Anyway- This isn't about my music tastes. I said I would talk about what I've been up to lately, this past two weeks. A lot! Well, I had a goal of doing 50 bowls and 50 mugs, to start off with. I haven't reached it yet, the total right now is at 13 bowls, 21 mugs. Plus a few minor other things, including my first lidded piece. I watched a video from Simon about throwing a lid for a jam / sugar jar. It worked! Ha!
The first day I sat and decided to get started, I wanted to work on bowls and see how I could play around with 1.5 pounds and see about getting a good shape. I used a bowl from the house as a guide, set up a lump of clay / paintbrush guide and set to work. I didn't get any pictures of them, I was able to bring them up to school before the semester actually ended. The second thing I sat down and worked on was seeing what size I could get with 1.5 pounds of clay in a mug. I wanted to work on pulling, more evenly, and handles. I sat and threw six mugs at that time. So far, after each of these dried and were trimmed, they are right at 1 pound. This is still just bone dry, not bisqued.
Out of those mugs, I was satisfied with really one of the forms, but not fully, I wanted to explore it. It shaped up similar to the one to the left. I am attracted to the wide thick foot and what I've been calling "the fat bottom." I think the curve there is comforting to the hands when held, you can cup it almost. The flared lip also helps in that you can grab the mug without it slipping through your hand. The handles I am getting a lot better at, a lot thinner and and more proportionate. The handles I try to make a pretty decent size, I was aiming for 2-3 of my fingers in each one. I think a small framed person could probably grab the handle with their full hand. We'll see after they're fired and glazed, I'm expecting shrinkage (insert inner child giggle).
I am running out of space in my shop, I need to call a friend of mine who was willing to give me a shelving unit. Industrial aluminum sheet pan shelving, double deep, and on wheels. In the pictures some of the bowls I threw as well as a spread of my mugs. You can also see the lil lidded thing I threw, I think it came out kind of cute. Better then I thought it would at least. I want to keep making these and work on getting pretty big ones, and also work on putting a rimmed lid on the lips. I'd like to be able to make some casserole dishes. I love the idea of making what I use to cook. I also hope to one day make the sinks for my bathroom when I get my own studio. Wouldn't that be awesome?? I like the bowls pictured here, can't really see them, but they stack so well. I think its part of the craftsmanship that they stack and fit so well for being so close to the same size. I threw some bowls after these that didn't fit as well, I ended up crushing one on accident.
I started using a new clay body, Balcones Cone 10 White. It is pretty nice, very fine grog and smooths over very nicely. The drawback I've had lately has to deal as much with the humidity and changing climate as anything else, slow drying. I was worried about drying these out too quick or them drying without me knowing. So it took literally like 3-4 days for these to be ready to trim, in comparison- the mugs above were thrown one day and trimmed the next. A bowl I threw was a happy mistake. The clay I had to reknead and throw a second time because I had messed up on a mug, I think it was telling me it wanted to be a bowl. But after I threw the bowl I did this kind of squared off flower type design, also picked up from SLeach. It's come out pretty nice, isn't perfect but optically it's correct.
A new thing I made with some quick brainstorming is a gauge for repeat throwing. I was using the clay and brush technique but I left some clay out and it dried out over night and I wanted a method that wouldn't let me waste clay. What I came up with is some wood scraps that I sanded down and screwed together. The verticle piece has a scrap flat piece of plywood attached to it and a small C clamp holding it to my wheel body. At the top of the verticle piece, the arm is attached using a pretty long screw, gives it stability. What I did different is leave the screw out about a quarter inch or so allowing me the ability to spin the arm and position it where I please. On the end of the arm is a few short hex screws with hex heads. The problem was the plasticene could be smoothed out but it isn't sticky, so it wouldn't stay on the end of the arm. By placing the screws there, it gives the clay enough room to grab onto something and not slide off. Ta-da! This gauge allows me to remove and replace my splash pan without disrupting its position also. The flexible arm allows me to easily move the arm out of the way in order to use my cut-off wires and then move the arm back in position.I forgot to mention that I made my own cut-off wire also, I enjoy making my own tools. I had a discussion with a friend about this last night- I am attracted to tradition and some of the ideas around that. I feel that being hands on when building something is special, and I feel that there is a lost gap between what was and what is now. A lot of people lost touch with the craft society and bought into commercialized, industrialized ceramics. Being able to connect with tradition and do it respect by attempting to revive and regain the strength in the average home is something I wish to achieve. I am trying to do this in different ways, making my own tools, throwing useable forms, etc. I also am trying to get some stamps for my initials and something to show my location- I am thinking a lone star. I feel that scribing my name on the bottom is detracting from the form. Who knows, I may be alone in this feeling. I just know my signature is ugly in my opinion, and I don't see myself being satisfied with it anytime soon.
This blogs gotten a bit long, whoops. I'm wasting time at work right now, so I'm enjoying it too much. I was trying to find an example of a stamped rim, but I am having no luck. O well. I'll check in later! I hope the books I ordered arrive soon...
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