Here are all my finished pieces. At least the ones I decided to keep. I practiced my turning technique on pieces I wasn’t too crazy about. Above is what I have to show for a week’s worth of work, a lot more ended up in the reclaim pile.
They will now dry out for about a week, then get bisque fired and then I will return to glaze them. So stay tuned, I’ll let you know how everything turns out.
Here are just a few of my pieces, I thought I would share with you. I made a small vase this morning “off the hump”, just to get warmed up. My tutor showed me how to make plates and bowls today, she makes it look wonderfully seamless as her hands move in, out, across and around. It doesn’t always look like that when I try, However, this afternoon, I made the perfect bowl.
The stars aligned, the sun shone from the heavens, the angels were singing, because everything went just right! I pulled the clay up perfectly with no issues and used my metal kidney to slowly start to form a bowl and little by little the shape took form. Once, I was happy, I called it a day, because you don’t want to mess with a good thing. The bowl I attempted to make after that, turned out fat and slightly off, but who cares? I got one right and it felt so good.
Tomorrow, I’m turning all my pieces out and glazing till my heart’s content.
I’ve moved into my third day of pottery class. Yesterday, I learned to throw “off the hump”, which means I created objects (a pot, mini bowl, egg cup holder and candlestick) all out of a single piece of clay that I formed into a cone like shape and worked with it from there.
There’s still a few things I need to work on, but I’m loving this process. I work alone in the afternoon and the time just flew by, I was so lost in what I was doing. I couldn’t believe when my teacher appeared with a mug of tea for me that it was already after 4 pm. I had been steadily working away for over two hours. Incredible!
Today, I worked on throwing jars with separate lids and had my first go at turning some of my pots from my very first day, which are now leather hard. I’m getting there, slowly but surely!
{Sorry there are no pictures, I was so busy throwing, I forgot to snap a picture of my growing collection}
I’m taking a summer class to learn how to throw pottery. So, come September, I can start teaching these techniques to students.
Today was intensive, but I feel that I walked away with a good foundation. I can confidently bring my clay up into a cone and work it back down into a ball/dome shape on the wheel. I can also make the opening for a pot and bring that back up into a dome shape and begin to form my desired object.
Although I made a pot, a mug and a planter today, I need to work on refining my techniques. A lot more of my pieces ended up in the reclaim tub then on my board to dry out. Oh well, back to the wheel tomorrow!
{A gorgeous wildflower garden I passed on my way to class, it was buzz, buzz, buzzing with big fat bumblebees and that made me happy!}
Just a few things I’ve been Pinning lately:
1. Carrot macaroons // Project Denneler
2. A hidden surprise Easter Egg cake // Zucker, Zimt und Liebe
3. An Easter basket 3 ways // Oh Happy Day
4. Easter cupcake decorating idea for kids // Handmade Charlotte
5. A carrot corsage // Aesthetic Outburst
6. Pinata Eggs // A Subtle Revelry
{All images pinned to Hopping In To Easter // Follow me HERE}
1. St. Patrick’s Day Clover Crown // Oh Happy Day
2. Printable Leprechaun Mini-Cupcake Toppers // Oh Happy Day
3. Mini Rainbow Balloon Arch // Oh Happy Day
4. Traditional Irish Coffee // Style Me Pretty
5. Green Candygrams // A Pretty Cool Life
6. Surprise In-side Cupcakes // Betty Crocker
{Pinned to: The Wearin’ O The Green // Follow me on Pinterest HERE}
Tonight’s the night to dye all those Easter Eggs for the Easter Bunny to come and hide.
Here are some Eggstrordinary Easter Ideas:
1. Egg Cup Vases: Fleuretica
2. Silhouette Easter Eggs: Le Papier Studio
3. Watercolored Eggs: Atelier Christine
4. DIY Marbled Easter Eggs: Minted
5. New York Subway Easter Eggs: The SoHo Blog
6. Natural Dyed Eggs: The Sweetest Occasion
7. Kool-Aid Dyed Eggs: Puj Blog
{All pins pinned to my Hopping In To Easter Board}
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Look what I’ve been pinning lately:
1. Chocolate Easter Bunny Cake: The Cake Blog
2. Bunny Cookies & Milk: Munchkin Munchies
3. Six Layer Coconut Covered Chocolate Peep Cake: Half Baked Harvest
4. Easter Bunny Cake: Craftsy
5. Peep Pops: Sweet Lulu
1. DIY Eggshell Tea Lights: Little Inspiration
2. DIY Easter Egg Candy Boxes: Coco and Mingo
3. Pastel Easter Eggs: Victoria Magazine
4. Miffy Easter Tote: Small Fry
5. DIY Easter Favor Bags: A Pretty Cool Life
{All pins pinned to my Hopping In To Easter Board}
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Oh my! We have made it to the end of the week and I think that this might have actually been the longest day ever! Tomorrow I’m going to a class at Somerset House, I am so excited. I am going to learn the art of Shibori, which is a series of Japanese dying methods, that involve manipulating the fabric before you dye it to create patterns. I am also going to see the Boro exhibition. See Somerset House’s write-up below:
This April Somerset House will host an exhibition on the Japanese textile tradition of boro. Translated to ‘rags’ in English, boro is the collective name for items – usually clothing and bed covers – made by the poor, rural population of Japan who could not afford to buy new when need required and had to literally make ends meet by piecing and patching discarded cotton onto existing sets, forming something slightly different each time they did so. Generations of Japanese families repaired and recycled fishermen’s jackets to futon covers, handing them down to the next and weaving their own sagas and stories through the threads.
Boros are seen to have significant sociohistorical status by providing an insight into the modest lives of those that made them and a snapshot of the country’s impoverished past. Boro will showcase 40 historic boro pieces in a new light within Somerset House’s East Wing Galleries from a collection never before displayed and compiled over six years by antiquarians Gordon Reece and Philippe Boudin.
In the cold climate of northern Japan, cotton could not be cultivated and for the largely poor population that lived in the rural landscape there, it was an expensive luxury to transport it to them. When boats arrived to the northern ports from south of Osaka, they were carrying discarded cotton from the central coastal cities where it was more affordable to commoners but only available in shades of blue, grey, black and brown – colours permitted to them under strict sumptuary laws of the period (more opulent colours were the reserve of the aristocracy). Here they could trade the pieces of cotton for fish or seaweed, taking them home to be patched onto worn-down workwear or frayed futon covers. As Japan’s society shifted towards industrialisation and urbanisation in the early twentieth century, the patchwork practice faded and many boros were simply thrown away, acting as a painful reminder of a poverty-stricken past.
Despite still being looked upon unfavourably in Japan today, boros have now become highly collectible in Western cultures. After almost a century of being boxed up or buried away, they are now being brought back into society but this time as a decorative rather than durable and practical piece.
I am thrilled to go on this course. I have been reading about Shibori techniques for a while now and this will be a wonderful opportunity to do it firsthand.
I hope that you have a wonderful weekend wherever you may be.
Just a few last minute St. Patty’s Day ideas for tomorrow. Enjoy!
1. Boozy Lucky Charm Milkshakes / How Sweet Eats
2. Potato Petit Fours / Sprinkles Bakes
3. Magically Delicious Leprechaun Cookies / Bake At 350
4. Green Ombre Cake / I am Baker
5. St. Patrick’s Day Garland / A Subtle Revelry