Easter Sunday Play

awwwwwww If only the world needed a bowl exactly like this...
Isn't it special?

This kids are at their father's. I have been sick for days. Mark's asleep and I have an Easter Sunday to myself.
So!
Unpack the dishwasher
Pick up dog poop
Laundry
Bins

Then pottery time!
Initially I thought I was going to be too sick to play but in the end decided that playing sick is better than sorry-for-myself sick .. so I played!

How to make a pot:

1. Knead the clay for 5 minutes. Much easier done in small pieces as kneading a big lump takes a lot of strength
2. Centre the clay on the wheel. Easier said than done and requires a fair piece of exertion. Wedging my elbow into my side, I swap between different centering techniques until I have it in the middle.  I think my small hands make this a little harder.
3. Opening the pot out from the disc is the hardest part for me as I almost always end up off centre. All you are supposed to do is put your fingers into the middle, press down at an angle and the pot is supposed to just open up as you move to the edge....Psshhht 
4. Then pull the walls up. This bit takes skill to control the outcome, however I find a random result relatively easy to pull off - it's just getting that hole in the middle to begin with that is sucky. By random I mean: don't ask for a pot, mug, bowl or plate - it will be one of them but we don't know which when we begin!

I started with 6 balls of clay. I ended with 1 good bowl + 1 OK bowl + 2 not so ok bowls and a large mess of wet clay that I will recycle.

Wet clay - was once pots

And I am so reckless, I gouged holes into two of the not so ok bowls while working on the others. I have patted clay over the dents and will see if they survive.

The winning bowl in place, one ok bowl and one not so ok bowl on the shelf. Both with gouges.

Two bowls are really not going to be good for anything, but I also need to practice turning the bottoms.

As a new potter, I had no idea that turning the base was an art in itself. It turns something clunky and ugly into something lovely.... if you know how to that is!

I also need practice with the glazing process so these poor ugly bowls will go through the whole process, even if their looks wouldn't recommend them.

So much fun I almost didn't count the 25 minutes it took to mop up all this mud!