Clay Notes From Home...

Do you ever have those times when life feels like it is busier than it has ever been? I'm experiencing that currently... and feel like I can't quite get caught up!

I'm sure you've all experienced this as some point or another. In between work & class & looking for that place to call home, I feel like I've hardly had the chance to breathe, let alone blog. Anyhow, I wanted to eke out a little time to share my experience teaching my first micaceous clay class...  to my mom when I was back home in July- yes, July! I really am behind aren't I? 

Ah, well... so it goes. 

The great thing about hand building/coiling pots, is that you really can do it anywhere... though it can get quite messy, so having some outdoor or garage space is quite nice. Below is our work station in the garage back home... tools, notes, puki's etc.

And Mom, with lots of great instruction (ha ha!) building her first ever coiled micaceous pot! Nice job, mom! (She was an excellent student & we laughed when I learned where I got my passion for perfection from!)

"PIPs"~ pots in progress... Mom's in the foreground, mine in the background.

Mom cutting the rim on her pot, mine taking shape & setting up in the background.

My cone shaped pot from above turns into a closed form... there is something I love about the shape of a rounded form of clay, even though the lid fitting which comes later is a lot of work!

Many days later (the clay takes a long time to dry when the humidity is high as it was when I was back home) the pots are removed from their Puki's & the water scraping, and later sanding begins. It's quite a process!  The rounded form above became the bear pot below it it's rough/dry stage.

Showing Mom how to apply slip & burnish a pot. Note my pot... dangerously close to the edge of the table... what am I thinking?!

Mom's pot- after water scraping & before sanding/polishing.

Below~ same pot- after sanding & polishing. Pretty awesome job for her first pot, don't ya think?

:)

I didn't get a chance to finish my latest bear pot while I was back home- so I packed it up & brought it to NM~ just got around to sanding & polishing it last week~ 2 months to make one pot, LOL. I do like it though, & I think the lid fit was quite stellar. :) I won't even get into all the "repair work" that needed to be done on this pot, but suffice it to say, I think I worked longer on this pot than any other.

Below, another pot I made while back home.

And, you know me, I couldn't resist doing another bear... he's pretty abstract-y & I quite like him!

We had a ton of fun, Mom & I, on our pot- making adventure! They have all made it through the bisque fire & I am anxiously awaiting a Raku firing for the final finish next week. Only 2 months or so from start to finish, now how's that for patience?!?