Back in the ceramic studio this month to expand on my basic wheel throwing skills. In this session we are increasing the size of the vessels by combining smaller thrown pieces together. I’m pretty sure this is the only way my pieces are going to get much larger. I’ve found that softer clay bodies are much easier to center, less exfoliating on my hands, but much more difficult to keep stable as I pull it up.
So my first effort was going well (pictured on the right). Started with 2lbs. of clay, got a nice rounded belly and was pulling up a wide neck when THIS happened. The connection beween the belly and the neck was too thin to support the weight and it collapsed in on itself. Always takes the breath out of you when your efforts crumble. It takes courage to fail and try again. The second time I managed to complete the task of throwing 2 pieces that could be attached into a bigger, neater, keener, more sculptural piece. No stopping me now!!