The art of patience

I am realizing that what will change my pottery is patience. Knowing when not to mess with a piece, when to throw one into the reclaim bucket, and knowing when one needs time. I recently did a set of mugs, well not really a set, just a grouping that I made all at once. The only clay I had left was reclaim that had been drying for a while but still kind of wet. I decided I needed to make handles for the mugs RIGHT NOW and the only way to do it is with the too wet clay. Clearly it sort of worked but not really. The handles can best be described as frumpy. So I am firing them anyway, we'll see what happens when they are glazed....

Another example is throwing in general. Sometimes I throw things and they just get off centered because of an air bubble or too much friction or anything. I need to learn to take it off the wheel and start over with a new piece. What happens is I end up trying to keep it, I then trim it off centered, and by the time it comes out of the glaze firing I am scratching my head and thinking wow why did I ever fire this piece? The answer is a lack of patience. When I sit down to throw a bowl, I want it to be perfect the first time. I am slowly trying to accept there is no one out there that keeps every piece thrown.

It is very humbling to read these great pottery blogs online and see how long people have been throwing. Hopefully it is one of those things that I will get better with over time. My work now is better than a year ago but it still seems so far from sellable. One day....!

I also think I am going to start experimenting with some designs on pieces. I have a few 12" bowls drying on a shelf now and when they are leather hard I think I'll add some design to them. I doodle pretty much straight through my 6 hours of class every week so it must be the same thing with clay. Hopefully pictures will come soon.......

Oh yea, and the drywall project is finally done. Wow, feels great! Hopefully once the house is thrown into the unpredictable world of the MLS it will feel even better!