Level Up!

As the name of my blog suggests, I have a tendency to wander. And so I do. And now I wander back here to share with you my experience of "Leveling Up!"

Level means a lot of things. One of which is that something is as flat and parallel to the Earth as possible. Very few things are, by the way, level. Anyway, another meaning - that people who play video games are familiar with - is gaining enough experience that you have achieved the next "Level" in a game. Gamers generally achieve this by running around and whacking things or collecting things. Potters, it turns out, achieve this by wrecking a lot of pots.

In my drying rack, this is 2 pots in four distinct sections for each: Foot, bottom body, top body, neck.

This is 2 pots in one not so distinct section after "Leveling UP!"

Here is the goal: I would like to hold a fundraiser for Care.org at the local arts center, The Myrna Loy Center. The theme of the work is the feminine vessel. The work that women do in their villages to raise their families, keep their homes, and improve their communities all involve large storage vessels. It is these vessels on a large scale that I want to focus on.

Now here is where the "Level Up" part begins. These pieces have to be thrown individually and then assembled because I simply do not have the strength nor skill to throw pots that are 20+ pounds. Thus pieces have to be made, and in some cases thought about and thrown in reverse, and then assembled.

The first of two I got the foot and bottom body assembled, then went to attach the top body and when I turned it over it went PLOP off the bat into a big mush on the lower pieces. Hmmmm. Maybe shoulda done that the other way and put the assembled piece on top of the new piece and then flipped it over. Okay, well I have another pot, that's alright!

So I get the foot assembled to the lower body, then I get the upper body and the lower body attached to each other and I even get them flipped over and back on my wheel, centered and everything. I stand up to reach in to secure the seam when, TRIP! I step on the pedal and the pot goes flying in one direction and I fell right on top of it. Which is why the above picture just shows flattened clay. Bummer.

But now, here I am, all experienced. I know which bad guys to whack, which coins to gather, and I'm ready to conquer this level and move UP to the next!!

Exploration of Form

From the last post you may remember that I've been doing a lot of reading lately, catching up from a stretch of hard labor. While catching up on my reading, I was inspired to give myself the challenge of focusing on a singular form.

The form that I chose to explore is the jug form. I learned to throw this form as a cylinder first, keeping the lip and neck tightly compressed and collared then bulging out the belly and shoulder. What has been fun about this exploration is the time and ability to play with this a little. Use a finger or a tool of some kind to make the belly, working on the shape while keeping close eye on the neck. Some success, some not so much, but unless the piece completely collapsed, I kept it.

Initially I started with very measured weights of clay, 1 lb., 2lb., 3lb., etc. Then I realized this is about exploring the form and all the different things I can do with/to it, not reproducing exact replicas. Then the weight of the clay began to not matter.

The reason I am focusing on a particular form is because I felt I needed to practice patience and focus. My goal is to complete 100 jugs. The side benefit that I didn't consider beforehand is that this is another opportunity to practice pulling handles. I have had little to no success with being consistent with my pulled handles. I find them very frustrating. However, I have to say that I am so far pleased. I seem to have finally overcome the mental block I had against them.

The pictures included with this post are some of the jugs that I have gotten thrown and bisqued. In the middle of this process I got an order for more tiles and bowls, so I have interrupted my exploration, but other than time, I don't think it will have disrupted the process. Of course, time will tell.