Sunday, January 18, 2009

Alone Time

Ideas for hand building


I needed a bit of alone time this weekend. Just me, and my thoughts walking in the cold. When I lived at home with my parents in PA I would walk every day in the woods. I walked when it was sunny, when it was snowing and I even walked when it rained. I loved to walk and take in the smell and sights of my woods.

These days I rarely get home to PA and I find that when I haven't had time outdoors, even if it is walking on concrete, I seem to get cranky. So yesterday I took my sketchbook with me and headed out for a nice walk. The wind and cold didn't bother me. It always feels great to just walk. I eventually found myself at the sushi restaurant and penned a few new ideas for vessels.

More ideas penned out


I plan on exploring hand building this week. I want to become very comfortable with adding pieces to leather hard clay since I will be doing more of this when I cast my porcelain pieces from porcelain slip. I want hand building to become second nature and I want to make all the necessary mistakes with my pottery. Pottery seems to be so forgiving.

Chips of the new glazes I received


It just wants to "be" and doesn't care if its floppy or straight. It doesn't care if the glaze runs or if it stays right where you anticipated it to stay. Pottery is beautiful even as a simple glaze chip. I believe that is why I am enjoying it so much. There are rules, but those rules can be broken and in many cases breaking the rules produces even more beautiful pottery.

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