Pottering around.

A few weeks (months??) ago I mentioned I was taking a pottery class.  Well, dear readers, said pottery class is now finished and while I may not be a Master Potter, I do have a few finished pieces.  You asked for photos, and you shall receive...

Pinch pot.  The first time I put my hands in clay in years.  Suprisingly, kneading clay is a lot like making bread.  Glazed in a matte greenish glaze.

Pinch pot 2.  This one is an oblong, and is cleverly (okay, accidentally) tri-toned.  Half is dipped in a browny-red, and half in a whitish-green, and where they overlapped I was surprised with a dark brown.

Pinch pot three, this one shallow and very ashtray-like.  And oh so creatively stamped with swirlies inside.

This is a bowl, upside down, made by putting stamped clay into a mould. 

Around the rim, I stamped a coil for my very uneven and amateurish top.

Here is the whole first-batch of pots.  All of these were made in the first class and then glazed.  We've had them at the house for a few weeks and like using them for mise-en-place, holding garnishes at the table, and sauces.  And the big bowl has become a favourite for soup, porridge, pasta, etc.  After finishing these, I moved onto my most favourite piece...

A cake plate.  This one is made by two methods, which makes it multi-purpose.  The plate is moulded from coral-stamped clay pieces and the stand is a coil pot.  But wait for it...

Flip it over and the coil pedestal becomes a dip bowl at the center of a plate.  Wahoo!

Check out that coil action!

Finally, it was onto the wheel.  This was not such a success.  As a leftie, I found it very tricky to handle the clay which spun at me in the opposite direction to where I was comfortable.  Plus, my hand-eye coordination is not my greatest strenght.  The results:

They are small and lopsided and fairly useless (though I have fashioned two into candle holders and will be passing them on to people who are obligated to love them -- mothers!), but I kind of like them.

Lastly, I made a soap dish which you can just see in this photo, which was a gift for a friend.

I won't be going into business as a potter anytime soon, but it was fun to play in clay and get dirty and actually create things.  And it feels pretty cool to eat off of something that you made yourself.