Before and After pics

I thought it would be fun to show a pot in various stages of completion.

This is me proving to Moriah that I had, indeed, created something as wide as she had instructed.  The platter was wet, still on the wheel.

This is what the pot looked like with glaze drying onto it after it had been bisque-fired.  One more trip through the kiln for a few hours and it ended up looking like:

The veggies didn't come from the studio - I had to add those myself.  The lettuce actually makes the platter look a lot smaller than it does in real life, too.  I tell you, compared to most things I've made:  this thing is huge. 

This platter has also taught me a very powerful lesson.  It turns out that things that have large, flat bottoms often sag down when they get heated up in the kiln.  What used to be a perfectly flat bottom now sags down so far that the plate doesn't sit straight; it sort of rocks back and forth on the curved base. 

If anyone has ideas on how I can sand down/flatten a fired ceramic platter, I'd greatly appreciate it!

In support of commercial enterprise

You meet cool people when you take on a new hobby - especially when it's in the arts. I had been coveting this item I could only describe as a "ball tool" for the longest time, and a google effort led me to Atlantic Pottery Supply.  I had such a great experience that I thought I'd add my endorsement.

There were some problems with my order that caused Kathy to contact me.  One item was out of stock, and she wanted to know whether I'd prefer to wait and receive everything together or have them ship the items separately.  Per my request, the in-stock items were sent and recieved right away.  When I emailed back asking her if she had any tools "a little bigger, with a different tip and slightly more hefty," she responded right away with options.  She manually adjusted my order, added on the new tools and offered to take them back for a refund if they weren't what I needed. 

In the land of enormous etailers, Kathy and Atlantic Pottery Supply were warm, personable, prompt, friendly, efficient and knowledgable.  Not many get that kind of glowing recommendation from me, so if you're in the market for anything 'pottery' - check them out. 

Pots I'm pretty proud of

Unlike a lot of the things I've shown already in this space, I'd like to share some of the things I've made recently of which I'm particularly proud.  Since in the past I've seen others' work and really tried to get myself to the point that I could "make something just like that", it was hard for me to evaluate my work over time and see the positive in it. 

Now that I've been up to it for a while, though, I've started looking back.  I recently looked at some of the things I've purchased, and noticed that their stuff isn't all that great, either!  I can see the technical flaws in things and smile, knowing that I've done that, too, or that I know how I could have prevented that. 

That said, here are some things that I'm actually not embarassed to show as my own...with a few descriptions and 'fun facts' about each.

This is a ceramic bowl, made and glazed with my sister in mind.  It has two different glazes on it - a first-coat of "Heaven's Gate" with a top ring of "Royal Blue".  My sister loves purple, and I was trying to get her something in that color scheme.  The blue turned out brilliantly, but where it was thicker turned to what I like to call "pepto-purple" around the top.  It turns out some folks are fans of pepto.  Sister likes it, and I'm learning to more and more as I go back and revisit it.

A platter!  I started out with pottery focusing on small things.  Largely that was because everything you make as a beginner is with 1-1.5 pounds of clay, and after you fire it twice it's shrunk to almost unrecognizable proportions.  This semester, my instructor handed me a slice of a notepad's cardboard...11x3".  She told me to see try to make something 11" wide and 3" high out of 5-6 pounds of clay.  This platter was my first successful result.  It's a flat-based platter with a "Celadon" glaze (I do love earthy colors) and splatters of darker colors to add a little 'oomph'.  My father made a killer meatloaf in it, I hear.

This one isn't finished yet.  This is a picture of my first casserole in 'greenware' form.  It's been thrown, trimmed and handles have been slipped, scored and attached.  The clay has dried out, but it hasn't been fired.  A good impact or the scrape of a fingernail and it could be totally destroyed.  I would like to glaze it a la "Le Creuset", the wonderful French pottery.  I was thinking an obnoxious blue-green color on the outside and bright, glossy white on the inside.  Thoughts?  Post a comment and let me know what you think.

A shout-out

So one of my good friends, Heather, comes from clay.  Not literally (although some who study religion would give credence to the idea), but her father is a potter by trade.  He does Raku - a method and style I haven't yet tried, but would love to.  His business is Earth Matters Pottery.

Not only is he a a potter, but he and his wife operate a yurt-rental resort on Hawaii.  I'm trying to conive myself a visit under the auspices of under-studying to someone who can teach me artistic technique.  Wouldn't hurt to escape the winter doldrums of Boston, either.  :)

Couldn't you imagine waking up to sunlight in the warmth and relaxation of this place?

NCECA in Philly

In my 'other world' as a paramedic, we must take a certain number of continuing education classes every few years in order to keep our certifications.  I'm taking advantage of a visit back home to Pittsburgh, PA next weekend to stay around and attend a conference for con-ed hours at Seven Springs.  I'll take classes like "Advanced Burn Life Support" - especially useful when you're around kilns that reach 900+ degrees farenheit.  (Speaking of blogs...check this one out from Clay Arts Utah.  They talk about the firing process.)

I learned recently that the Annual NCECA Conference will also be taking place in PA in the next couple weeks.  How disappointed I was to find out that it would be a week later on the other side of the state.  I can't take enough work off to swing that one.  How great would it be, though, to take a workshop from some of the experienced, professional artists at this event?!?  Even my instructors were jealous to think that I would get to go.  I was warned to be prepared with my wallet, however. 

Ah, to watch professionals work...

The early stuff...

When I first started taking pottery classes, I was amazed that my instructor could so easily convert a lump of mud into a functional shape.  (Sort of like this.)  He really made it seem as if it was no effort.  Then when I tried it, I realized that it required the use of all sorts of muscles that I hadn't previously had to 'work'!

Here are some pictures of the first few things I made.  I cannot tell you the joy of pulling something out of the kiln and realizing that you can use it for...something.  I have the most rudimentary 'pencil holder' sitting on my desk at work, and I couldn't love it more.

This bowl is quite small.  It holds about 4 ounces.  I was experimenting with the colors of glazes here...dropping them onto the piece and making designs.  It's a very 'natural' look, but my look is very natural.  This worked well for me.  I have had the intention to make along this vein, but haven't yet.

This was the first piece that I glazed.  those two colors, the white and red, were produced from the same chemical compounds.  The glaze I used, shino, produces different colors depending on the thickness with which it's applied to a pot.  A very thin coating produces the orange-red color, and a thick coat produces the white.  The glaze experiment was a success.  My instructor's feedback on the form involved a comment something like, 'Wow.  That's quite a man-handled handle."  Oh, Howard. 

Introduction

I started my pottery hobby about a year and a half ago with a friend. It was meant to just be something we could do while enjoying each other's company, but the hobby outlasted the friendship, and I've become quite obsessed with it.

I go to a pottery studio called Mudflat where I take classes and can take advantage of open studio hours to 'hone my skills'. I started out making things at about the level of a 3rd-grader, but lately I've even made a few pieces I like. I'm learning, though, that as my confidence and skills improve, my expectations increase proportionally whereby I now feel just as much stress to 'do better' as I did at the beginning.

It's meant to be relaxing - and it is, don't get me wrong. There's something wonderful about leaving your 'desk job' and spending the evening manipulating mud with your bare hands. Instead of producing intellectual property, I can produce something tangible and practical...and maybe even a bit pretty.

So I'll be posting some pictures, videos and descriptions of my experiences. If you're an experienced clay craftsman, perhaps this blog will remind you of when you were a beginner and you can look back with fondness and pity. If you've never sat at a wheel to throw a mound of clay, perhaps I'll be able to convince you that it's actually not like Ghost would have you believe at all.

Cheers,

Alethea