2nd Class

**Plates

Tonight we learned how to make plates. I have made some in the past.  I have a set of 3 that nest. 

I remember I created one on accident when I was trying to make a wide bowl. I didn't have enough clay so the bowl was really shallow. Then I thought this could just be a plate. 

Here is the plate I made tonight. 

**Bowl

We also learned the correct way to make bowls. Usually my cups turn into bowls. 

I have been averaging 3 pieces a night. So tonight I made 2 bowls and a plate. 

**Trimming

I also trimmed the 3 bowls I made last Monday. Here are two of my stamps. 

Trimming is still something that I'm not good at. Mostly because I don't "read" my pots before I trim them. I just put them on the wheel and trim. I usually can trim more than what I do, or I'm trimming the wrong spot. 

Tonight 1 of my bowls wouldn't stay on the wheel while I was trimming. I would put too much force with my tool and the bowl would fly off. Ultimately damaging the bowl. 

Tomorrow open studio will use up the 25 lbs of clay for me. I plan on buying more clay next week. 

-Happy Potter

Found a bird stamp

After spending the weekend looking for a bird stamp I found one at JoAnn Fabrics. I'll have to make some adjustments to make it work for my use but I'm happy I found one. I think I need to still put my name on the pottery because they fire a lot of pieces at once. 

I peaked the stamp off the black of wood, and then cut them a part. 

Next I'm going glue them to a block so I can press it into the clay. I have 3 different birds to choose from. 

Not sure what one I'll like best, I'll sample them on Sunday. 

Trimming

I tried trimming my pots that I made last night. But they were still too wet. So I placed them in front of a fan to try to speed up the drying time. 

I placed the bowl upside down and started to trim off the extra along the bottom. 

Then I finished it with signing  my name and putting the year on it. 

Next this bowl will wait in a shelf until it's "bone" dry. Once all the water has evaporated the clay will look grayish- white. Then it will be fired for the first time. This is called "bisque" once it's cooled I can glaze the bowl. 

Here are some of the glaze colors that I think I'll use. 

Practice

This morning I went into the studio to work on a few more pieces. I need a lot more practice! 

I took a few pictures if the throwing process. 

You litterly start by throwing a ball of clay on the wheel 

Then you center it

Then open the center up with your thumbs. 

Then pull up the sides up by pinching the sides. 

Then trim off the bottom, so it won't have to trim off as much later. 

Then you pull a wire along the bottom and then take the pot of the wheel.  I usually throw on a bat insted of directly in the wheel. Mostly because I damage the pot everytime I try to take it off the wheel. 

If you look at the first picture you can see 2 holes in the wheel head. In those holes you put "pin's" and then place the bat on top. 

First class

Tonight was the first night of the 4 week class. And I can tell it's been about 5+ years since I have been on a wheel. I only keep 2 pots, several were distorted and didn't survive. 

It's coming back to me but not as quickly as I'd hope. The nice thing is that I have a few people in the class that have never thrown before. 

Here are a few pictures from the class. 

When you pay for the class I have access to the studio for the full 4 weeks during open studio. I hope to spend Monday mornings getting some practice in. 

Edina Art Fair

Today I strolled around Edina to look for inspiration for tonight's class. 

I liked these flower bowls. You can put water in the dish and the stems of the cuttings can stand up in the internal vessels. I thought these would be fun for the small gardener's. I often don't want to cut my blooms that are in my planters because they are small and I don't have a small enough vase to put them in. 

I was also looking at glaze designs. My boyfriend likes the brighter colors. These are a few that caught my eye. 

I will find out what glaze options I will have to work with. Sometimes it's a mystery as to what the outcome is. 

My class is at the Eden Prairer Art Center. The class is 4 weeks long on Sundays and is for 2 hrs a night. I'll be posting my process and hope to have a few great pieces. I have a few requests in already. 

Signature

Once you have made a piece of pottery, you have to leave your signature just like a painting. I'm starting up again this weekend and I thought its time to create a new signature. I have been looking on Pinterst and Etsy for stamps. But I don't have time to order or make one, so I'm going to Michael's to look to stamps.

In the past I have made them or just signed my nickname "cassie" but since its been years since I have created anything I thought its time for a change.

I have a few ideas of what I'm looking for. My first thought was just a monogrammed C, but now I'm on the search for a bird. My dad has called me "bird" since I was a small child, so this might be fun. Plus it has a story to go with it.

I like something like this but I have to be careful on the amount of detail since it will get lot in the glaze. Once I have found one I like ill post it on here.

You stamp your work after you take it off the wheel, I have never been a fan of trimming the bottom so I usually stamp the side of the pot along the bottom.

Usually after you have thrown a pot, and it has dried a bit maybe even a full day you then place it on the wheel and trim the bottom off to make it less bulky. The reason why I don't like to do this is because I'm impatient and I usually find my self damaging the pot in this process.

Instead I take a tool and scrape away the extra clay where it meets the wheel. The edge isn't as clean but I don't mind.