All About The Making

I’ve decided that 2012 will be all about the making. It’s so easy to get sidetracked and caught-up in the other aspects of this pottery/painting lark. Admin, marketing, planning shows, queueing at the post office, buying tissue paper and scrounging cardboard boxes from local supermarkets. Sometimes it can seem like all I do is the business side of things. Of course this stuff is a crucial part of what I do and can’t be ignored. But in the meantime my poor wheel sits patiently waiting for things to calm down and for me to start making again. I won’t even mention my poor old easel…

And this explains why I haven’t blogged for four entire weeks. It’s the longest gap in posts since I began Pots and Paint back in 2009. But I decided it was good for me to ‘go dark’ for a while, gather some thoughts, and (after the rush of Christmas) concentrate on making. So here are a few photos of some recent throwing.

Above is a photo of my wheel, prepared with a wooden throwing bat, and below is a shot of me in the process of throwing. It’s a slightly staged picture because I had to wash my hands to set the camera on timer!

Above is a photo of a freshly thrown pot. As you can see, the wooden bats come right off the wheel complete with pot on top; this minimises distortion of the shape. Below is a photo of the pots a day or so later, drying. They were taken off the bats using a wire and then the bases briefly smoothed with the thumb – no turning involved. These pots are part of an order of wine carafes featuring a pouring lip at the rim. They will be fired twice and glazed all over in an ash glaze – all being well of course! When making an order it’s always best to make a few extra pots than needed in case of accidents along the way.

Anyway, I quite like the way these pots look in a small group: they remind me of penguins. And so far 2012 is shaping up nicely since I’ve been on my wheel enough times already for my back to start noticing!