pottery fail.
Today I was trimming a cute little bowl and didn’t have it properly anchored. The piece went flying across the wheel and plopped on the floor. I felt like I had murdered the piece of pottery until my teacher gave me an idea to make it work.
She told me to use my tools and have fun!
And so I did.
It’s that whole ‘if you can’t hide your skeletons make ’em dance’ approach.
pottery save!
voila!!!!
Day 131 of 365+1: a picture a day for a year.
Pottery started out terribly today. I felt like I was throwing bricks. Look at the heavy pieces above. I am going to have to do so much carving on the sides to take off weight.
I improved near the end of class and threw two decent pieces that were light and elegant. It’s going to take months of practice to get used to the process of lifting clay to create taller and thinner pieces.
My friends Allison and Jason (an awesome photographer, view his page by CLICKING HERE!) have such a beautiful daughter. Allison and Adelynn joined me for lunch after pottery class. This portrait is my official pic of the day! How cute is she? I love that hair!
Day 110 of 365+1: a picture a day for a year.
I dedicate this picture to my husband who is intuitive and sweet enough to know that I need art to feed my soul. He surprised me with this pottery class and I am thankful.
My work came back fired today and we finished firing our raku pieces. CLICK HERE for the video and look for my tall white piece in the middle of the kiln.
Here are the final pieces, which all got the same glaze (besides the white raku glaze)!!! Crazy because they all turned out drastically different in my opinion. I did dip the rim of the mug in black which caused the feathered bleeding down the mug.
Cooking here I come! Spoon rest. This was my first project and I felt like I overworked the piece but it turned out nice and I dig the prairie primitive look.
Day 103 of 365+1: a picture a day for a year.
My picture of the day is of all my pieces before the glaze. Notice the added spoon rest and tall/skinny vase on upper left corner. I hand molded those pieces on the first week but they just got fired.
You know I have bonus pics!!!
Here is my teacher demonstrating how to dip a bowl into glaze.
The picture of the cup below the demo pic is the glaze I chose. It’s a metallic red/green. I chose to dip all of my pieces in this glaze to unify my first collection.
I only chose to dip the top of my husband’s coffee mug in black.
I chose to dip this vase in the white raku glaze which will have a crackle effect after firing. The process of Raku differs from other firing methods because the pieces are removed from the kiln at their maximum temperature. Do you like the texture on the vase? I used a doily to get the look. Really, the vase is going to be used to hold paint brushes.
After glazing, all the pieces are placed on the firing shelves again.
I have grown to love pottery. The process is so personal. No piece of pottery is the same. Tune in next week for the unveiling of the final products!
Much love shutterbugs.
-J.
Day 96 of 365+1: a picture a day for a year.
For almost two weeks, I’ve been having nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat. I woke up this morning in a panic. Then I realized it was pottery class day. I was the first student through the door. I wanted to feel the earth in my hands and drift away to peace. Here is a summary pic of my progress- compared to last week’s pic you will notice added handles, feet and a new bowl:
The front four pieces are mine.
Here are some bonus pics:
The coffee cup for my husband.
A bowl with feet!
I forgot to take a single shot of the pinch pitcher. Next week, we glaze!!! Supposedly the stripes on the pieces will break up the glaze and create several colors.
I’m already having clay withdrawals. Much love and to all you artists out there, which is each and every single one of you, do yourself a favor and do something artistic that you enjoy. You don’t even have to be good at it- the whole purpose is to be free.
–J.
Day 89 of 365+1: a picture a day for a year.
Week two of my pottery class.
The picture that I am choosing for my pic of the day is something I am really proud of. I learned how to make a pincher pitcher in pottery class. I wanted a pitcher instead of a vase because it can be used for creamer, gravy or a vase- triple threat. I stayed a little later so the teacher could show me how to make one side higher than the other and then pinch the clay to make the spout. I can’t wait to learn how to put a handle on it next week.
But wait, there’s more!!!!!
A dip bowl!!!
Coffee mug for my hubs.
The three in the front are mine.
Last week, I was a little intimidated. This week I just relaxed and let the clay talk to me. I didn’t try to overwork it or fight it and I felt a lot better about my work. I’ll post pics of all my work when I get them back to glaze and fire.
Hope your day is lovely. It’s storming and flooding here in Houston so I am VERY thankful I left class before the weather poured in….
Until tomorrow–
–J.
Day 82 of 365+1: a picture a day for a year.
My husband surprised me a few weeks ago with a pottery class that started today. My dream is to run a bed and breakfast and practice photography and pottery on the property. Might as well learn pottery if it’s in the description of my dreams. I thought that I would be wonderful at it. I’m not. At all. The teacher helped me a lot and I am both anxious and scared to find out how the vase and spoon rest turn out next week. Oh, but the process. I’ve never had so much fun in my life. Just go grab something and stick it on clay. Lace, burlap, even New Orleans boobie beads could be used for texture. I went outside and picked baby twigs off trees and was satisfied with my creation until I saw the woman sitting next to me carving the most beautiful and intricate vase I have ever seen. I asked her what she did for a living and she said she is a sculptor. Then I asked what was her medium and she responded bronze. BRONZE. She made my pieces look like lumpy and lop-sided play-doh art. Oh well. Playing with clay is so much fun and I loved every second of being as messy as possible. It’s a time when your thoughts may be as wild as the potter’s wheel, and yet in all the chaos, simplicity is found.
Happy Thursday and until tomorrow….
–J.
Jamie Christoffersen Photography 