First Broken Ceramic and More Pieces in Progress

I picked up the one remaining item from my Pots that Pour course today, it was a small pitcher finished in Khaki and then Clear glaze.  I was so excited, that in contrast to its spotty rough appearance, it had a very nice smooth feel to it, and the handle felt really nice to hold onto.  So I was pulling it out of my bag tonight, with one hand, while talking, and holding my mobile phone (camera) in the other hand, ready to take a photo of it for this blog.  Somehow it caught on the handle of the bag, and next thing I knew, it was in pieces on the unforgiving porcelain tile floor.  (That tile kitchen floor has broken many a glass and plate in its time.)

Here are the broken pieces :

Sad, since I was thinking that this Khaki/Clear spotty pitcher would be a good match to my Tenmoku/Clear spotty teapot.  Very sad.

Anyhow, I had already cleaned up and was ready to leave today, when I thought of taking photos of my bowls, which were already drying in the cellar.  These are the 7 bowls I formed last week, and then trimmed the bottoms (creating a nice foot on each) today, and then played with slip trailing.  I had lots of challenges with the slip today, with the bowls being a bit too dry, and the slip drying too fast, with it clogging or dripping or sputtering from the containers I was using for slip trailing.  So many of these became plan B or C, and I was improvising as I went along.  No two are the same, with various different techniques used on each.  If some look finger-painted, it is likely because they were!  I was mostly using Turquoise, Black, White and Blue, but the colours now don't reflect the final colours they will be once they are fired.

I also made another large bowl, which I was hoping to repeat something like the sunflower pattern I had created earlier (#22 from the last course).  However, the slip dried as quickly as I applied it, and the slip I added on the top edge didn't run at all, so I had to "help" it along with my fingers, creating this funky mottled effect with the Black and White slip.

I think that could look pretty nice.  But we'll need to wait and see.  And I'll make sure when I pick it up, it will be with two hands, and not while balancing my mobile phone at the same time!

I also created a nice vase with a sgraffito pattern of leaves around it.  It is already in the kiln shed, and I didn't want to walk back in the rain to get a photo of it.  But I think it has good potential, if I get the glazing right.