Practice, Practice, Practice, repeat.

So this week I have been focusing all my clay energy towards throwing. This is because my ultimate goal in the class is to create nice wheel thrown objects, chiefly a beer stein. I know that is a long way away...perhaps it is not going to happen within the confines of this 6 week class. However I am not deterred because I believe I will continue to throw after the class has been concluded. I have made some various shapes of vessels but when it came time to blog, they were all in the various kilns we employ. I do however have some photos that I took which sum up nicely what I have been doing in the past week.

This photo is one of a glazed and cone 10 fired vessel. I should have one by about Friday or Saturday of next week.




This is a photo of a glazed mug awaiting the gas kiln to be fired up. Mine are somewhere behind this one, or perhaps underneath, but its the same principal. I helped load some of the gas kiln and the electric kiln this past week and my bisqued pieces should be ready to unload by Sunday. I hope my tombstones didn't blow up!












This is me throwing on the wheel and removing the top from my piece. I know, I know, how I am taking a picture while throwing on the wheel. Miranda actually fired the shutter for this one, but I did setup the shot previous so...semantics. I am getting better...I believe, and the beer stein shaped light at the end of the tunnel is keeping me propelled through these learning and experimental stages.

Tune in next week.

Blog 2

This week certainly was a ceramics week. I started making some headway on my cups and on my first project, which I finished and we had a critique on Thursday. It took me the majority of a time to come of with an appropriate idea for a project based on how the story made me feel. I am quite satisfied with the results and I am eagerly awaiting for them to dry and be bisqued so I can pick out some glazes. As you can see in the pictures, I made a set of tombstones for the animals that I have hit with my car. I am not doing this because I feel guilty for hitting them with the car, but rather to remind the universe that they were here.

The surfaces of each of these were smoothed out (except where I intentionally added texture on the sides of the two laying down) and then carved the name of each type of animal into the front. I could have made up a name for the animals, or I could have put in memory of a bird, but I thought it would be pretty evident that it was in memory of a bird the way I presented it. Besides that, I think this also serves as a memorial to all the animals who are hit, and then ignored by all passing traffic.

I'm not sure yet, but Miranda suggested that I rub stain into the texture on the side and into the lettering. I might do a few test pieces to see what looks best before I go and glaze the whole thing.










Here is all of them completed.













I feel much more confident on the wheel now. I am just getting started, but at least I'm starting to get the basics of how to do it. I found that it was easier to learn how to center with the porcelain than with the stoneware.









Here are the six porcelain vessels and two stoneware vessels I made, and one that I found laying around that nobody will claim, so I'm going to use it as a tester. My ultimate goal on the wheel this semester is to make a respectable beer stein. I've got a long way to go...till next time.

Blog 1

Hey there blogging land. This is my first ceramics blog for the first summer session Ceramics. I have decided that I would like to eventually become proficient at throwing vessels on a wheel. This is what I have made so far. I believe these would at least serve the function of a cup, but that's about it so far. I believe that I am making progress, but at first it seemed like the harder I tried, the less centered the pieces got. Only when I switched to steady the vessel with my right and and my left hand to push down and shape what I'm calling a cylinder.


The first day we made clay. I believe it is called IUS Throwing Stoneware. It is still pretty wet even though Miri and I ended up doubling the recipe. At the same time as making our clay, Chris and Miranda made a double batch Porcelain. We are going to share the two different clays so we can all have the opportunity to use the different clays and create different vessels.





Here's the culprit. We put in way too much slop to begin with, so we had to compensate by doubling the recipe. It was the opposite last time I made clay. Go figure.