And Some Other Things

How can I make a bowl this shape?  

Thanks to Ron Philbeck once again for helping me figure out a pottery "problem".

Obviously, start by throwing a bowl.  But then what?  It needs to be altered and needs to have a foot trimmed.  Altering the rim has to happen when the clay is wet.  Trimming the foot has to happen at the leather hard stage. If I alter the rim, it won't sit flat on the trimming bat.  

Solution?  Make a chuck!

Alter the rim right after throwing the bowl. Then when it is dried to leather hard, invert the bowl on the chuck to trim the foot.

Genius!

Next up - a lid for something that is not round.

Um, how?

I threw the sides, let them dry to leather hard, and attached to the slab bottom.  I have done this before. This time though, I cut a gallery in the rim to hold the lid.

The lid is also a slab.  Using a big sponge to give some support in the middle (the one on the bottom in this picture), I let the slab kind of sink down in the casserole.  After it firmed up enough to hold its shape while I handled it, I flipped it over and then trimmed it to fit the shape of the dish.  This gave the lid some curve.  The second sponge is there to help it keep the curve while it dried.

This piece is still drying, so I still don't know how it is going to turn out.  Fingers crossed for no cracks and no warping.

I'm working on "not round" lids because I've had a request for a 9 by 12 inch casserole dish with a lid.  That is a challenge on two levels for me. First is the lid and second is the size.  

This is a rectangular piece that might end up approximately 9 by 12.  It is still a guessing game for me to try to get finished pieces of a particular size.  If the size does come out right and if the lid on the oval piece above works out ok, I'll see if I can put the two together.  

Stay tuned.