discovering the anthropocene reviewed last year, i really do feel that i have (somehow) grown to understand what you've been trying to pass on this whole time. ps. writing this from Budapest - just letting you know how much impact you and the community have on a global scale
I been part of P4A since the beginning, I agree seeing your families with you as we celebrated the brought a tear to my eye. It's crazy how times moves forward yet the comfort of the weekend is the same! Thank you, Hank and your team for keeping this beautiful weekend alive and growing. 🥰
I’ve been here since the beginning as well, and this year as I was watching the shenanigans and learning about tuberculosis and co-creating this experience with thousands of others I remembered that none of this is inevitable- P4A is what it is because every year, people make a choice to be there, to engage and connect, to donate money and give attention, and I just love us!
Thoughts from Places has always been such a soothing, hopeful and encouraging force in my life, and I must assume many others. Thank you from the bottom of my consciousness
It’s so cool that you’re doing pottery. My daughter is a ceramicist and has a potting wheel in our garage. I’m going to ask her to let me try it this summer. Also, John, we loved seeing your category on last night’s High School Reunion Jeopardy! You did a great job.
The only thing that could have made this video more perfect would have been to sneakily add in hank's hands at the end with a bit of unchained melody playing softly... or is that just me? Seriously though, i love this community and all that the vlogbrothers have brought to the world. Hope is more attainable because of the efforts like p4a and nerdfighteria. Thanks y'all! Also, happy mardi gras!
"i used to think art had to be great to be worthwhile; now, i only think it has to /be/ to be worthwhile." good reminder for my frequent bouts of unwieldy perfectionism 💜
If you want a podcast about the brain (and today's being especially about perfectionism), check out What The Hell Is My Brain Doing? by Julie Lamb. She's a practicing therapist and a number of other things and I edit the podcast and... like... it's really actually pretty great...
Make Bad Art has become a mantra of mine in recent years for much this same reason
That really spoke to me too. Just what I needed to hear at this point in my life.
+1 I was moping today because for the first time in a long time I sat down to write something, and I did not think it turned out very good. But I really want my little story to exist in the world because I think it is worthwhile. But even if I don't think my skill is worthy of my worthwhile story, that doesn't change the fact the story is worthwhile.
I think someone noted once said "Visual arts are how we decorate space. Music is how we decorate time". Else you can head off into various routes from there, Animism, Shinto, Daoism, other 'Pagan' related religions. Me? I go to Alan Watts on this one. "The meaning of life is to just be, alive". A fabulous fellow who was half Green Punk before it existed, half church sermon. Sometimes he is credited, somewhat inaccurately as: The first British Zen Master.
“Please don’t correct my pottery technique. I’m not trying to be good…” serves as a reminder to me as a ballet teacher. I teach a lot of adult recreational dancers, and am so inspired by their passion. I think amateur artists deserve the respect of being taught good technique and belief in their ability to achieve big goals. However, sometimes I forget to step back and just let them dance.
I only learned this last year in which I don't give art critique unless someone asks specifically for art critique. Sometimes people need to just express or destress.
Only a little related... I recently started taking a swing-dancing class with a few friends. It's been years since I felt good about moving my body in front of other people, and last night I went to a dance social after the class with a bunch of more advanced dancers and professionals and got to dance with them and it was so fun, I felt graceful (until I trod on someones toes!)
@@seekittycat Express or destress is such a good way of putting it!
@@franzferdinand1782 That’s awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself and hope you’ll get to go out dancing again soon :)
@@natashacoolen4022 Next Monday! It's a weekly class :D
I like how the semi-hidden spiral can be the secret-keeper's own little secret
It's a lot like secrets, because you can feel the secrets you can't see.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 but I don't feel not see the secrets I'm confused
I would like to better understand secret storage techniques and best practices. Are the vessels secret-neutral, or bespoke per secret, or do heavier secrets need a secret keeper with a higher strength rating or something like that?
It's a common mistake to not pressure-test your secret keeper before use. 30-50 PSI works well for most secrets, but the heavy duty ones need to be made of something other than clay
@@niceguy191 This is the expertise I am looking for, thank you. If the weight of the secret includes both trauma and shame, do you need to pressure test against the total weight additively, or do you just need to be robust against the higher of the two values?
@@Vihart The pressure of a secret is actually the weight times the trauma and shame squared. W(T+S)²
It's really easy to get high pressures with relatively low-weight secrets once you factor in the trauma or shame and overburden your vessel if you're not careful.
I believe if you're worried about your secret being too heavy, splitting it between two secret keepers can significantly lighten the load each individual keeper needs to withstand - unfortunately i haven't refined a formula for specifics
@@niceguy191 @vihart this is the kind of discussion I am here for. Thank you for going into detail on this type of calculation
As much as I love “the format”™️ I love this calm reflective art session so much and would love to see something like this again
Me too
Same!
I just wrote something similar. Agreed!
It was so peaceful. Exactly the right video to watch before bed.
I love the camera just staying set on one thing. It's very serene.
All weekend long, I kept thinking, if you showed this to 15-year-old me, who just discovered Nerdfighteria, back in 2011, she would be blown away. She almost would not believe what a huge part of her personality this community was going to become, and how proud she'd feel to be part of it. How lucky am I, how lucky we all are, for this beautiful thing we direct our attention towards together.
Truly lucky indeed. May we get to grow together and keep doing awesome things for a long, long time to come. DFTBA!
I joined Nerdfighteria in 2011 too! It's so lovely to have this community be a part of our lives for all these years 💜
Same! Also a 2011 nerd fighter here. I think I was 16
Fellow nerdfighter class of 2011 here! I was 16
I feel the same, though I joined both earlier in life and later in actual years. My past 11 years with this community have shaped me in ways that I never considered and never would have considered at 13, and I am so incredibly grateful to this community and to John and Hank for showing me what it means to be a person, showing that compassion is not a weakness, but a strength and a blessing.
The vibes of this is so beautiful, especially after a super gross health week. As always, thanks John.
Sorry for the hard health week, Phoebe. Wishing you well. -John
That move toward the end where you’re closing up the hole and everything is wobbling wildly is sort of what I see in my brain whenever I hear this community say “doobly-doo”
This comment is one of those thoughts that I didn't realize I was having as well. I love that!
I didn't tune in for very much p4a this year because I was mourning a loss and while the p4a brings me hope and joy every year, I just couldn't engage with the beautiful jolly-ness of it all this time. Just needed to be quiet. But I stopped in for a couple minutes here and there to give my donations and read the chats. Thank you for those who were kind to me. We're here because we're here because we're here
May you have all the time and support you need in your time of mourning.
we're here because
@silliepixie we're here because
@@sharonoddlyenough we're here because we're here
Sorry for your loss. May you find comfort. 🙏
Hope is the correct response to consciousness 💕
I don't know how you manage to put words to these overwhelming feelings. Thank you, John
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I would like to understand John's definition of hope.
I often feel very wierd about hope, like when the pandemic rainbows were popular they felt dissmissive of the grief many people were going through. Things did not go back to "normal", history itself changed into something else. I believe the future always ends up somewhere unexpected in between our fantasy and our fears. Hope often feel like creating an expectation that can make dissapointment more bitter (like when you don't get the job, the person doesn't feel the same, the tests don't come back negative) How do we distinguish hope from expectation?
@@gabrielamacleod5403 I think for me, hope is possibility. I feel like expectations carry much more weight but possibility just gives you more light in the darkness.
If I were expecting to get a job, I would surely be dejected on not getting it and probably internalise the rejection. However if there's hope and I enjoy the possibility of getting the job and then not get it, I would still be upset but I think I'd be more open to seeing other possibilities, because I'd not take the rejection as personally
I'm not sure if I explained it clearly enough but I tried 🙈
The best way to make art is to distract oneself from *gestures broadly* so your pottery skills are impeccable
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I’m still not ready to move on from the P4a yet, I’m so glad I got to experience it for the first time as a nerdfighter, it was the absolute best! thank you john, I love this community
I feel that. It was my first P4a as well and it felt surreal when it was happening and after it was over I kept feeling this feeling of absolutely joy at being a part of this community. Thank you to everyone in the community for making it so welcoming.
Aw, so happy that you both experienced it! Welcome!
We're glad to have you 💕
@@livvy94 💕💕
@@2201rafaela it's was sooo much fun to attend!!
"How lucky we are, Hank...to still be doing this, to still feel the warmth of this community."
Thank you for your warmth, Nerdfighters ♥️
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"I used to think art had to be great to be worthwhile; now, I only think it has to BE to be worthwhile." As someone who chose to completely flip their life path for their love of art, specifically cello playing, which I began at 23 and then proceeded to give up my entire 20's to focus on and study diligently and is just this upcoming Saturday about to have my audition for admission to a graduate program for cello performance, this thought has been the theme of my last two weeks. I am constantly feeling overwhelmed by the presence of better artists, economic pressures to give up and simultaneously intrusive thoughts that my own art is not good enough to merit my change of focus and career path. This statement resonates so hard with me on this third week in which my brain is really struggling to let go of comparisons and not allow it to burgle my joy and losing focus of my own personal mantra in which each day and every time I go to play I tell myself "I am a good and capable cellist". Sometimes I am just really overwhelmed by my thoughts like yesterday when I fixated on the next set of strings I want to try for nearly 3 hours so I really needed that reminder this morning from the outside greater consciousness of the human experience. Thank you John.
"It reminds me that hope is the correct response to consciousness" -John Green
The P4A was, indeed, awesome. It was truly awe inspiring to experience, and to see this community come together. This was my first time participating, but I will not be the last. Thank you all.
I’ve been taking a pottery class and the best thing I’ve learned so far is how to accept that I don’t have to be amazing or perfect at it. I’m loving just doing it, whether I produce something I fire or not. For the first time I’m making just for the beauty of the act and the moment, not for the end goal.
(Also, that process at the end is called collaring in btw John)
I love how this channel started out largely as an elaboration on Ze Frank's way of expressing his ideas about participatory, low-barrier art, and now we've seen what it means for those ideas to mature through a significant chunk of a human life.
I'm dealing with a lot of heavy stuff and couldn't make it to the p4a this year. But I am so proud to be a part of a community that does things like it.
Thank you for being a part of the community! I missed most of P4A because I had work over the weekend; life sometimes just gets in the way of things. I hope the heavy stuff passes, or at least becomes less heavy over time
There are a few things I think about with this video. For one, I'm basically a folklorist at this point, and as part of that I adore seeing folk art, made out of necessity or just pleasure of the craft and expression. For another, I'm learning crochet these days and so am thinking a lot about what my own metric of perfection is for any one project, and how I should really tone that down so I can make anything properly and not just worry.
Started watching in 2011, followed closely, took a break. Coming back feels like coming in from the cold where there's a cozy fire waiting to welcome me. How lucky we are that you both are still doing this
Something about this video made me realize that one day, one of the Green brothers will die, leaving us collectively bereft of one of the most amazing fraternal relationships ever shared with the wider world. As I was contemplating that sad eventuality and reflecting on the relationships that I fear losing in my own life, I heard John remind me that hope is the correct response to consciousness, and that often things that cannot be seen can nevertheless still be felt. Now I'm crying and I miss throwing pottery on a wheel.
Thanks, John. You are a great human and you make me feel things.
Hank would have definitely chosen to make a video like this before the P4A and increased the price of the pottery that I now missed.
This is a very John way of marketing and taking it down a notch, and I love it.
And, in a sense, it's a way of keeping promises, perhaps? Making good on the promise of the pottery - made all the better because everyone involved will enjoy the process: John making it, and the recipients receiving it :)
(and meanwhile we also get to enjoy watching John make it!)
2:06 I know exactly what you mean. I have only directed two plays. And both times, I've given a speech after the final rehearsal about how we are carrying out an ancient tradition. And to be proud to carry on the tradition, and the story of humanity.
As someone who produces pottery day-in and day-out, mostly mugs that are meant to be functional, I love your wobbly, closed-form secret keepers. Thanks for sharing your art, they're the antithesis of my work and I need to make one!
The p4a this year came at a time that I desperately needed some hope and some distraction, so its hopeful distraction was welcomed warmly.
Thank you for being here with us. May the hope and distraction carry you forward to the light soaked days. They're coming.
I got a secret keeper perk so it's extra fun to see one getting made! Also I love the P4A so much and now that the withdrawals are over my heart is very full 💜
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John: so we're just gonna do some chill pottery today, nothing too special
also John: *writes a beautiful piece about humanity and history and art and unity and hope and community*
I find it so liberating to remember I am making music and doing research for the benefit of my soul and that it does not have to be grand or important for me to find joy and self growth in it. Love your secret keepers, John.
Hearing you talk about a thing that I also remember being part of, with some of the same shared community feelings and emotions tied to it, might be my favourite thing about P4A and nerdfighteria in general. 48hrs of wholesome connection across the span of the internet is truly amazing to take part in, and the sense of pride and hope and other inexplainable emotions that I get from it is glorious. So thank you John, and Hank, and this whole community, for being what you are.
We are strangers on the internet, but we are strangers on the internet together.
During the final hour of the P4A livestream I was cutting vegetables. When the 'here because we're here' started, I suddenly felt enormously connected to the world. I agree with you, John, it was my favourite moment of the P4A as well. It was a pleasure to be a part of this and to many more P4A's to come!
Thanks to everyone who was a part of it as well!
There's just something magical about it.
I guess you were cutting onions both literally and figuratively.
“it reminds me that hope the correct response to consciousness.”
that is a quote i have so desperately needed to hear all my life, and i’m glad that i clicked on this little video in order to hear it.
Bringing the clay inwards is called collaring! Thank you for this deeply peaceful video, and for all that you do.
I loved every second of this video, the secret keepers and how art doesn’t have to be great to be worthwhile, it simply has to be. The P4A was thoroughly awesome as it is every year, and I was in awe of how many thousands of people joined in commenting ‘we’re here because we’re here’. I love every vlogbrothers tradition, thank you John, and Hank; dftba.
The ending of the P4A was also my favorite part (and there were a lot of good parts! I watched ~20 hours of the stream). Seeing everyone in the Green families celebrating together with 6,000 people in the chat was a great feeling. 💛 (Plus the stream ending with Orin saying "I got confetti in my mouth" was very on brand.)
"Hope is the correct response to consciousness" is the vibe that has me coming back to Hank and John over and over again. I'm 24, which means I've been a (legal) adult for about two and a half presidencies at this point, and it's been really difficult for me to remember that just because the whole world seems to have been on fire for the last six years of my life doesn't mean everything is awful. Thank you, Hank and John, for helping me to have just a little bit easier of a time doing that.
The P4A was such a wonderful time, as it always is. Thanks for being so awesome Nerdfighteria
I missed the P4A livestream this year cuz of a family emergency but was able to donate and snag the 3 pack of socks cuz the fundraiser was still up Monday. Glad you guys keep the page up for extra time after the official stream is over. Happy 3 mill!
Thank you for being where you needed to be for your loved ones this year. That, too, is a great way to spend a P4A weekend. I hope your socks are extra cozy when they get to you. Best wishes!
when you started the sentence “wheels weren’t originally made for transport, they were made for…” I swear I thought we were in for another unexpected tuberculosis fact.
this was so soothing, John, thank you. I picked up pottery early in the pandemic as a means of being creative and soothing my frazzled mind. I got reasonably okay at it and loved it, but keeping studio space became unsustainable so I had to drop it. watching you throw brought me back to that beautiful headspace, and I’m grateful for that.
It was so wonderful to celebrate the P4A with all of you, nerdfighteria! What an amazing, magical, awesome thing we get to do together. I hope we get to do it for a long, long time. Same time next year?
DFTBA!
Thanks for all your hard work during the livestream! Here's to next year 💜
@@okayheykae Thank you! and thank you for being here with us! See you next year!
Indeed, thanks for your part in the P4A year after year. Always see your name in the chat any time the brothers are live.
@@bluetoes591 It's my honor. I hope to be doing this for as long as they let me. ^^
I hope you got some good rest, food, and hydration after working so hard all weekend!
Though I've been fans of both John and Hank's books for awhile now, this was the first time I knew about the P4A, and as I was sick in bed with COVID (my second time, ugh), it was so lovely to feel part of something, to have the stream on my laptop on the table next to me, to zone in and out and always feel not only entertained, but like I got to be a tiny part of doing something good. Who knew there were others out there who enjoy nerding out about TB? My 2nd book of poetry deals a lot with a TB epidemic in a small WI town where my ancestors grew up, so I enjoyed all of the TB facts. And just when I was starting to feel sad about the P4A ending, my library hold for Turtles All the Way Down came in to keep me company the rest of my COVID convalescence. Thank you.
I think I have been around for most P4As. I'm always so happy to see so many people joining for the first time. It never gets old, the overall feeling is always the same each year. Any while monetary achievement is not the most important aspect, it still amazes me to see people come together to raise so much money for charity, from what I always think of a a smaller online community. I can't wait for another 16 years of the P4A.
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thank you. i needed this. ive been in a serious depression for the last few weeks and it's been difficult for me to care about anything while also caring about so many things so much and thinking that im stupid caring about things and this video helped. ive been thinking about what you said in the anthroposcene reviewed foreward, about letting the world crack you open. i think i let it crack me open too much sometimes, and then i close up because why would i want that but i always end up letting it, maybe in a perfect world i could let it crack me open but i think closing myself off a little is just harm reduction at this point, but i still yearn so desperately to be known. to write my feelings in the comments of a TH-cam video, to talk to someone, anyone but i can't talk to the people in my life who care about me because what if they leave me?
much that you wrote also describes my current state, and I want you to know I hear you and know it’s hard. hang on and keep reaching for things like John and Hanks videos, which help me remember there’s light in the world. that’s what I’m trying to do.
I got goosebumps at the end. It made me smile to think that I was just one of those voices explaining that we’re here because where here. Thank you
art doesn't need to be perfect to be enjoyed, it just needs meaning and i love that so much
i have an art degree and i've been struggling to get back into art without feeling like it has to Be Something. your secret keepers remind me of a summer where I visited my friend on her college campus. We had the whole ceramics studio to ourselves (plus a trapped bird). I hadn't thrown a pot before, but I had a grand time learning the basics and working with the clay. it was nice to work with something physical. To make a thing.
"now I only think it has to be to be worthwhile". I feel called out for all the creative ideas I have that have not become.
I always stay up weird hours for P4A but make sure I am up in time for the last hour. This year, I woke up but somehow fell back asleep. I know it is probably good that I rested if I needed rest, but I love that last hour and am sad I missed it.
But I did buy the “we’re hummus because we’re hummus because” coaster which fills me with that ridiculous and joyful togetherness just thinking about it. It was a very good weekend.
This was the first year I really participated in the chat, even though my first P4A was 2015. And it was incredible to engage in the madness and kindness displayed there. The collective excitement and joy are indescribable.
This was lovely and calm, John. Thank you!
I've been keeping tabs on P4A, so I had already noticed that we'd passed $3M, and while I know the number itself isn't that important, it does make me very happy that enough of us have had 1. the ability and 2. the desire to contribute to it :)
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This was my first p4a and while tuning in on and off to see what was happening was a nice thing to do, to know it was there for me when I was ready for it, I’m so glad I was there for the ending, too. I’ve been very isolated these last few years, and something about typing “we’re here because” in a chat full of “we’re here because we’re here” was healing in a small but important way. I love how you call it a global chorus- and for those few moments of celebrating our own presence, I got to be part of something. Thank you for that. ❤ And also for the crabs I look forward to receiving 😂
The P4A helps lots of us feel less lonely - it's such a nice community to be a part of!
I am so glad you joined us this year. May the crabs serve you well until we are together again. Best wishes!
this video style is everything to me. i love you just talking about stuff and doing stuff and being so incredibly profound in such a casual way
I'm watching this video sitting next to a little pot that I threw after not making ceramics for almost 4 years. I went to art school but was constantly surrounded by people in my life saying that art wasn't worthwhile and that I'd never be able to do anything with it as a career. I listened to those people for far too long, but I'm slowly getting back to it. The quote about art simply being to be worth while is exactly how I feel. Thank you for the lovely video and a great p4a!
Dude....this is so relaxing to watch. John please do more of these kinds of videos sometimes. They're almost meditative...for you and for us. Thank you for the "brain break".
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I’m taking a pottery class right now as a last semester senior in college, and man do I wish it was more the vibe of this video than the somewhat stressful forced mastery it has become 😅
That seems to be experience for some reason. I took ceramics my last semster in college as well, and it honestly made me hate it. The instructor was a ridiculously bitter ceramicist, always had things to say about big names or people who he thought didn't take it seriously. No matter how much time I invested in the class, I just couldn't keep up with the pace, but I needed it for my art credit or else I wouldn't graduate on time. At the end of the semester, the class of 20 had been whittled down to only a couple people. I passed with a C, which I'm pretty sure was awarded out of mercy.
"Hope is the correct response to consciousness" - That line made me pause, immediately. That's a big and very interesting statement! Interesting as art, as fact, and as ethics. A few thoughts:
1- The phrase is comforting... even consoling. But I can't really explain why? And that's super tough to pull off! It bypasses the logical brain and goes straight to the gut, and it does so in Plain English. As someone who writes - game respect game. That's a banging line.
2- It's an inspiring but almost *risky* statement, psychologically speaking. It's like a paraphrase of a twist on Descartes - "I think therefore I am" becomes "I am, therefore I ought to hope."
Hope implies an individualised improvement-oriented perspective that is 'away-looking' (in terms of *here* and in terms of *now*). That framing can be hugely productive - that's literally how the world is improved. But hope is a dangerous horse to bet on. As we know, the world has an awkward way of not giving a damn what we hoped and dashing out hopes. If we accept that hope is the correct response to consciousness, then we risk implying a different thought when the world takes that hope from us. Specifically, "I have lost hope, therefore I am responding incorrectly (and I ought to stop)." And that has it's own implications.
3- Each word in the phrase is doing its own bit of work. But IMO the word that overplays its hand the most is 'The', followed by 'Correct'.
IMO, Hope is not *the* response to consciousness, but *a* response... and it's A Great response, but not necessarily THE Correct response. I acknowledge that this change makes it a weaker turn of phrase.
Hope inherently looks 'away' from the here and now. Hope is not action. It's unsatisfied and too passive, and there are other responses that are more sustainable and less vulnerable to the harshness of the world.
Empathy is a great response to consciousness.
Kindness is a great response to consciousness.
Building community is a great response to consciousness.
If we want to be individualistic and emotion-centred, then contentment is a great response.
All these phrases place the material state of others above the emotional state of me. To a greater degree, they put the *is* over the *ought*.
4- This begs the question - what is *the* correct response to consciousness? I don't know. But the phrase you've given the audience really gets us thinking about that answer, and that's probably more important than any one answer in itself.
so so grateful for the p4a every year. it’s lifts my spirits and reminds me that there is action being taken to conquer the worlds problems and there is still cause for hope. this community is so special and i’m thankful every day that i get to be apart of it
I love your Secret Keepers! What a wonderful and healing idea. P for A was fabulous, as always and every year I get a little misty eyed at how awesome humans can be when we come together for others.
I think this is my new favorite video that I'll come back to.
1) because I want to make a secret keeper (started pottery last December and it's pretty awesome!)
2) because everything it represents makes me cry
3) because I want to know the secrets lol
My favorite technique when I'd work on the wheel was always chattering, where you'd let a bit of metal bump across the semi-dry surface creating thousands of shallow divots. Not only is it fun and a little noisy but the resulting textures just make a piece that is so tactile and beautiful to hold.
Pottery was always meditative for me as well, in fact I think it helped me learn to let go of the perfection of things, so this is actually a nice Tuesday treat.
Thanks John!
I made a playlist of your videos to listen to while I'm depressed or anxious. I find your voice incredibly soothing, and your words, extremely heartwarming. I wish there were more of these videos.
I love this style of vlogbrothers videos recently. I'm in the middle of a very anxious week, moving out of an apartment and roommate situation that's become hostile and bad for my mental health. and this video really calmed me down in the midst of stress packing. than you for that
This was excellent. I need that reminder sometimes, that art doesn't have to be amazing and perfect to be a worthwhile pursuit.
this year was the first P4A i’ve watched and i’m so happy i did! it was amazing and seeing all the guests and silly activities and all the donations made my heart so happy. can’t wait for next years ❤
I am so glad you joined us and that you had a good time! See you next year!
I completely agree with you about art. I think that’s one of the reasons why I keep making it in many different forms even when the end result isn’t what I was aiming for or I’m frustrated with its reach or I’m burnt out. I really, really liked this video and your secret keepers are wonderful! The whole idea of them makes me happy.
I'm a ceramist, I do pottery for a living and after decades of trying I still haven't mastered the throwing wheel, so no, I will not attempt to correct your technique, all I know for sure is that is fun and relaxing and you have those down.
I've been thinking a lot about Tommy Wiseau's "The Room" and the subsequent book-turned-movie "The Disaster Artist". On the surface, it's the story of a bad movie made by an egotistical amateur filmmaker and the fallout from its so-bad-it's-good infamy. But at its core, "The Disaster Artist" points our attention to the inexorable human *NEED* to make art. Sometimes it's a cosmic struggle for immortality... sometimes it's a personal struggle to process and express ideas... but deep down, almost every human feels it. Children feel it, prehistoric humans felt it, Tommy Wiseau and John Green feel it. It's universal. And kind of excruciatingly beautiful.
And I think the quality of the finished product doesn't matter as much as the making of it, you know? Maybe bad art is okay. Maybe it's MORE than okay. "Maybe art only needs to be."
Watching this while taking a break from beating my head against the wall that is my dissertation project, and taking some time to just make some pottery and decompress would be lovely! This helps even though I only get to experience it vicariously.
Please take this gentle encouragement and vote of confidence, too: you will get through your dissertation. Even though it is challenging and frustrating at times, I know you can do it. Be kind to yourself: you are doing something incredible. You've got this.
@@untappedinkwell thank you kind stranger! I teared up reading this. It's been a really hard slog recently and I've been pretty tempted to give up at times. I certainly need all the encouragement I can get!
John, I've lost track of how many times one of your well said quotes has saved my life.
All I know is that today is one of those times.
Hope is, indeed, the correct response to consciousness.
We're hummus because
Thank you for being here/hummus with us. We're hummus because
We're hummus because
I think the goal of "taking it down a notch" this year with the videos and life is going to lend to some very tranquil videos and I'm all for it.
Because art doesn't have to be great to be worthwhile. Art can be taken down a notch.
Done is better than perfect. Thank you for these 4 lovely minutes.
As someone who has been unable to put pen to paper for two whole months because of fearing that what I'm doing is not enough, hearing that it only has to /be/ to be worthwhile... really got to me. Thank you, John.
Please never stop making these these simple, quiet, introspective, and profound videos. They stick with me deeply and I often ponder your little mantras throughout the day "Huh, hope really *is* the best response to to consciousness"
we’re here because we’re here. and I love being *here* with this community. especially during p4a. much love and thanks to all of nerdfighteria.
Nerdfighteria had a large impact on me in my developmental years, and I am so Profoundly grateful.
Nerdfighteria is definitely part of who I am as a person, and dammit the brothers need to come to Canada!
The secret spiral of the secret keeper! As someone who uses drawing as a meditative get-away-from *gestures broadly* I can totally agree, art just needs to be (and my own is mostly just for me)
one of the best john made vlogbrother's videos in my opinion. there's something about making a point, and then giving words to it that sets you up to feel something more than just being told the same line outright. the video was 99% explaining that art doesn't have to be for others, and 1% saying it
“Hope is the correct response to consciousness.” 💛💛💛
I love being and I'm here every time for P4A and all Nerdfighter things. Thank you so much.
I'm an artist (kinda) and I haven't worked with pottery in nearly 13 years and my 3D modeling skills are limited. however, John has inspired me here to work with clay again because I'd like to make my own secret keepers.
Update: I made my own secret keepers, waiting for them to come out of the kiln now
The P4A will never stop amazing me. This year I was going through some things and I wasn’t able to donate as much as in the past. I’m just so grateful to get to do this every year. Thanks for making this community.
I had to stop and cry at the end of this video because I experienced a deep catharsis from seeing your art that I always try and feel from my own art. I have wanted to be a writer for forever, and just hearing that "art just has to BE to be worthwhile" helped me further break down my internal editor. Thank you John. Thank you
My competition shooting instructor was in a wheel chair and could not follow any of the best practices. But he was still one heck of a shoot. That taught me a lot about following best practices and doing it "the proper way". Doing it "the proper way" will help you learn quickly but desire and practice can take you farther then you may think.
i recently came to this same conclusion regarding art as well, and its made creating art fun for me again. its a difficult hurdle to cross but once you do its so liberating! love your little guys, may you create many more
I agree. Making art calms my anxiety tremendously. It can't if I'm already panicking, but if I feel myself ramping up, or wake up shaky, or come home ready to hide under my desk, making art opens a part of my brain that lets some of that terrible vibration drain out, and makes me breathe easier. And it doesn't seem to be any particular art form (though I think secret keepers are a great idea and might try that), as long as it engages my eyes and hands. Sometimes I need a hammer and sometimes I need a feather but whatever works, works. Thank you especially for this one John.
John, I subscribe to no other media platform except Facebook. I love TH-cam, because I can view the entire world for free. Of all the sites I enjoy; you and Hank are my favorites. I have also read all your books. I think you along with Hank are two of the Best Human beings currently in the public eye. We will soon lose Jimmy Carter. He was the finest human being I know of. I am sure you already know how brilliant, intuitive, wonderful, humorous, creative, entertaining and just plain fabulous you are. Hank is also. He is different, but you both possess qualities that rise far above the average human being. Love you both. Keep up the brilliant work helping the world.
I was bummed to miss P4A this year -- first time since 2008 that I didn't catch it. The first thing I did when I emerged from the Canadian wilderness was check the campaign to see how much money had been raised. I was very glad to see the weekend had been so successful, and I got my digital download bundle this morning!
So this is what it's like to be early for a vlogbrother's video! For all u early people: my honours thesis proposal just got accepted and I am excited lol
Great job!
Congrats! You definitely didn’t forget to be awesome
Congrats!
Congrats! 🎉
Congrats!!! Thank you for sharing with us.
A great reminder that hobbies are not always good because we're amazing at them, or can monetize them. Hobbies are good because they make us feel something.
Some things that are not seen are nonetheless felt. Oh John, you wordsmith you. Congrats on another successful P4A! I’m already excited for next year.
This video is an instant favourite that I will try and come back to regularly. I have always had this desire to do things "right" or attempt to do them well. This year I've tried to get more into art because I realized I lacked a creative outlet but I struggle with wanting it to look good rather than just letting it be what it is.
I've always felt that if I could afford a comfortable space with a small pottery wheel kiln setup, I could finally feel a bit of human peace. I hear it in your voice often, but I cannot find it in my own. Thanks for sharing your secret keeper peaceful moment with us, and all the other things over the years.
This video has good vibes. It's a nice throwback to why we're all here in the first place. How lucky we are to have found such a community of brilliant, thoughtful, creative people. It's a joy to get together virtually every year. Til next P4A. ❤️
Thank you Nerdfighteria for a truly awesome weekend ❤️
it's always comforting to hear you speak. if only for 4 minutes, i can focus my attention on being alive. consciously acknowleding my privilege of being here. and i am really thankful for being able to access the things you (and Hank and Sarah!) create. from reading your books as a teen to discovering the anthropocene reviewed last year, i really do feel that i have (somehow) grown to understand what you've been trying to pass on this whole time.
ps. writing this from Budapest - just letting you know how much impact you and the community have on a global scale
I been part of P4A since the beginning, I agree seeing your families with you as we celebrated the brought a tear to my eye. It's crazy how times moves forward yet the comfort of the weekend is the same! Thank you, Hank and your team for keeping this beautiful weekend alive and growing. 🥰
I’ve been here since the beginning as well, and this year as I was watching the shenanigans and learning about tuberculosis and co-creating this experience with thousands of others I remembered that none of this is inevitable- P4A is what it is because every year, people make a choice to be there, to engage and connect, to donate money and give attention, and I just love us!
The P4A was indeed awesome! I had such a fun time; thanks to everyone who made it possible and everyone in the chat!
Thoughts from Places has always been such a soothing, hopeful and encouraging force in my life, and I must assume many others. Thank you from the bottom of my consciousness
It’s so cool that you’re doing pottery. My daughter is a ceramicist and has a potting wheel in our garage. I’m going to ask her to let me try it this summer. Also, John, we loved seeing your category on last night’s High School Reunion Jeopardy! You did a great job.
The only thing that could have made this video more perfect would have been to sneakily add in hank's hands at the end with a bit of unchained melody playing softly... or is that just me?
Seriously though, i love this community and all that the vlogbrothers have brought to the world. Hope is more attainable because of the efforts like p4a and nerdfighteria. Thanks y'all!
Also, happy mardi gras!