This was the final week before we get to glaze our final pieces! We had lots of time to trim our remaining pieces, and pick the final 3 that would be fired and glazed. The three pieces above are the final three!

Trimming Re-Do

I only had 4 things to trim today, 2 bowls and 2 mugs. I really only had high hopes for this mug to the left, so all the other pieces were practice! I didn’t try any feet on the bowls… they were too wonky to give it a try. I also prefer the aesthetic of a rounded bottom on mugs in particular. But I will practice more feet in the future, I promise! But feet aside, I think I got the hang of trimming more today. I was definitely playing it safe with how much I was trimming away, being extra careful not to put any holes in the bottoms. I also learned that if your piece is not centered when you throw, it is super evident when you go to trim – my bowl is a little wonky because of that! I also learned to check if the bottom is flat. It’s uneven your bowl will rock… I hadn’t even thought of that before!

Picking my Final Pieces

In the end I had 8 pieces to choose from! You can tell I preferred making mugs over bowls… and especially plates. I found the decision to be easy, sadly the two bottom bowls on the left hand side weren’t going to make it through the kiln, so they were easily scrapped. The bottom bowl I wasn’t too upset about but I loved the shape of the middle one. I thought it looked the most polished, but it had a crack so it had to go. My two smaller mugs would also get smaller in the kiln, and I already have too many accidental espresso cups at home. I already know I was going to pick my two mugs, so it was between my wonky mug or my wonky bowl for the final piece. I went with the wonky bowl. It will be nice to have something to compare my progress too later. The hope is to practice and get so good at bowls that I’ll look at this bowl and laugh fondly. Until then it will be great for popcorn. The best part about today… we got to destroy all the other pieces that won’t be fired! I had a lot of fun tearing apart, and smooshing variously dried pieces of clay. It won’t go to waste tho, all that clay will be softened down, and “reclaimed” into fresh clay again!

Adding Spice to My Mug

There was so much time left in class I decided to do a bit of carving and add a handle to my favourite mug. Carving is my favourite part of pottery. It’s the whole reason I’ve taken this wheel throwing class – so I can more easily and quickly make mugs to design on. It was a janky quick job, but it’ll make the glaze more interesting in the end. I also added a handle quickly. It’s technically not apart of the beginner class, but I knew what I was doing, and the instructor let me! Anyway, it was really great to feel confident doing what I love, and reminding myself why I’ve put myself through all the struggle! It looks a little rough and bumpy with the wheel lines and my attempts to buff out the edges of the carving, but all will be forgiven by the glaze! Glaze tends to smooth things over and as my instructor said “forgives all sins”.

Final Thoughts

Overall I am happy with what I’ve made in this class! I don’t think I’d say I’m necessarily proud, but I am determined to improve. Next steps is finding a space to practice on my own. As I’ve mentioned before I think that is a very important part of the learning process. It was also very nice to carve again, and do something that built my confidence again. It was a little discouraging looking at everything I had thrown and realizing some weren’t structurally sound, and others were more wonky than I had originally anticipated. But once I started carving that mug, and adding details, everything felt alright again. I was there for a reason, I had a purpose and it was good to be reminded of that. A good reminder that sometimes our students might need reset points to go back to what they are good at to build the confidence necessary to keep trudging ahead! It also points to the importance of giving students purpose and context to what they are learning. Learning can be hard, especially without enthusiasm or a purpose.

Next week is the glazing week! Another part of pottery I’ve struggled with in the past, so I’m excited to hear some tips and tricks from the instructor! I’m also going to Revelstoke over my reading week, and hope I have time to get muddy with my potter friend there. Would be awesome to get a different set of tips, and also to just learn from a friend!