Studio update

This past Sunday was a busy one and I'm still wondering how we're going to make out with all the pieces yet to be fired (bisque and glaze). 

We've got cool weather in Austin, so unloading one of the kilns was pretty easy; almost enjoyable. We have two large gas kilns in the back of the learning studio where I throw. Both kilns are about four feet wide and approximately 6 feet tall. Stocked with fired glaze or bisque work, unloading can be grueling in summer months when the temperature is 100+ degrees and you're standing in front of an oven that's been fired to over 2100 degrees. But in the fall and winter, unloading a kiln and heavy shelves holding up to 50 or so handmade pieces is merely a light workout. 

I trimmed the jars and bowl that coincide with the lids I shared earlier. Here they are, drying and about to be prepped for bisque fire:

The bowl has one of the biggest lids I've made to date, I'm hoping it makes through the firing process. 

I've got some bits of newspaper beneath the lids to give me leverage in case I need to adjust them during the drying process. 

I'll let these dry for a  week or so, then prep them for bisque fire. 

I bought some clay home as well to start working on the jewelry idea I had. I started working on some earrings and pendants which takes me away from the wheel throwing process and calls on more hand-building techniques.

I'll be working from some custom stamps I made earlier this year and modifying those for use in earing and pendant designs. I'm going to make some beads tonight to add to the earrings and shop around for inspiration until these go through the drying, firing and glazing processes: 

Dishes, Jars and Funky Little Tops.

I didn't get to the studio for my usual session this past Sunday. I was knee deep in deadlines and slap boxing a few gremlins. By Sunday night I was in full scale terror worrying over the status of my pieces in a well heated and ventilated studio. Greenware, even when covered with plastic, goes from damp to leatherhard much faster during drier seasons or when subjected to heat. With three jars, one dish and four lids waiting to be trimmed and prepped for bisque firing, a week might be a bit too long to wait.

I hustled to the studio early this morning fearing the worst. I found instead that double wrapping my pieces and tucking them  away from any heavy ventilation made the difference. In fact, my dish wasn't even leatherhard, so I wrapped it and will tend to it on Wednesday night.

But that's not the highlight of this potter's tale.

Today, I threw four handles for my lids - off the hump. And I made all four of them from that hump in less than 20 minutes. For me? This is a level up in my capabilities. Throwing "off the hump" means creating multiple pieces from one centered clay mass. So, you center the clay on the wheel and then work with a portion of clay at the top to create your piece. You slice that piece off, set it aside and immediately start making your next piece using another portion of clay. And so on. It works really well when you're making multiple smaller pieces like small lids or lid tops; but I've also seen expert potters create cups and mugs working from the hump. I'm not there...yet.

I have to laugh at myself because this time last year I was convinced I would never even attempt a jar, or anything that would require a lid. Now, it's all I want to do. I'll update with some pictures soon.