Pottery: one month in

One month into pottery classes, and we have been taught how to trim pots and how to make handles. That, of course, does not necessarily mean we are capable of trimming pots and making handles at all.

The three pots I threw two weeks ago have had a minor transformation. I put them to use in practicing trimming. One pot now has a little hole in the base to turn it into a plant pot. They’ve been bisque fired, dipped into some random glaze buckets* and are now ready for their last firing.

I’ve thrown and trimmed a few more tiny plant pots.

I’ve also made an attempt at pulling some mug handles. Mug handles are tricky. Pulling a rope is not too complicated, but shaping the rope into a handle and attaching it to the mug is a bit more beyond my abilities at the moment.

It’s not just the crafting of the clay, it’s the understanding of vessel engineering.

I find that I tend to make cups that are very small. It suits me, because I can hold them comfortably in my hands, but it’s not very practical for holding large quantities of liquid.

Now, for why mugs are complicated. I look at mugs everyday, but if I was asked to draw a mug, or describe what made a mug comfortable to hold and sturdy to use, I would not be able to do so. Where does the handle get attached to? What shape is the handle? How thick is the handle? Goodness knows!

Here are a few mug shaped lumps of clay.

I am determined to use these mugs, and figure out what tweaks I should make to create more useful mugs.

*Taking notes? Doing scientific experiments? Oh no not for me. I take joy in discovering the results of random chaos.