05/22/09 The Wheels on the Bus Go 'Round & 'Round

Wheee! I'm getting a pottery wheel. An old wheel that hopefully is a workhorse that will outlive me!

And about a dozen bats!

And 150 lbs of clay!

And more tools!

And inspiration every day that will, with any luck, inspire other parts of my life as well. Yes, I'm a happy camper. I'll be a very poor camper - perhaps on hobo level! - but well worth it I think.

I stopped at the ceramics lab at the college last night from 10pm-midnight. I was shopping for stuff for the store shelves, go figure. I really should take a pick of the pile-o-groceries I end up with on one of those trips.... Anyway....

Ever heard of Devil Pots? Me either - until last night! I swear, there were evil gremlins in the lab last night. First I took my pretty round, slightly choked-in cereal bowl...and proceeded to wreck it! UGH! (Ok, so in reality I said something a little more colorful. lol.)

Trimming is when you smooth/level the bottom (or "foot") of a pot. Usually, you flip it over onto it's rim (or "lip") and carve away the bottom (or "foot") to make it flat. I like to put a fairly deep depression in the center as well. First, I center the thing on the wheelhead.

It was at this initial step that things went awry. The pedal to control the speed was sitting backward and I was using my hand to tap it to adjust the speed. Wellllll...lesson learned. I accidentally MAX SPEED instead of stopping. The pot went flying, scraping across both bat pins.

It dented and warped the heck out of my pretty li'l bowl! So I flipped it over, centered it right-side-up, cut off the lip, smoothed it out, flipped it over again, THEN trimmed it's foot. Little %#!&.

Honestly, I probably should have trashed it. lol. However, I'm still "precious" with my work: everything is special. It would probably be a good exercise for me to just smash a bunch of perfectly fine pots.

Then I carved the heck out of the inherited bottle using the "chuck" I had made several weeks ago.

A chuck is a "what" not a "who"!

Imagine a tire rim...how it flares out at top & bottom, open at both ends. You use a chuck to set pots in as you trim them. It helps with items like bottles, where the neck and lip are too narrow to support the body of the pot. The "shoulder" of the piece rests on that narrowed middle of the chuck for greater stability.

Finally...my super-purdy platter. I'm glad I saved that for last and got all my bad luck out of the way. It's going to be hard to resist doing another "ruffled lip" until I'm used to the new wheel at home.

I can't wait!

05/10/09 In the Market for a Wheel!

Disclaimer: If you're really not THAT into making your own pottery, you're probably going to find the following very, very boring!

I want a pottery wheel. I NEED a pottery wheel.

Pottery wheels are expensive.

While I've researched brands and models of wheels, electric and kick, reading just isn't the same as doing! So, the other night I played around with the various types of pottery wheels at the ceramics lab.

I started out on the kickwheels - something I've never tried. Not really my cup of tea. I think there might be some tips I could have used from an instructor???

I liked that the seat height was adjustable, but didn't like the slower speed. No matter how fast I kicked, I couldn't get it going at the rate I wanted. I could also definitely see some knee issues if I used a kickwheel for years.... I guess that would be ok as long as I could get a rehab model wheel down the road. But considering how much I like to use my legs, this may not be the wheel for me.

It had the motor, which I DID remember to plug in! After reading more today, I found out I had to step on a lever to engage a rubber wheel on the base. (Is this where an instructor comes in handy? haha!) Basically, I was using it as a manual kickwheel!

Then I moved on to the Amaco No. 1 model. There's one for sale in Minneapolis, and I wanted to use one before I made an offer. From pictures, I wasn't sure I would like the seat.... I LOVE the seat! It's molded to conform to my tush. Nice! Way better than a hard wooden stool or the board on the kickwheel.

I also liked the height and positioning to the wheelhead. It was perfect for me to wedge my left elbow into my thigh when first centering the ball of clay.

This model has a high/low setting for wheelhead speed. I wasn't really a fan of that, but was prepared to keep an open mind after talking to a former instructor about wheel types. First, I had a hard time locating the switch on the side without stopping what I was doing and looking for it. The high setting was too slow for how I like to center, and the low setting was to fast for some of the more delicate throwing I sometimes do at the end when pot walls thin out. I think I COULD get used to those two speeds if I had to.

Turns out, each type of wheel has it's pros & cons - for me anyway. I learned a lot about HOW I throw. Apparently, I really kick the speed up when I center the ball of clay. Whether you're looking to buy a wheel or not, I would really recommend switching up your throwing once in awhile by trying a different piece of equipment.

...Someone remind me of that statement a few years down the road when I have thrower's block?!? Thanks a million!

03/13/09 Red Clay, Big Pots, & Underwear

Oooo...Friday the 13th! Nothing had better happen to my pots sitting all lonely in the studio 25 miles away!

I threw a "big" vase last night around midnight. (Shush, I didn't get in there until 9:30!) It's the biggest piece I've ever done, I think. It's also red clay - another first!

Beforehand, I had gone shopping for my store (When don't I, right? lol.) Lately I can't seem to get out of a place without buying something for playing in clay. Last night this compulsion brought home:

(1) Herb Mincer - the handled thing with multiple rotary wheels? Yeah, all I saw was something to engrave the outside of a pot!
(1) Glass Iced Tea Dispenser with Spout - I saw this "recipe" for Magic Water that's supposed to be great for attaching clay to clay...and it just happened to make a gallon!
(4) 4ft Fluorescent Bulbs - the workspace in the basement would be dark otherwise.
(1) Dustpan & Sweep - I'm working with dirt. Need I say more?
(1) Dollar Bin Table Cloth - Hey! I can move another small ugly table into the gallery area at the store!
(1) Set of Dollar Bin Scrubbies - I now have so many I will never have a rough pot again.

You get the idea. No store is safe!!! lol I'm guessing if I went into...say Victoria's Secret... there would even be a gorgeous clay-colored ensemble that I just had to have for those days you just wanna sit at the wheel in your underwear.

...There's no picture for that!

03/04/09 Playin' in Mud Again!

I'm very excited to announce that I will finally be doing pottery again! I will be working in the VCSU pottery lab this semester as an alumnus auditing the ceramics courses.

For ten years I've been looking forward to this! Yay!

If anyone knows of any used pottery equipment, let me know, as that's my next goal. Let's hope it doesn't take ANOTHER 10 years!

02/26/09 LINK: Buying Supplies

I seem to have lost my li'l initial kit over the past 10 yrs. lol. I just ordered pottery tools from a site that seems to have things priced about 40% off or better? Compared to other sites and the campus bookstore anyway.

www.in2art.com

I haven't received it yet, but I liked their selection of kits. Seemed to be diff kits than I saw for sale elsewhere . Can't wait for my mini loop tools!!! lol.