It has been a very long time since I posted! As alluded to in my last post, I have been feeling the need to tackle something arty and as a result I enrolled on a distance learning course with the Open College of the Arts and am halfway through my Foundation Drawing course. I have to keep a blog for that
here if you want to see what I've been up to and so with that and
Wayward Bee, (and a Facebook page of the same name if you want to look me up there!) I have neglected this one, which is a shame as I do love reading back over my previous posts. So, having spoken to good friend Nicky this morning (of Warpsidaisies fame) I thought I'd better reacquaint myself...
As well as the art I have started a pottery evening course. I say 'course' but it's much better than that: turn up and play with clay would be more like it. I've been working with pinch pots and slab work and last week we made marbled clay (combo of buff and terracotta) to line a mould, the end product being a flat square dish. The sides of mine chipped off when I turned it over to scrape it back but the term 'organic' has been used quite a bit with my pottery so far and this was no exception. It dried to a slightly muddy coating but once I started paring back with a metal kidney [-shaped scraper, before you start worrying] the swirls of the different clays came through:
This is the base of the upper surface, so when it was still in the plaster mould. In other words before I er, sculpted the 'organic' edges...
The bits I'd done the previous week also had to be neatened up but because I was using up the remainder of the marbled clay, it's a bit too blended to be interesting so I'll just glaze these masterpieces once they've been bisque fired (the first heating to make them solid):
I've made 2 bells and some measuring spoons, plus a few other bits. Ideas from Pinterest, hmm...! I have been a bit ambivalent about trying to throw a pot on the wheel as I thought if I enjoy it, I'm not going to be able to practise and it's something that needs A LOT of practise. And I'd want to be really good at it, blah blah. Anyway, needless to say I loved it and according to Sue, our lovely host, I managed to do very well indeed for a first attempt! I made a vessel. Not quite sure what type of vessel, and Sue's vague suggestion of putting a handle on it would commit it to being a mug which I'm not sure it's quite ready for but hey ho:
I was so thrilled and I can't wait to have another go this week when I also get to glaze my chicken and fire my spoons!
