bottoms

Whilst the form of the cup is important, so's the bottom.

You'll notice potters tend to pick up pots and look at their bottoms.

A bottom tells you a lot. It tells you about how a potter handles clay and can give you an insight into their character.

Once upon a time my bottoms were very controlled. I turned feet on all my pots. They were very neat and precise.

But I've relaxed a lot since then and discovered that a loose, straight from the wheel bottom can be just as effective.

You can see in the picture the marks from the cutting wire. Once the pot is leather dry I then also "roll" the bottom of the pot on the bench to smooth down the sides from where it's been trimed and to soften the form, tucking it under.

Then it gets it's stamp, so you know it's one of mine!

Cuppa

Nothing beats a cup of budhas tears jasmine tea first thing in the morning.

Subtle, fragrant and warm.

Busy Easter

It was a busy weekend, lots of throwing!

I've finally settled on a style that I'm happy with which is a relief. Although no two pots are ever the same.

Here are the cups and the small bowls. It'll be off to the kilns again this weekend and then some serious glazing.

Autumn

Well it's clearly autumn. The Boston Ivy (or is it Virginia Creeper) is putting on a great display of colour. Rusty reds, turning to yellows.

And Colin is soaking up the last rays of sunshine before winter comes along. Enjoying his little patch in the garden.

He's one happy dog!

little pots

I dropped my cups and gorgeous wooden display box off at St Lukes. It's my first foray into selling my cups. They asked if I could also make some small bowls for artists (after all, they are an art shop rather than a homewares shop).

So based on something similar that I'd made for Jem, I've made a small run of these little bowls. Perfect for holding medium whilst painting (and made to Jem's exacting specifications - flat bottom so they don't tip, not too big, and of course - simple!!)


here's an example (unfired and unglazed)

Decoration

Decoration is one of those things i've struggled with for quite some time. It's a difficult thing to get right, but it's fundamental to the success of your pots!!

Originally I thought colour might be the answer, whack a bit of a colour on, and it's decorated. For me this didn't work. Aesthetically I like things to be simple. Colour just made everything look busy and ugly. And it was difficult to see how the colour actually related to the pot. It always seemed like a very poor after thought.

The problem was that throwing, for me, is about the form, so I had to find something that complements the form rather than detracts from it.

For some time I've been using a small japanese stamp to "sign" the bottom of my pots.


It's simple and effective, and it got me to thinking, what about stamps...

So dad whipped up these wooden stamps for me and our I got out one of my lino cutting tools to give them a bit of a pattern. This worked.

Now I've evolved the idea a little more and made a collection of clay stamps (fired) that are considerably smaller, but still have a nice level of detail.

These give me a nice range of interesting indentations that I can use to give a little bit of interest, but without overwhelming the aesthetic of the pot. After all throwing is all about the form, making forms that are nice to hold and easy to use.