This week we were making bowls, which is new for me. I made a decent fist of things, threw eight, some of which are visible in the picture below.
The third one I made was (IMO) perfect, but I managed to completely destroy it by being careless with one of the tools after I'd managed to get it cut free from wheel plate and everything. I was remarkably relaxed about it. Live and learn.
Another silly mistake I made was putting the spiky thing (I really must find out what that's called) into the base to test the depth while the wheel was spinning! What an idiot!
Key learnings
- don't let the walls get top heavy — pinch the rim up if necessary
- pay more heed to the inside; the outside can be carved in later
- hands covered in sloppy clay is better that just wet hands, it seems to me, for letting me work longer without drying out
- more outward pressure to belly out the bowl
- don't let it get too flat along the bottom
- let the intial shape be more cylindrical on the outside at first, more V-shaped inside
I think I was in some kind of flow-state today. The time went quickly and I came out feeling calm. It's such an absorbing activity that there's nothing else in my mind while I'm doing it.
Overall: GOOD.
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