Five Alive

Last night I had the pleasure of joining the already-in-progress ceramics class at a local city-run rec center. I missed the first two classes and thought I was going to have to wait until the next session to sign up due to a local clay shortage, but one of the employees at the rec center generously offered to let me use her clay until more was available. That, in addition to her incredible personable email correspondence when I first inquired about the class, and I knew I had to start this session instead of next.

It's been about three years since I was on the wheel, but it's almost like riding a bike the way your hands remember what to do. I threw with a slightly soft (but not too soft!) Georgia Red that centers with ease and has a nice stoneware grit. I hear it sucks out all the pigments in the glaze and I'm not thrilled about that, but neither am I complaining. I threw three bowls and three mugs and only now must I ask, why not a set of four, silly?

When I moved across the country I left behind most of my "personal collection" that I made and ate off of in the past, so I'm really looking forward to eating soup and drinking coffee out of these new creations after I do the trim, bisque fire, glazing, and firing. Hopefully I'll tackle a teapot before long--I imagine the only thing that rivals eating out of dishes that you made is brewing tea in a tea pot you made!

Filed under: Five Alive, arts+crafts