Pinched tea cup

Nothing like a leftover bit of clay (or clays) to invite one to pinch a pot, or in this case, a small tea cup. This one used up what was left from the small, two-color anvil bowl.

Pinching clay is one of the simplest methods of shaping and is usually reserved for objects small enough to fit in one's hand. Still, it is a little tricky to get things even. Multiple pinched shapes can be joined to make larger pieces. I added a foot ring to this cup.

The pinkish orange color is from a mason stain. After a bisque firing, I applied clear glaze to just the inside.

Another small object of questionable value except as an exercise and experiment for the potter.

Mushroom anvil bowl

There are all kinds of doodads to help the hand-builder make things that are uniform (more or less). One of them is what is called a mushroom anvil. Made from wood, a variety of forms may be attached to the handle. To shape the clay, the potter makes a slab, lays it out on a piece of foam rubber, then quickly presses the form into the clay. (See my anvil here.)

I tested out the anvil a while back, using two different colors of clay, one colored with mason stain.

After a bisque firing, I applied clear glaze to just the inside to display the difference between the glazed and unglazed surfaces.

As you can see, the bowl is quite small. There are larger forms available, but I haven't coughed up the bucks for those yet. I believe these are hand turned and made from fine wood, so a little pricy.

Popcorn bowl #2

Bowl #2 was made at home, by slumping a slab over a pyrex mixing bowl that I sometimes use for popcorn.

Again, a dearth of notes, not even photos of what I was doing. If memory serves me right, the inside is glazed in 'Stoned Denim' and the outsie in 'Cinnebar'. The rim shows a layering of the two.

And AGAIN, I didn't allow for shrinkage, so this bowl would be better for pasta or salad instead of popcorn. One of these days, I will learn to make everything at least ten percent larger than I want the end result to be.

Popcorn bowl #1

Bowl #1 was made in class. No construction pictures. The method was one kind of coil building. As I recall, mine started caving out, so I had to make a "dart" - cut out a section and "glue" the edges back together. Initially, I was unhappy with the thing, but decided it wasn't so bad after all.

After firing, I decided to try the "peacock" method of glazing (at home). The idea is to create runs of color that resemble a peacock's tail. I used Mayco 'Stoned Denim' for the base, Amaco 'Honey Flux' for the U's and big circle, and Mayco 'Cinnebar' for the dots. I really don't know what I am doing - can you tell?

It didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Basically, the glazes did not run.

I *think* what I did next was overglaze the inside of the piece with 'Oatmeal' (or was it a layer of 'Honey Flux'? I really need to get better at making notes.) Anyway, the idea was to get some movement of the glaze. After yet another firing, the result was much better, closer to what I was aiming for.

Again, I did not allow for shrinkage, so this isn't much of a popcorn bowl by today's standards. When I was a kid, we had a set of salad bowls we used for popcorn, and they were about the size of this bowl. It just goes to show you how serving sizes have grown over the years.

Dog bowl #1

For this dog bowl, I used Clio's food bowl as a mold of sorts, draping a slab of clay over it. (The bowl was covered in an old kneehigh stocking, to prevent sticking.)

Then, after bisque firing, my granddaughter glazed it. I have no idea which glazes she used other than those from a Mayco sampler, and I'm sure she doesn't remember. She selected them based on glaze combinations as shown online. The results are interesting, though.

The lesson learned with this project is clay shrinks. This pic shows the dog dish sitting completely inside its model, making it more appropriate for a cat than a dog (at least, my dogs). Going forward, I will need to keep this in mind.

I will offer the bowl to my granddaughter, in case she wants it, but I would be happy to keep it for myself.

Fluted plate in 'Green Tea'

This started out as a bowl, specifically a dog bowl, but it turned into a plate. Then it had so many fingerprints on it, I went all the way and added more, plus the fluting.

My granddaughter came over and I tasked her with glazing the bowl. I suggested Mayco 'Stone Denim', but she thought Mayco 'Green Tea' would be better. I was hoping the texture is deep enough for the glaze to "break" over it.

I am enamored with the results.

I'm not sure what this plate could be used for, other than be an object to admire. Almost all my finished pieces sit on a "sideboard" by the front door, so that visitors can pick one if they so choose, but this one may be a keeper.

Any lessons learned here? So far, most of my vessels don't have feet or rings on the bottom, but I think that is something I should work to add next.

Dipping bowls

When I purchased a set of wood forms, I didn't think about how small the resulting objects would be. I thought they would be good for mini-experiments, and they are, up to a point. Per usual, most of the pottery I create is a learning experience.

I started by tracing the outline of each form onto a slab of clay (3/8" thick, I think). I applied the underglaze tissue pieces and wiped them down with a damp sponge before positioning the clay on a piece of foam rubber (purchased at Joann) and centering the wood form on the clay. A quick push downward created the shape. Only then did I remove the transfer.

These pieces are so small the cat underglaze tissue objects barely fit. Being a bit frugal, I cut out some of the half-cats along the paper's edge, then placed them so that they look like they are parading across the dish. I squeezed one cat onto the triangle piece.

The flamingos could not be snipped out individually, so I used the wood form to trace a shape for each of these. As an experiment, I applied pink underglaze before adding the transfer. I have to admit, I like the results.

These were all bisque fired, then I applied clear glaze to just the tops. In the future, I plan to apply the clear glaze all over, and use stilts to keep the pieces off the kiln shelf.

Even with the wood form, there is still a bit of wonkiness on the finished items.

One lesson I learned doing these is to smooth the edges of the slab *before* making the shape. Another lesson is to be more careful creating the shape to eliminate that wonkiness. Yet a third lesson: make sure most of the underglaze transfers from the paper to the clay. I purchased some other transfers, so plan to continue these experiments.