Workshop - ceramics

I've been looking forward to today's workshop and I must say I wasn't disappointed!

I was able to have a go on the wheel as well as making a mug. (Well, the idea was to make a mug, anyway... mind ended up becoming some sort of abstract vase.) In both cases it is important to thoroughly knead the clay to make sure it is free of air (we used whitestone clay). Firstly the clay is rolled out flat so that it is about 1/2 a centimetre in depth. Then a circle is cut out using a cutter, before being rolled along the remaining clay to determine the length needed for the cylindrical side. The strip is cut using a knife and attached to the base by making cross-hatched marks along the edge and using slip to act as an adhesive. We were then supposed to use the extruder to form a handle and attach that but I decided to be a little different (ie. odd).

The wheel was particularly fun. First the wheel must be wiped down before a large-handful-sized ball of clay is plonked down. A splash of water over the wheel and then down goes the pedal! To shape the clay efficiently you must keep your upper arms locked at your sides and resting on the bowl so they aren't spun around! It's best to spin the wheel at its fastest first to make sure the clay is central, while moving your hands up and down gradually to start to shape it. Once central the clay can be manipulated to form different shapes, heights and curves. To make an opening, a fingertip is used to find the centre of the clay and then pushed down before pulling outwards. Fingers on the inside and outside of the bowl are used to shape the clay. That's basically the gist of it - once the clay is shaped into the type of bowl or dish you want, it can then come of the wheel and onto a board to dry.

The larger bowl was made using help from the tutor, but the smaller one is all of my own making! (In between I had two failed attempts when the clay collapsed in on itself and got too wet before it was near-on impossible to recover..) Using the wheel definitely wasn't easy, but it was very enjoyable and I found it hilarious watching Joe being attacked by his own clay as he lost control numerous time, hehe.

We were told that it'll be three weeks before we can pick up our works since they need to be fired, glazed and fired again. Hopefully they won't turn out to badly!