Minnesota’s Layl McDill makes large canes that she reduces from the middle, making the two halves look like large Hershey’s kisses.

It works and she ends up with very little waste. Here it is in a time-lapse video.

Layl works in unorthodox ways with off-brand clays and homegrown techniques. She teaches without a pasta machine and doesn’t feel the need for many tools.

The stories on her blog and her dream-come-true studio will make you a believer in the value of persisting and marching to the beat of your own drummer.

So put down your tools and check in on StudioMojo for the rest of this story about the class Layl taught in Ohio this week. It’s refreshing and a little disorienting to forego our tool addictions and let our hands dig in.