Pottery Part 3

To wrap up my first clay experience, my beginning wheelthrowing class was a lot of fun.  I made more pieces than I had expected – a few of them actually gift-worthy – and found several inspiring and beautiful glazes.  I've gotten almost all of my clay pieces back from the kiln.  Some of my pieces turned out better than others, but overall I’m really pleased with the variety.

Before:  Two-toned bowl with Oxblood on the inside, Coleman Black outside...

And after!

This is one of my favorite bowls.  I love the way Oxblood turns out on the inside of the structure.  This was a gift for my brother, a senior at UW Madison (hence the Badger colors...)

Before:  Another two-toned bowl with Pale Blue Celadon inside, Blue Green Celadon outside...

And after.  This picture doesn't really do this piece justice, but I really liked how it turned out.  This will be a useful salsa bowl or candy dish!

Before:  Salsa dish with Oestreich Tenmoku...

After!  I love this one.  It turned out smaller than I expected, but is perfect for a small serving of salsa or guacamole.

Before:  Bowl with Blue Grey on the inside, Custer Clear outside...

After.  The glaze distinctions were not as even as I had hoped, but I really like this shade of blue.  I think the areas where the blue soaked through to the outside were some of the more thin and fragile spots of the piece.

Before:  Shallow dish with Oxblood...

And after!

Another view.

My last three pieces anxiously waiting to be trimmed...

...and sitting on the shelf after trimming.  (The big bowl still needs to be glazed and I won't get it back for a few more weeks.)

My first pouring pot!  This was JL Shino with Coleman Black accents.  I was going for a tiger look.

Another view.  This will be a perfect creamer!

Hideous, I know.  And very ashtray-like.  This one fell off the wheel during the trimming.  I blame it on the person who brought wine to our last-day-of-class-potluck.  But, it might make a decent bracelet holder.  One that stays inside the drawer, of course.

Taking this art class reinforced to me that while I am goal-oriented and often place too much emphasis on achieving the end result, I am definitely not a perfectionist.  Never once during the class did I obsess over the way a piece turned out or become hung up on fingerprints or glaze irregularities.  I truly enjoyed all of my pieces and appreciated their unique qualities.

Next time I take a pottery class (and there will be a next time), I want to experiment with more clay types.  Since most of my pieces were small, I only got through two bags of clay, so I still have a lot of clays to work with and feel.  I would like to progress toward making larger bowls, and something with a lid.  None of my pieces were centered enough to attempt a fitted lid this time.  I also envision a matching cream and sugar bowl set, and a big ass coffee mug with a handle!

I was disappointed about my only piece that never came back from the kiln.  This was going to be a coffee mug for my sister, and in fact it was my only mug with a pulled handle.  The glazes were Reitz Green and Blue Jean to match the flowerpot I made for my mom.  I guess I’ll never know what happened to my mug but I hope to recreate it in my next class!

The mystery of the lost mug...