I'm still at the beginner stage, learning how to form clay into useful and beautiful objects and relying on my teacher to bail me out of "sticky" situations. I only started in the spring of 2007, so I'm really only at the very beginning of a long journey. All the same, I'm very much enjoying both the creative and learning processes here.
Before going any further, I'd like to give a quick acknowledgement of my able teacher and friend, Ursula ("Ursi") Frey. She was a school teacher before she retired, and it shows in her patience and unbounded willingness to help. She is also a master potter, a skill she uses both to show us how things can be done, as well as to try to fix things when they get a little out of hand. Thanks, Ursi!
Below are some examples of pottery that I've created. They are displayed here simply to show friends examples of things "I can do" so we can discuss new projects. Most of these are now elsewhere, having been given away as gifts at various points.
(I've placed the latest objects at the top, to make them easier to find.)
This is probably my most ambitious single piece yet. The goal: to make a present for RMS's hand/wrist therapist. This woman naturally is fond of hands, and it shows in the art and objects she has in her practice area. When I spoke with my teacher about the idea of a pair of hands holding a "bowl", she smiled and showed me two large plaster blocks that held molds made from the hands of a young woman she knew! Right there, at my feet. Anyway, the piece evolved as it was made. The "bowl" became a draped surface that fit the hands. The hands are unglazed, to show the underlying color of this "hand build" clay.
I guess this past session was themed for "hands". The idea for this one has been kicking around for a while. What I wanted to do was create something that evoked the ancient handprint art found in various places around the world -- people trying to say "I was here!"
This is an attempt to replace a stoneware baking pot we had that had broken twice -- once through the top, and more recently through the bottom. The original was brown, with a fairly large knob.
This is version 2 in our attempt to make a vase we can leave outdoors on a table on our "balcony" without it blowing over. Version 1 relied too much on simply being a "fat-*ssed" vase, and the weight wasn't enough to keep it from falling and breaking. This time, I'm going for leverage...if that doesn't work, I'll try making one that is also 8-sided.
I first made little cups like these for an Advent wreath (see below). We found that the extras were very useful for measuring out small amounts of spices for, for example, Indian cooking. I made another Advent wreath (destined to appear later, after a course in raku firing), and this time intentionally wanted the extras for this purpose. The dark blue plate was originally part of another project that broke in my hands as I was sanding it; the plate looked so good with these two that we now look at this as a set.
"Vellano" pattern coffee set, designed for a friend who lives there (and who drinks incredible amounts of coffee) and his partner. "His" coffe cup holds something close to 3/4 of a liter of coffee; "hers" holds rather less.
This "pinch pot" is my very first piece of pottery. It is intended to be a planter; the spout was added as a convenience in case the plant is overwatered, since there is no drain hole. But it did turn out looking a bit like a chamber pot...
A coiled cup; my second piece of pottery, and so far my only coiled vessel. (This is about to change in a big way: a week-long class in traditional Southwestern American Indian micaceous clay pottery...)
This was my first hand-built object, a replacement "turkey pan" requested by my wife. The blue border (something of an "echo" of the light-blue border of the original) has been decorated with impressions from a partially opened sea shell, giving a Grecian impression.
My first pitcher, and one of my first thrown objects
A more recent pitcher, inspired by some ancient pottery I've seen
This simple (small) bowl was originally intended for raku firing, and is made with a stoneware with more (and larger) grog than most of the others shown here. But it was deemed a bit too thin at the bottom to survive the Raku process, so it was glazed in the more conventional manner.
Two views of a bowl I made for a batchelor friend of mine, who wanted a salad bowl "big enough for up to four people."
A tea cup, in action. This one is individual; it was made as a prototype for the Vellano set, above, but glazed in a different color.
A tea set -- my first experience with lids and add-on spouts
An "Advent wreath", to hold four tea lights. A combination of throwing and hand building.
A green vase -- one of my first attempts at bottle necks
Another green (ok, green-blue) vase, this one with rather a larger opening. It was made for a friend and neighbor who wanted a vase with a smooth, glossy finish.
One of my personal favorites, and an example of how an "accident" can turn out well. I hadn't planned for the spout; it was something that happened when I ended up with "too much clay" on one side at the top.
This hanging flower pot was inspired by some ancient amphorae I have seen. We haven't put it to the test, as yet. (The "mistake" on the rim is where I removed glaze before firing, to expose my potter's mark.)