Pottery Perfection

I picked up my babies today. I must admit, I'm more than a little bit proud of how fantastic they all turned out. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them now, but I'll find a spot for them somewhere. I don't think I'll find myself in need of a bowl any time soon. They started out as soup bowls, but after the firing process, they came out a tad smaller, so... ice cream anyone? These are some of my first creations. I had a hard time centering the clay on the wheel. I had an even harder time keeping it centered after I started to form my bowls. I couldn't bear to destroy these that turned out a little lopsided, so I just squeezed one side into a spout and added handles. Now I have original gravy and olive oil containers. Original is a good thing, right? I love these not only because of their great shape, but also because of the glazes I used on them. (Plus I finally got the knack of making a nice even bowl, so they are also a symbol of accomplishment!) This is the last piece that I made in the class. I know, it looks a little bit like some sort of insect, but it's not. It's an olive dish. You put black and green olives in the two larger bowls, and toothpicks in the little cup on the bottom. The small cup on the top is for your olive pits. I didn't come up with this idea on my own, in case you're wondering. Danny had made one in his shop, so I just copied it.

This is probably my favorite piece from the class. I was messing around on the Internet and looking up pottery pieces that other people had made. I came across something that looked like this. Mine is actually a mini version of the one that the artist had made. It's supposed to be a chip and dip bowl. The dip goes in the small bowl in the center and the crackers or chips go in the outer ring. I loved that it looked like a pretty flower. So I tried it. And amazingly enough... it worked out. When the kids return to school in the Fall, the ladies and I are going to take another pottery class. I'm already excited about it. Danny can't wait, either. When we asked him about it, he said "Um, you're coming back? You want to do this again?" Then he got this strange little twitch in his left eye. See? He can't wait!