take a pottery class

This seems so relaxing. And so much fun.
I just wish there was a place around here that did this kind of thing.

At the 92nd Street Y – next class isn’t until the fall, but that’s OK. As a bonus, my mom also wants to take the class, so it’ll be something fun for us to do together. I’m really looking forward to it!

Signed up for a pottery class at Mcgroarty arts center today…starts July 8th…Tuesdays from 6p-9pm! EXCITED!

so this sounds like the perfect excuse as it’s hands-on and useful.

This week we glazed our pieces. The process was nothing like I thought it was but was a lot of fun! We had about 10 glazes to choose from! All were really beautiful. The “wet” glaze on the pot looks nothing like the final product. We want see the final product until the pieces are fired. I had about 10 pieces total that I could glaze. We have two more classes for this course. The next one we’ll work on more things and the last one we’ll glaze again.

I’ve really enjoyed the class but have figured out this is not something I could do at home. The investment for the equipment and space is massive. I have a whole new appreciation for what goes into pottery and why it’s as expensive as it is. Not only is it hard work to actually make each piece, the mess it makes and must be cleaned up, the original ideas you have to come up with, glazing, firing; it’s a long process and one I have thoroughly enjoyed. I am thinking I might take another class in the summer or next year, but we’ll see.

This was week 3 for my pottery class and we started on the wheel. I can not describe to you how much fun it was to play with the clay and push, and mold, and create with this medium. I wasn’t really expecting such a euphoric experience but that’s what I got. I left class covered in clay with a huge stupid smile on my face. The past two nights I’ve had dreams about opening the pot and working the the clay.

I also woke up with an amazing creative idea to bring my long lost mosaic skills and this new found love of clay together to create a wheel of the year piece at home. I haven’t worked out all the logistics yet but I did do a drawing so I wouldn’t forget the design. I’m excited about starting on that at some point.

Yesterday in pottery class we made bottles from slabs. I’m really enjoying the hand work and think this might be something I could really get into at home. I bought a few tools the teacher recommended today. I’m going to do some research on the different clay arts/techniques and types of clay before next class.

One of my New Years goals was to take a pottery class. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I finally said I’m doing it.

Yesterday was my first class at the local tech school. It’s just an 8 week course but I’m really excited. There are only four students in the class so it was really relaxed and we were able to get a lot of one on one time.

I brought a notebook because I thought the first day would least be some theory or history or something. Nope. She cut chunks of clay and we started making our first “pinch pot” within 5 minutes of being there. That’s my kind of class!

Next we learned how to make a slab by throwing the clay just right on the table and made a cup and I guess I’m calling the square one a vase. We used texture and different tools and techniques to get the looks we wanted. At the end of class she did show us some examples and I asked a ton of questions about clay, technique, and glazing. We won’t be glazing or firing until half way through the class when we have a lot of pieces to fire.

In the images the piece on the left is my first “pinch pot”. The piece on the right in the second piece we did and I think I’m calling it a cup. The third piece we used some texture and other techniques and I made a square vase. These are my before shots. I’m hoping to get some shots of pieces I make toward the end of class for an after.

I am totally loving it so far and can’t wait until next Wed!

I’ve signed up for a 6 week pottery course at a local Tech school. I’m so excited about getting my hands into the clay and creating something. I don’t know if I’ll create anything good but I’m excited to learn and explore this new art. I start Wed Jan 7th. YAY!

I still really want to do this, and actually, I have time right now!!! But I can’t find any classes right now around me! Poo! And now I have a new motivation! I found out about the Empty Bowl Project and it looks SO amazing! I would love to be able to make a bowl to contribute!