This is why I make pottery, and other ramblings...

I stopped by the studio yesterday after work. I was on my way out with a few friends, but I needed to kill a few minutes, and I needed to let the air get to a few pieces that I had sitting under plastic. Anyway, as I was coming in the door, one of my new students was coming out and she had a huge grin on her face. She had just popped in to pick up her very first pieces to come out of the kiln. She was soooo pleased with them and with herself. I am pretty sure that if she had just popped into Walmart to pick up some bowls, she wouldn’t be as happy!

The act of making something yourself is very fulfilling, and helping people learn to make their own is also quite enjoyable. I like to know that the pieces I make are going to be used and enjoyed and not stuck in a cabinet behind glass, only to be admired from afar. I am a self diagnosed pot fondler, and there is no cure. I need to use the pots I make and the pots I buy from others. One of the things I look for in a pot (esp mugs and cups) is not just how it looks, but how it feels in my hand. What does the glaze feel like on my skin, and is the shape conducive to snuggling up in an afghan while reading a book? I like cups that fit the shape of my hand so that I don’t have to use the handle if I don’t want to, and I want the surface to be soft but somewhat textural to provide a pleasant tactile experience.

Teaching people to throw pottery can be frustrating. It is not that I get frustrated with the students, I get frustrated with the fact that the English language was not designed to verbalize what is a very tactile process, and the fact that there isn’t just one way to do it.  That said, I really enjoy teaching and witnessing that “AHA/eureka!” moment that students have when the planets align just so and everything clicks into place and they just get it.

I never seem to learn my lessons

My demo for last night’s class should have been titled “how to make mud pies”. I was roving around on the interweb yesterday and came across some nifty neato altered vases. I thought to myself “Hey, those would make great teaching demos, I can do that”. Yeah right. I know that I should never attempt a new form (to me) for the first time in front of an audience. I threw the body of the vase too wide, and the neck too narrow so when I started pushing out the ribs with my finger, the shoulder collapsed and that was good by vase. It still demonstrated the essentials of throwing, ie, centre, open, collar, raise, collar, raise, raise, shape etc... but the “wow” factor was definitely not there. They all gasped when it collapsed, and they all made helpful suggestions on how it could be saved, but it was also a lesson for them on when to just throw in the towel and start again, learn from your mistakes and make the next one better.

While I was in the studio last night I was also attempting to glaze what I bisque fired on Sunday. I know I should never attempt to glaze during a class night. One, the time to do it is not enough; and two, there are constant interruptions from students. So, in an attempt to get a jump on glazing, I think I just made more work for me on Friday when I will be in the studio again. Another lesson left unlearned.

 

 

random

Ok, so I have not finished the teapots with infusers yet, or the chicken cooker, or the cups, or the mugs etc.... They are sitting waiting to be glazed. I will be teaching a lot this week with not much hope of getting them done during those classes either. I taught on Tuesday night, and it was a busy night, very full of questions and "can you show me?", not that I mind, I am not there to work on my own stuff anyway. I will be teaching again on Thursday night and It might be busy, but it is full of long time students, so they usually don't require as much hands on attention, just the demo. It looks like I will also be teaching on Saturday night. This is not normal, as the studio is usually only open until 5:30 on Saturday nights and then it is only open studio time. This will be a bachelorette party for somewhere between 6-8 people. Not sure if they have ever done this before, or if this will be their first kick at the can. They will not be taking anything home, and nothing will be fired, so I guess it is just a night to get muddy for them. I have not been to many bachelorette parties, but I thought it always involved making idiots of yourselves at a dance club, or bar. Anyway, I will be the one teaching, and Dave will be there to "help".
On another note, I asked Dave if it would be alright if I started firing lustres. I was actually prepared for him to come up with every reason why I couldn't, and would then just take the work over to Ceramics Canada to fire there. But, he said, along with the suggestion that I should probably start firing my own kiln loads. So, I am going to get a section of shelving that will house my work that is waiting to fire, and then I will fire it myself. I imagine it will be loading Fridays, firing over night, and unloading on Sundays.I am looking forward to the lustres. I don't want a gold, lustre, I am looking for a silver or palladium lustre to just run around the rims of some of the white and blue bowls and cups to enhance the undulations. In order to not screw them up, I will be buying a book on how to use them as well. Just to make my life a little more frustrating though, I thought I would try a lithography method in order to transfer prints onto clay. I saw the technique on Ceramic Arts Daily, and it looks very simple (ya right, I am sure it just looks that way). I read up a bit on true lithography to better understand why the process works, and we will see what happens. I might even try to incorporate the lithography AND the lustres....sooo many ideas, not enough time...

2 upcoming sales - gotta get cracking

Well, it is that time of year again, and I find myself faced with 2 spring sales this year, and am running out of time to get ready for them (nothing new there).
My first spring sale is the Mad Potters Sale, and is at the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre on April 17th. The 2nd sale is the Fairview Studio Spring Sale, and is at the Canyon Meadows Community Centre on May 1st. I have never participated in the Mad Potters Sale, but they have been in operation for a while, so hopefully the turnout will be good. Fairview is always a good sale. The students get together twice a year and offer up their work for sale to help off set the cost of classes and firing. You can usually get a good deal on all kinds of pottery.
Oh ya, I have glazed the new "mountain" pots I was working a couple of weeks ago, and as of Tuesday, they were waiting to get fired. I will be in the studo tomorrow, and hopefully they were fired, but I am not sure there will have been a full load ready. Chances are they will still be in the kiln (if at all) tomorrow, and I wont be able to get at them until Saturday. If they are ready, I will take some pictures and post asap. I am eager to see how they turned out. I am worried that the rims will be too fragile (they were very delicate in the bisque state), but my hope is that the porcelain will yeild some strength. I have had a lot of comments on them. Some people were confused by the delicate nature of the pots rims, but others were very enthusiastic about them and thought they exuded a certain "Zenness". I glazed them with a commercial glaze on the lower half of each pot (Mayco "stoned denim"), and then the entire piece is glazed in the studio clear glaze. The commercial glaze turns a smokey blue under the clear, and I am hoping will accent these pots nicely. I wish I could afford to do some lusters on these pots. I think they would look very nice with a little platinum around the rims.