28 September 2008

Pots



As promised, here are a few of the pots from the wood firing two weeks ago. This summer I desperately tried to learn some semblance of concinstency on the wheel, but it came to no avail. Granted, some potters will spend years crafting their form on the wheel, so I wasn't expecting miracles, but my relationship with the clay was far from what I was looking for. I think what it was is that the process of pot building on the wheel is a little too fast for me. It's not the spinning that's too fast, but the actual beginning to end stages that seem, well, without kinship.

I shared this concern with my ceramics instructor and she recommended that I look into a treadle wheel. While looking for it on the internet I discovered that the treadle wheel was actually designed by Bernard Leach, and his grandson Simon has some fantastic Youtube videos on pots, pots building, and the Leach wheel.



In the near future I will begin to pester my brother to help me build one of these things. He's pretty handy with a torch and hot metal. In the mean time I'm going to stick with hand building.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think your mugs look lovely. I like the fact that they are just a little irregular. They look like what they are: handcrafted items made by a single potter to go together. I would rather have a collection of such mugs than one of perfectly uniform, perfectly boring mugs. Nice work!

By the way, your cat rivals mine for absolutely disgusting displays of feline cuteness. I wish I had stripes!

Joan@CopperCreeker said...

Luv the mugs. A couple of counties over from us there is a woderful place called Tater Knob Pottery. I have a couple of their pieces that I use almost on a daily basis. they are very interesting folks. Here is the link to their site.
www.taterknob.com
I'm sure they would be interested in any questions you might have.

Anonymous said...

I agree with kate, I'd rather have home crafted pottery anyday. Anyone can have 'cookie-cutter' mugs but these are so special. Great job, Kelly!

frugalmom said...

Wow! Those are great. Each piece being different is what makes them so fantastic.

MamaHen said...

I like the first mug from the left best. Nice job on all of them though. It took me years to finally be able to throw a consistent set of anything so I know what you mean. Calipers are very handy at first to judge whether pieces are coming out the same and if you use ribs for throwing, they can also be used to help repeat sizes and shapes. You may already be using these but I'm surprised at the number of potters that want to start off 'freehand'. Later it will become more natural to throw the same shape over. Very nice hand built piece too.

Robbyn said...

Ok those mugs are seriously gorgeous!!! I've been catching up with your blog and you guys have really been busy! Love the pickle and tomato canning triumphs, and great tips for freezing. You guys rock :)

Woody said...

Nice work..

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful! The color is exquisite!

Mrs. K's Lemonade Stand said...

Those look really good!

Angel said...

What is supposed to be wrong with the pots/mugs? They look good to me as I am not a fan of the mass-produced look. I'd drink out of them.

Found your site through clicking on other people's blogrolls and am enjoying the read.