My Clay Station Kitchen & Makin' Pots w/ Mom

Trying to get a little "umph" back for blogging. Sure, I've still been photo documenting this whole time... just have other things going on & blogging has been placed on the back burner. Like anything else, blogging takes time, and as of late, that is something I feel perpetually short of!  But, since I originally started this blog to document progress (or, at times, lack thereof) through my artistic journey, I figure I'd better make a more concerted effort to continue... though I have to admit, postings & visits to other blogs may be a bit sporadic.

I knew you'd understand.

:)

Someone had asked about my setting up a clay station in the Kitchen- well obviously it is not the best choice- It is quite messy & can be quite a pain in the **s if I decide to get hungry & try to do anything crazy... like, you know, cook in the kitchen. But, for now, my options are somewhat limited, so I do the best I can w/ what I've got.

Below~ settin' up the station & getting to work on Micaceous Pots. I don't have that particular class this semester, but I gotta make them!

I do love hand coiling pots- it's a lot of work for sure, but I always am amazed when it really starts to look pot-like.

:)

At the point it begins to have a decent shape (though I probably could have done a bit better job on this one) I let it set up a few hours before adding the rim so I don't end up squatting my pot down... which I have been know to do on several occasions.

I added several more coils, because knowing me, I'd have to cut the rim a few times to get it fairly straight. The rim is a huge challenge!

At this point- I called it good & set it off to dry as I was getting ready to head off to San Diego to see the family. It just so happens that it was my Mom's birthday when I was visiting in January, and you know that the perfect gift for anyone on my list is a little something clay related. :) Since mom is extra special & has taken quite a liking to clay, in addition to giving her one of my favorite bowls from my last class... I got her a turnstile, tools... and you guessed it... a big ol bag of clay. (Because, really, who doesn't want mud for their birthday?!)

She was able to get a couple of days off work, and we had a pot building extravaganza!

:)

Our first pots taking shape. Dang it- I forgot to take pics of them when the rim was added! Arrgh! Anyhow, looking at the mess we created below, you can certainly see how much more prudent it is to do in the garage rather than the kitchen, but I digress.

Below is our second set of pots. Mom's on the right (wow, way to go, Mom!)

& mine on the left. I was pretty excited about that one, mainly because I was using a Puki that I had made in my last wheel throwing class for the base.

Water scraping pots---

Pots in the sun after water scraping.

That's as far as we got, since my visit was a short one. I think this is kinda the ugliest stage of the process for the pots, but I love them anyway. Once they are sanded, slip is applied & they're polished, they will take on a whole new (& hopefully beautiful) look. I hope to get these finished in the next few weeks, as well as another casserole I'm working on, but in the meantime I've started a couple more classes- Wheel Throwing II & Glaze Formulation- pretty fun & challenging so far... but won't really have anything to show for quite some time and wouldn't ya know it, my beloved digital SLR just went on the blink & is expected to be at the camera doc's for the next several weeks... so no photography either... unless it is of the point & shoot low resolution variety... :(

Not looking forward to that bill! Especially since I have been trying to work less & clay more, which has been a tough balancing act, to say the least. I keep telling people, "Once I get caught up, then I can live paycheck to paycheck!" Ah, the price of pursuing my artistic dreams....

:)