After the "Before and After"

Wow, guys.  I've been away for quite a while.  Time to start getting a bit caught up.  There's a lot to talk about, but let's go with the 'platter' pot I last displayed back in March.  I smiled just reading over that last post.  I really did boast about that pot! 

After I had taken all of the vegetable-filled pics of it, I put it on my counter with a few other bowls stacked within it.  I didn't look at it again for a few weeks, until I pulled it out to show a friend.  As I unstacked bowl after bowl from atop it, I finally got down to it and saw this:

Who would have known that I could not only make vessels, but could differentiate myself as a creator of children's puzzle games?  (It's sharp, Billy.  Be careful.)

The depressing remains of platter sat, just like this, on my counter for months.  The technical flaws to its form allowed it to happen:  the bottom of the platter sunk down during firing and the foot didn't compensate for the dip.  The bottom wasn't flat. It was curved just enough.  Despite all of that logic, however, I just couldn't bear to throw hours of work away (to permanently contribute to a landfill somewhere, as fired clay doesn't biodegrade).

As I ended my pottery semester and started anew during the summer, I asked Moriah for her thoughts on whether (and how) it might be repairable.  I expected to passed down some ancient secret learned from potters long ago. 

Instead:  she shared DAP Silicone Aquarium Sealant.  This magical stuff is safe for sealing your fishies' tank, and for human food and food surface contact.  It doesn't get brittle, and you can get it anywhere.  I mosied on over to my local big-box, confused the staffer in the paint department trying to describe what I needed it for and ultimately just matched the image from the site tot he tube I thought would work and took it home.



Wa-lah!

 2 people, 45 minutes, 5 Q-tips(R), most of a newspaper and a few medical gloves later, and it's as good as if it had been Steri-stripped.

I sincerely doubt that my platter will ever see the dinner table. As my friend, Bryan suggested, however, it may end up hanging on display in the house.  It will not only act as inspiration for future pieces, but will add just a touch of foreboding...a warning to Ms. Clumsy of what happens when you're just not careful enough.

That said, I have renewed confidence in my "handiness" as a result of a rather successful repair.  Score.