7.10.2009

a belated studio visit

last night i made a visit to the ceramics studio at school.
glazed a couple of older pieces and then decided to
try and do some work on the wheel.
i literally have not set foot on the wheel pedal for a good month.
and boy did it show.
i could not get a piece off the wheel that i actually liked and wanted to keep.
i've only been doing this for a little over half a year but it was frustrating.
and the lab aid could tell.
he gave me some good advice that i'm going to start doing next time i come in.
he said throw** a hundred cylinders.
over and over again, don't focus on making anything yet.
just throw a cylinder with the goal of making it perfectly.
pick the best one
and throw out the other ninety nine.
then throw one hundred more cylinders, but bigger.
same thing as the last, keep just one.
he said it will help to get the feel of a good centering and well made piece.
i'm tired of making stuff i'm not totally in love with.
i want to be more than content.
hopefully later tonight or tomorrow i will post some
photos up of stuff i made, and critique myself.
in a nice way.
just say why it's not the way i want it.
i hope to learn from what i'm doing and improve.

any similar stories of things you've done that you want to improve on?
how did you figure out the right way to go about it?
share with me.
i love stories.


**to those who know nothing about pottery,
to throw is to make a piece on
the pottery wheel
not to literally throw a cylinder. ha.
^.^

4 comments:

  1. Oh, I'd love to see pics!! That has always been something I've wanted to learn - wheel throwing. There is a pottery school and gallery right near me and I've really been debating signing up for a class. Who has the time, though?!

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  2. Oh, good gravy, yes...I have been struggling for months with a couple of pieces that I just.couldn't.get.RIGHT!
    It was making me crazy. I think I have finally figured it out, but I had to learn to walk away
    and cool off.
    I WILL throw a real cylinder, when something doesn't look right to me. hahaha.
    Trial and error, the life of an artist. :)

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  3. I really like the second piece in your new post, I'd be thrilled if I could make something that cute!

    ReplyDelete