tea time

Tea time is one of my favorite times of day. A newly finished tea cup makes tea time even better.

I threw this cup thick, then shaved off the excess clay with a textural tool when it was leather hard. The glossy amber brown glaze and lines of texture make this a wonderfully rustic cup.

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What's your favorite time of day?

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pots: glazed

 

belly pots

Here is a smattering of pots I made in my ceramics class last fall. It felt great to sit at the wheel with a ball of clay and just see what my hands would make. My goal for the class was to make some bigger pieces, and although none of my pots are huge, I did make some decent-sized soup bowls. As you can see, I had a lot of fun experimenting with glazes.

I'm taking another ceramics class now and am focusing on mugs. I worried that it would be too difficult for me to work at the wheel in my third trimester, but I haven't had any problems. 

I've discovered that I'm a process potter and a product knitter. I knit because I want so many knitted things, but I make ceramics because the process feels so good. I can turn off my brain and just let my hands shape the clay. 

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Do you makes things for the products or the process? 

Does it differ with the craft for you, too?

19 weeks: vessels

At 19 weeks pregnant I can still sit comfortably at a potter's wheel and throw pots. This week in my pottery class I sat down with my balls of clay and centered each one easily. If you've never thrown a pot before, you first place your ball of clay on the wheel, add water, and start it spinning. To bring the clay to the exact center of the wheel, you cup your hands around it and push down and in at the same time. 

This week centering came naturally. I felt so focused on the clay, the feel of my hands squeezing, and my whole body bringing my energy in. After I made my first pot, I began to shape it without much thought. I gave it a round belly, then collared in the neck and brought the lip back out. I made nearly all my pots this week in the same shape. It looked fluid and natural, and my hands seemed to make the shape on their own. I didn't realize until just now, looking at these photos, that my pots mimic the shape of my changing body. It's a strange and wonderful connection. 

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Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! I don't know about you, but I'm already thankful for the rest I'll get after all of the holiday hubbub subsides.

I hope all of you get to share this weekend with people you love!

antler mittens

Thank you for all the good wishes on our baby news! We are over the moon. I can't believe how many changes our lives and my body have undergone so far, and I know this is just the beginning.

On knitting news: I finished my Antler Mittens a few weeks ago. They are snuggly warm and squishy soft because of those cushy cables and Quince and Co.'s Osprey yarn. I predict they'll get a lot of action this winter as part of my winter-white knitted set. So far I've made a hat, cowl, fingerless mitts, and now mittens. I hope to add leg warmers and a headband someday. 

mittens + blue cup from my last pottery class

As part of my prepare-for-baby frenzy, I signed up for another pottery class, which starts this week. I figured I should squeeze in time for things I want to do now, before my belly gets too round to throw pottery on a wheel or I have a little one at home.   

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Tonight I keep checking the news for word on the winter storm headed up the East Coast. I hope all of you in the Northeast stay safe. My thoughts are with you!

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pots!

The hands you layed on clay

Kickwheeld, curling,

              creamd to the lip of nothing,

And coaxt to a white dancing heat that day

Will linger centuries in these towns and loams

And speak to men or beasts

When Japanese and English

Are dead tongues.

from "The Firing" by Gary Snyder

 

These are my pots, glazed and fired. I especially love the tea set. It's glazed pale, glassy green and has a reed handle that my teacher's husband made. 

The pottery class helped me brush up on my ceramics skills and rekindled my interest in working with clay. Luckily, I think I've found a way to make pottery on a more regular basis. My mind is reeling with possibilities; I'm eager to unite knitting and ceramics in some upcoming projects.