Dang life is good!

I have been working on making some nicer bowls. This one is really really light. Certainly under a pound, maybe less. It was thrown with about 3 lbs of clay and then trimmed-alot! I am excited to see how it comes out! There was been significant improvement in my throwing ability over the past few weeks. Today I was able to throw some nice vases at Fat Cat studio, which was great! They are small, but I am getting much better at keeping the piece centered and even and DRY!

A couple days ago I worked on some chip n dip platters also. I wanted to split the smaller bowl in half and have a dip part on each side but the bowl is simply too small. Must throw big bowl bigger or small bowl smaller. I suppose I could also try it on the outside but can you imagine trying to store a piece that is big and bulky and 20 inches across? Especially a piece that might look like a monkey with ears? Not exactly a fireplace mantel piece.

That little bowl was split in half and attached on the inside....probably didn't take a picture because I wasn't satisfied with the craftsmanship. Need to work on figuring out how to make it seamless. Sponge? It sort of worked...

Then I made a piece with the bowl raised up....its going to be a wait and see game if it makes it through bisque and glaze!

...really hoping it does!

Now its off to a night of fun and remembering what its like to be 24 with the entire world in front of me. Its a magical time, hope I can make it last forever!

Mugs and Real Camera Pictures!

 I found my camera and the cable to upload pictures so its rock n roll time. The best part is its waterproof so I don't have to worry about taking pictures while my hands are covered in mud! Here is the bowl I tried to photograph last time but it was all blurry and dark so here it is a little lighter. I need to get some sort of set up to photograph pieces. I was thinking about spray painting a big box. How do other people do it? Any suggestions?

On Monday, I attempted to throw 10 matching mugs. I had 10 relatively similar pieces of clay, got 9 forms out of it. One was somehow a lot taller, kind of like that one kid in the class that hits puberty before everyone else. The rounded part is a little different on each but there are a couple pairs in there that sort of match!

 I also learned that trimming is important too in the matching process. First couple pieces were all over the place but I then picked up this magical thing called a ruler and uniformity came out of the woodworks. Or clay, you know, it came from somewhere. I decided to add some more shapes. I feel like the world is a lovely place as of lately and dragonflies and bees remind me of that. Especially bees that are buzzing dangerously close to each other. I have two mugs with "love bees" on them. I like it. Kinda fun!

Still just really trying to figure out what direction I want my work to take. I'd like to do elegance but its tough to make very clean smooth forms. At least for me. Although the bowls I made last Friday look pretty good.  Hopefully it will come with experience! I have class again at Fat Cat Pottery today. Oh how I love my Thursdays because of it!

Some Work!

What I like most about other blogs is pictures of work so maybe I should contribute? Is this what other people like too?

Here is a bowl that I almost threw away...multiple times. When I first made it, it was off center, but I kept it anyway. Trimming was thus a nightmare due to its off-centerdness. I kept it anyway though. It sat on a shelf through about 2 or 3 firings and finally I picked it up to try a pattern on it. I like the way it came out! Sorry about the quality. Camera phones are NOT as good as real ones, I don't care what the media says. If I am ever going to sell work online I need to figure out how to photograph it and do it with a camera thats not blurry!


I really really REALLY love chip n dip platters. I think its because I love sharing my work with others and I love socializing. So chip n dip platters make excellent party pieces, thus making excellent pieces for me to make! This is actually a bowl, not sure how I found the angle that makes it look like a flat piece but hey I did! So anyway its a bowl with another smaller bowl inside, cut to fit. I need to work on figuring out how to make it fit super snug and super flush but it works for now. Especially for the first one like this. I then added some lizards from those plaster molds. Those things are awesome. I don't really know what the protocol is on using them; I imagine some people think it is "cheating" and others think it is "utilizing." I like lizards on my pieces though so they will go on!

And then I took another bowl and added some flowers and bees. I like the way this turned out too. It almost reminds me of a cartoon. I liked making these two pieces also because it took quite a bit of time and my dog laid at my feet and my mom and I chitchatted about art and finding your passion in life. Ha! I feel very lucky that my parents think its great that I make ceramics!


Currently about to work on my "other" job. Research! At least until it warms up enough to venture into the garage. One day I will have a work space with heating and AC....and that day will be AWESOME!

Learning Expereince(s)

This is a blog about learning experiences! They all seem to be but the last 3 days in particular have been chock full!....

The glaze turned out okay for the most part. I actually do need a sieve(graduation present hint #1 Mom and Dad-They have a "studio sieve 80 mesh" for $57 on bigceramicstore.com) for the Opulence glazes(Learning Experience #1). However, the Amaco Potters Choice glazes are fine but the Blue Rutile needs to be thick(LE #2). It was really nice this go around to have some buckets for glazing. About half of the work turned out nice. I had a very dark blue that looks almost black that I don't think I could drink out of but my friends loved them(LE #3)! Had some people over to cookout, and I got them to take some of the pieces. Enjoy!!!!! Also learned that if you cook in your garagio, it WILL smell like hot dogs the next day(LE #4).


Friday night my mom got into town late so I had some evening time with the wheel. This meant classic pop punk full blast, belgian wheat beer, and throwing some big ass pots. Definitely a fun night. I think I should get another wheel just so I can have someone to do this with. If I am having this much fun by myself, with another person it would probably be magical! I threw this bowl which I am going to say is the best piece I've ever thrown. Used about 5 lbs of clay, wet it was about 13 inches across. Hopefully it doesn't shrink too much!

My awesome dog promptly ran in and tails are very dangerous objects. Do not let dog near wheel when work is on there (LE #5). Somehow only the hairs scraped it and it survived. I remain the luckiest person I know. Next comes trimming. Hopefully I don't mess it up. One day I am hoping to have a Giffin Grip. (cough cough graduation present hint idea #2 Mom and Dad-They are $165 at bigceramicstore.com and then I can start making vases that don't weigh 10 lbs!)

Next up was what I thought was going to be a good bisque firing. As multiple people keep telling me, no piece is ever safe until it is done and on a shelf, and even then, who knows (LE #6). Here is an example of how NOT to pack your kiln. There are 3 10 inch bowls stacked inside each other. The weight and shifting will cause the middle one to break and no, not even the bottom one will survive (LE's #7, 8, & 9). When these three bowls shatter, they will then knock the other pieces that will also break(LE #10 & 11). It will then be a complete pain in the ass to meticulously pick out every last fragment from the heating elements (LE #12). The next blog might very well be about what happens if you miss a piece.
I then figured I would at least have the bottom shelf. Refer to LE #6. The only thing I can figure is that the pieces were not actually dry yet and they actually will explode if still wet (LE #13). I had a bowl and 6 mugs, the bowl and 2 mugs exploded. So a kiln with 6 mugs, 4 bowls, and 2 vases produced 4 mugs. Those mugs are going to be $50 each.

Finally threw out a bunch of pieces. Mom tried to save them, hopefully in the next few months she will realize why those pieces are not worth keeping. SO MUCH MORE LEARNING TO DO.
Now off to get my bike workout in! Happy Sunday!

This should be interesting

The world threw a curveball at me today. And by the world I mean FedEx. I had some bulk dry glaze coming in. The glaze was supposed to come tomorrow but lo and behold it showed up today, AND 6 hours before they normally deliver. What a sweet sweet surprise!

I promptly thanked the driver and raced the packages to my garage and unpacked and then started scratching my head as to how to prepare dry glaze mix. I did this as an undergrad but I had so so many resources, including a specific glaze room with ventilator and endless buckets and counter space. Oh how sweet it was...

Here are the supplies I started with:

Some dry glaze mix, and a few buckets. Thats some wax resit on top. Sha-wing!

So I needed a mixing tool. Sorry Danielle/BestRoomateEver for stealing the whisk. Patience is something I lack and going out and buying one in the heat of the moment of mixing glaze was simply not going to happen. Need glaze mixed. NOW! Hopefully you do not want any scrambled eggs tomorrow. I promise there will be a new whisk by Monday!

Yes, that spoon has a smiley face on it. Thank you Kool-Aid.

So I started with a bucket of water and slowly mixed in the glaze(using the whisk from the kitchen because I can not wait 20 minutes to go buy a new one). Apparently some people will use a hydrometer to measure the density. Here at MFS Ceramics we do not role this way. We also don't use a sieve. If you stick your finger in and it comes out coated without grainy bits on it, the glaze is ready. Well, I actually am going to let it sit 24 hours. And I might let the glazed pieces sit for a few hours before starting the kiln to allow the glaze to dry.

LETS GET GLAZING! TOMORROW MORNING IS GOING TO RULE.

Also going to volunteer at a community center teaching pottery tomorrow. Just helping out, should be fun!

P.S. Also had my class this week at Fat Cat Pottery. What a freaking great group of people! Excellent instruction, excellent people. I tweaked my bowl making today. So so so so many bad habits to break. I ended up throwing a nice shallow bowl that once fired and shrunk and glazed and fired again will probably still be about 12 inches across.

Also have some new ideas for pieces. Ohhh yea. Life. is. good!

A little exhausted....

I undertook a trimming fiesta tonight! I absolutely love trimming but it always takes longer than I think it should. I spent three hours trimming 4 bowls and 6 mugs and then adding handles. Somehow I think that maybe it shouldn't take this long.

Here are the pictures. I apologize about the quality. This is what happens when you use a camera phone in dark conditions.

Here is what I started with. 4 bowls and the start of mugs on top.



I decided to try some carving on the bowls. I like the way the carving turned out. It feels really good too. It takes a while, thus adding to my time, but I think the effect is worth it!




I also tried trimming some big fat feet on a few mugs. Always endless things to try! Still looking for my signature mug shape but maybe one day I will find it. And maybe I will figure out how to make handles without wanting to shoot myself in the head with a nail gun. I have no idea how anyone can trim more than 10 mugs in one day. Apparently the Hughes potter in Pennsylvania will throw like 30 pieces in one day and then trim another 30. This is crazy to me!



Probably going to cool it for a few days on the production. I've got some long bike workouts this week and my mom and brother are coming to town on Friday! I will do a glaze firing while they are here. They don't realize yet how exciting this is but they will! Nothing like opening a fresh batch of glazed pieces!

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!