Sunday, October 12, 2008

Slip on Sunday

Lesson learned, slipped these guys slowly, waited on the endless stages of leather hard and all is good. I have had a strange thing happen with the bowls and cups this week. I like all of them! This never happens, I trash nearly everything I make. This stuff is all for our December sale so I'm glad I'm liking it. I have a good load of stuff waiting in line for the gas kiln at Claymakers, stuff in my studio waiting on the wood firing at Susan's in two weeks, and this earthenware to go to Claymakers for a test run with new 04 glazes. This all sounded good until I typed it out, now I sound a bit disfunctional. How many paths can one person stroll down at one time anyway? that would be me in the window reflection, ha!
So, for any of you that may check out this blog that are beginning potters, here is some great hope for when you are stressing over making a cylinder. For the longest time I would not make cups on the wheel, I only hand built them like the ones below. I could not pull a cylinder without it getting so off center it made me crazy or it instantly became a bowl. The cups below were made last year. I finally sucked it up and decided it was time I made a decent cup on the wheel, so this year I have made bunches of them and then recycled the clay. This is the first group of cups that I have made and wanted to keep all of. I didn't trash one cup I made this weekend. So let's hope the 04 glazes look good. ps: the drummer in the photo above is Gerry playing at a gig in Charlotte last year. I'm a sucker for a drummer!

6 comments:

Becky said...

(Ahhh, I'm a sucker for a keyboard guy. ) Love seeing your work. As a beginner -- 2 years in -- cylinders seem easier to me. Bowls try my patience every time.
Isn't that funny?

Your cups are lovely. Hope work on the show is going well?

Tracey Broome said...

I can't believe you have only been at this for two years.Wow! Fran Brown at Clayworks in Charlotte taught me how to make bowls and I still hear her voice inside my head sometimes when I am making them. Same with wedging.
The show is going good, just working on a fake chicken that gets plucked every night and I have to make a fake body today for the stretcher. Never a dull moment.

Judy Shreve said...

Tracey your cups are wonderful. And I love your slip work. My son is a drummer! Drummers rock! Ha!

Ron said...

Hey Good luck with the earthenware. The cups look great. I have to make it out to Claymakers sometime. I tried to call Ronan over the weekend but was unable to get him. Maybe this winter I can get out to the area.
Check out this post of mine from Aug. 2006 you'll get a kick out of it.
http://pottersjournal.blogspot.com/2006/08/rockin.html

Judy Shreve said...

Ron - that's such a great picture. What made you put your sticks down? You were too cool!

Tracey Broome said...

Oh man, Rob, I would have been such a groupie, love that photo! Seems I've always had a thing for drummers and then I went and married one. Gerry and I actually got together in college because he needed to borrow someone's truck/van to get to a gig and I happened to have a truck at the time. Didn't know who he was, just knew he was a drummer and he was going to drive my truck. We have been together every since.