A Love of Pots ... Trying My Hand at Pottery

I've wanted to try pottery for as long as I can remember, but my school didn't have the facilities.

Much like my love of spinning yarn, I'm also mesmerised by the spinning of the potters wheel ... watching the clay take form almost magically by the hands of a skilled potter.

So, I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at it.

I did a few initial lessons with a teacher in 2014, and then last year I joined a local pottery group running in the evenings where there is no tuition, but for the price of entry, you can use the clay and the equipment provided.

I've been so intrigued by this craft, and finally getting my hands into the clay as a new medium has been fantastic.

Whilst I've never been much of a fan of messy hands, there's something very satisfying about working with clay and moulding it into something beautiful and functional.

And then, I'm amazed that what was previously mud, as an archaeologist can testify, can be turned into something that can last thousands of years.

Whilst this isn't yarn crafts, I thought I'd do a little post to show you what I've been up to.

Remember that crochet doily I made? (You can see that HERE if you would like to). Well, I've used that as a way to decorate this porcelain cheese board by pressing it down onto the wet clay before firing my piece ...

And here are two mugs I made on the potters wheel - the big one's for me and a mini one's for my son ...

And here's my favourite experiment with glaze. I glazed the inside of a triangular pot I hand-built, which produced a beautiful blue, teal and turquoise effect (the photo doesn't do it justice) ...

And here's a random sculptural piece I made, which is my take on a conker shell ...

This is a sweet little hexagonal coffee mug I made. I love the rustic shape and feel of this one.

Here's a slab built butter dish I've started. It just needs to dry, ready for its first firing. I'm not sure what glaze I'll use to finish it off just yet, but I like the idea of a nice glossy deep blue finish.

This is my first go at sculping a bust - a buddha style ornament for the house. This is it finished but still wet ...

And here it is fired and finished ...

So, what do you think?

Have you tried pottery? Or are you inspired to give it a go?

Let me know in the comments below.

Pottery Painting Success

It was a sad day in the house when my other half accidentally broke my favourite mug the other week. It wasn't the nicest mug in the world, but it was mine, and the only mug I enjoy my umpteen mugs of tea from throughout the day.

After scouring the internet for a reasonably priced large mug, the only mugs I had my eye on were any number of the beautiful creations by Emma Bridgewater ... but at those prices I decided that I might have to wait for birthdays and Christmas!

So I called the local craft center to ask for their opening times (as it was a Sunday), and was delighted to discover that they were open until 4pm, which gave me just enough time to go and get something achieved.

What a treat! I arrived and promptly ordered a tall latte and a slice of homemade shortbread, took my place at a seat in the craft room, had a browse through some books for inspiration, chose my pottery bisque blank, my colour palette and away I went.

As it was still the summer holidays, a number of other parties were in the room ... mostly mums and/or dads with their children. On the CD player was a 'Best Of Disney' compilation, which was actually delightful, and I had to refrain from singing along on several occasions.

After several hours of deep concentration, my new mug was painted to my liking and I packed up my things and went back home with the promise that it would be ready for collection in about a week ... A WEEK!!! It sounded like a very long time to have to wait, but my mug needed firing in a kiln, so wait I must.

A couple of days ago I got a call from the craft center to say that it was ready for collection. Yay!

So, TAH-DAH ... Here it is. (And I must say that it turned out way better than expected).

Now I've got the bug, I'm going back with a friend in a weeks time to a womens only craft evening, where we will paint pottery into the night ... and have a little tipple to boot! Hurrah.