I LEARN in my CLASSES!
I have been fairly awful about taking pictures lately. But, there were a few times that I remembered and was either excited about something, or MADE myself do it. So, this entree will have a couple pictures, but it will mostly be about what I've been learning lately.
Lesson #1) I barely even know what I don't know. One day in class, I was trying to make a certain shape, and I made one that looked really good! Then, I did one more pull, and it got too thin in one spot. This is bad because then it collapses in that spot! I was pretty bummed. But, Blonde Shawn (We have two Shawns whom we commonly refer to as "The Shawns". We actually had NO guys, then Blonde Shawn came, and the next week Brunette Shawn started coming! It always feels weird now when only one of them are there. haha... I love my class. =P) told me to hang it upside-down for the rest of class and see if it would dry enough for it to support itself on it's own! So, I decided to try it! It actually didn't work with this particular piece, but in that moment I felt like... "WHAT ELSE AREN'T YOU TELLING ME???" haha...
But, this is part of the fun of ceramics. As much as there are techniques and some guiding principles of how things should go... There are always "cheater way"s, creative ways, and down-right weird ways to fix/do things. If you don't believe me, go back and read the entree about Rick TORCHING ("lit-trally..." with a torch!) a piece so that he could THROW A SECOND PIECE ON TOP OF IT! There are always new things that I'm learning, or forgetting and relearning. There is commonly a way around most problems. There is always a new way to look at what happened to your piece. Oh, you trimmed through the bottom of your pot? It's a planter now. Oh, you made a plate, but the center isn't flat enough? Cut it up and make it into a weird new shape! It's all about the creativity of finding a way to do what you want to do, or deal with what happened in a way that you find aesthetically pleasing!
Lesson #2) Throwing a great piece means nothing if you don't love it. If you don't love it, just scrap it. Really. You can re-use the clay much easier that way than if you let it dry out and THEN decide you don't want it. That's craziness! Just pitch it. I was this way in college, but in my classes in Detroit, I got away from that. Now, I'm going back to it. Not as strongly as in college, because I actually have to pay for this clay... But, I will try and try again until I actually get the shape I want now. And, I'm starting to actually see the shapes that I have in my head come to life! Part of this is just looking at a lot of pottery, and seeing what it is you like and would want to create. If you start with nothing in mind, what you will get will not be very exciting. (PS. Sadly, this plate got ruined when I was taking it off the shelf one day. Ah well!
This next one is something I'm working on for a friend. It's not tall enough, and I'm still experimenting to make sure it's really what I want it to be, but... I'm excited about how this shape turned out. (But that's in another entree!!!)
Lesson #3) Trimming is incredibly important for many many reasons. And, it's not something I'm really good at. I'm much better than I used to be but... I'm not really patient enough to be good at it yet. I'm making myself get better about that though, because it is so important. It can make the piece much lighter, it can make it less likely to crack or warp, and it will make it look much more perfected and polished. Before, I was treating it as something I had to do so that it doesn't scratch a table. Now I'm starting to learn about what makes a piece look complete. Trimming is a big part of this. Here's my trimmed pitcher before it got it's handle.
More and more I'm adding skills to what I can do. As I look back (which I've done a lot of, instead of writing new entrees...) I'm starting to see improvement in my skill level.
And at home... I see a chunk of completed ceramics starting to pile up... And so, when I receive the next batch back from the glaze firing, I believe I will be officially starting my etsy shop! HartofDetroit will wait no longer!