Success and Inspiration

The tape is off!  I'm no longer adorned with flourescent-colored therapy tape.  I even threw for the first time in a long time on Wednesday without wearing gloves.  (The jury is still out on whether I like using bare hands or gloved hands better, though.)  Physical therapy is helping, and I think I'm starting to heal.  Of course, my first impulse is to abuse the wrist enough to determine if I'm really 100% or if it's weak, so I'm trying to still be ginger. 

I spent most of Wednesday night trimming the bowls that I threw last weekend.  I got a little refresher lesson in how to place a foot and how to even it out to be level.  The act of trimming is so fun for me.  Take a leather-hard pot, apply a sharp tool, and see trimming fly around as you spin the wheel.  Something about making a big pile of clay bits makes me feel productive.

When I made these platters, I tried a technique Cary had demonstrated:  throwing a cylinder and then pulling the walls down to make a "bowl"/platter.  (Plate or platter is probably more accurate than bowl, since the bottom is flat and not round it isn't REALLY a bowl...but it's a 'bowl' class, so we'll stretch the definition a bit.)

This platter is the largest thing I've thrown this year so far.  As I made it I already decided how I'd be glazing it, an unusually prepared thing for me to do.  It's white stoneware with blue slip painted along the flat bottom with a bit of texture which will catch the glaze.  I also indented all along the rim to make a bunch of little grooves; those will also catch the glaze to settle thickly.  This will be what's quickly becoming my 'signature' glaze - Ben's Amber.  It's usually used as an oxidation glaze, but in the standard reduction kiln, it is a neutral tan/brown that's a bit translucent, allowing design and texture to show through.  In areas where it's thicker it has a blue tone or hue, so I think the slip at the bottom of the platter will compliment it really well. 

On another note, I got a Groupon email today with a side-offer of discounted admission to CraftBoston Spring the weekend of March 25th-27th.  It's a show at the convention center in Boston, and there will be over 200 craftspeople showing and selling their work.  There will be folks who work in various media, not just clay, but I'm tickled to go; I really think I could get a lot of ideas on how to alter and decorate my pots. 

Now that I'm getting a bit more confident in my throwing abilities, I really need to start considering how to 'make them mine'.  I emailed a few friends to see if folks would be interested in attending (if you're reading and would like to go, let me know!)

The next semester will start at Mudflat in April, so I've been looking at class schedules to decide which one I want to take.  I wanted to take another class with Cary, but he's only going to be teaching one class during mornings on a work day, so that's probably not going to happen.  I am considering the "Altering Thrown Forms" class with Wayne.  I've been amazed to watch folks take something round and end up with an oval casserole...and I have a feeling that's just the beginning.  I tell you, the more pottery I do, the more I realize there is yet to learn. 

I'm planning a marathon pottery day this Saturday.  I can't wait to glaze some bisqued pots, clear off my shelf, and make way for some more!