Glazing Day

It was glazing day on Saturday after a relatively late start.  I participated in the Camper Scamper 5K to benefit Camp Safe Haven first thing that morning.  (This also makes Saturday Racing Day, by the way.)

It was rainy which meant that things dried really slowing.  Patience was key for pieces that require two or more glazes.  It is important to allow the first glaze to dry before layering the other glazes.  Many of my pieces have more than one glaze, and I'm not particularly patient, so this was a little frustrating for me.

I waited until Sunday to load the kiln and get it started.  I wanted to be sure that everything was completely dry before I handled them much.  We should have some new things to take home in a few days.

Trimming the Lid

In this photo, I am trimming the lid on one of the cannisters.  I am removing the extra clay where it was attached to the bat and shaping the lid so that it has a nice curve.  (Thanks to Megan for the picture!)

Cannisters Part 2

Lids are trimmed and handles are attached.  Now it's time to let them dry completely before they can be fired the first time.  The paper strips are so I can lift the lids off without using the handles.  Until they are bisque fired, handles are too fragile to use.

This Weekend's Project

I'm working on a set of cannisters this week.  The first step is to throw the cannisters and lids.  Lids are thrown upside down and they look a lot like bowls at this point. Getting this much done was Thursday evenings project.  (I was pretty pooped by the time I finished.) The pieces need to dry to the leather hard stage before any more can be done.  Saturday morning I'll be sure that each lid fits nicely before cutting them off the bats.  Then I'll trim them to get the shape that I want and will attach handles.

Good Bye Treasures...

The Treasures of the Earth Pottery Show and Sale at the Cleveland County Arts Council is now over.  I went over Friday afternoon and packed up the pieces that didn't sell.  I had a pretty good show all things considered and am grateful to everyone who purchased a piece of Susan Jones Pottery.

Thank goodness I sold some work.  When I unpacked at home, I had trouble getting everything back on the shelves. The good news is that if you didn't have a chance to buy something while it was on display, there are still LOTS of pots to choose from.  Feel free to contact me if you need to do some shopping.  (I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that Mother's Day is just around the corner.)

This week in the studio, I've been working on throwing and altering bowls.  I hope to have pictures to share in a few weeks when they are glazed and fired.  I'm having some difficulty getting the sizes right for what I have in mind.  We shall see how they turn out.  I also hand built a vase that might end up being relatively interesting.

I've enjoyed continuing to work with Megan.  She's coming along nicely despite the fact that one of our lessons this week was hijacked by our friendly neighborhood dentist/potter.  All kidding aside, I think she is benefiting from this "teaching by committee."  I am certainly grateful for input from others.  We all do things a little bit differently and this exposure to a number of throwing techniques is helping her find what works best for her.

Mugs!

Here are some mugs that I made this weekend.  

They'll be dry in a week or so and ready for the next bisque fire.  

First Experience "Teaching" Pottery

This week, I've had the opportunity to do a little bit of teaching.  To be honest, I feel inadequate.  I've only been doing this myself for a few years.  But we had success!  My "student" got two lumps of clay reasonably centered and then pulled into something that might eventually be mugs.

I'm finding that this is good for me.  For one thing, it has reminded me how truly far I've come.  It is easy to forget the days that throwing a 1.5 pound mug took all morning.  I also believe that really thinking about what I do so that I can explain it to someone else will help me continue to improve my skills.

I've always said that I didn't really learn calculus until I started teaching it.  The same holds true for pottery!