Writing Someone Elses' Story

Day 1 Utah visit continued .....

Just breathing in the air in Utah was different.  I can't explain if it seemed cleaner, or if it was the different trees, or the higher altitude.... but I could breathe easily.

My dear friend BE had some things planned for me on our little adventure.  After lunch, our first stop was a visit to Ben the Potters' home studio.

 

While we were waiting for Ben to finish up with a customer, we just wondered around his home compound.  Everywhere you looked, there were pieces of him.... or his art.  The side of his garage was filled with fun and whimsical faces.  The posts holding up the pergola were filled with glass, pottery and interesting other things. It was a truly awesome place to soak it all in ... head, heart & hands.

 

 

A few minutes later, I got to meet Ben the potter, and Ben Behunin the author (one in the same.)  I have posted stories throughout the past few years about Ben (like he's my friend.)  Becky met him a few years ago... I'm not sure exactly how .... I'll have to find out.  He was local. She discovered he had a great story.  He made wonderful pottery.  And he wrote an amazing trilogy about Isaac.

 

 

For some wonderful reason, Becky thought that I would enjoy Ben's story.  So, she sent me Book 1, a ceramic mug and some Forget-Me-Not seeds.  When you read the book, you will see how they all intertwine.

 

I'm not sure which story I like better, the one of art imitating LIFE or the other one of LIFE imitating art.  Either or ..... I was hooked.  If you'd like to read more of Ben's storie(s) you can go here  http://www.potterboy.com/

 

He is a trained potter.  As a young man he developed a rare arthritis in his hands.  Not such a good illness for someone whose livelihood depended on the pottery he made.  During his illness, a story came to his mind and he couldn't write it fast enough.  He thought writing was impossible because he was not trained to write .... but the words and the story came to him.  And he wrote a book about Isaac the Potter .... and then another book and another.

 

His story continues.... after he published his first book and bought all of them himself to distribute, he doubted that anyone would buy, let alone read his book.  He was a potter, not an author.  One thing lead to another and he met people in many different walks of LIFE and his story got out. Someone recommended that he use magnetic bracelets to help 'heal' his hands.  He found titanium magnets worked for him and has been pain free for over 3 years.  And now being an author, he is once again a potter and much more ... all by the time he was 40.

 

Here is another link to a video about his home that he re-built... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GkG_Clzk5I

 

I'd love to describe the books to you ... but there are excellent reviews on Goodreads here....  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2839817.Ben_Behunin

 

 

So, I got to meet Ben. 

 

He has a very firm handshake. 

 

We got to see where he creates. 

 

I got to buy 3 more books and two pieces of pottery.

 

While skimming through Put A Cherry on Top ~ The Secrets of Creating an Artful Life... I found a line that really resonated with me .... especially for 2014.  "...I have learned that opportunities abound for those who dwell in POSSIBILITIES."

 

And now I know for sure .... everyone has a story.