After a couple of hours or working on a potter’s wheel for the first time in years, my body reminded me of several parts that are ill-prepared to do this without practice and attention to form (mine, not the pots…well, maybe the pots too). As a mental break from writing and research, signing up for a clay class looks to be one of the better decisions I have made. It is fun. The class is full of students plus an great instructor, all young enough to be my children. I have had more than a few curious looks from my fellow students as I played in the mud the first session or two.
I do have a few ulterior motives. There are things that a skilled potter can do on the wheel that would make great pieces/parts for ceramic musical instruments…and some of my older sketchbooks attest to the fact that those ideas have been fermenting for some time in the back of my head. The class also provides me access to a great gas kiln to do reduction firing…a method that produces great color in glazes and from the clay bodies alone.
These practice cylinders are my first. I suspect that they will end up in the slop bucket, but the picture is a reminder of my first steps back into the (wonderfully addictive) world of wheel-thrown ceramics.
Tags: ceramics, stoneware, wheel-thrown
