This week was definitely more challenging with my return to the virtual office, but I miraculously churned out ten pieces thanks to a failed attempt at throwing off the hump.
I really love bud vases. They are admittedly not that functional since they are tiny, but I think they are so damn cute. These four were made with a dark clay (charcoal) from Aardvark. This clay is new-ish, and I’m super excited to see how they fire. I’ll definitely try glazing a set in white and another with clear. Maybe a third set with no glaze on the outside too!
To round out last week’s bowls into a set of four, I threw another bowl, but I didn’t realize (until it was too late) that the base of the bowl was too narrow so I ended up with a skinnier and taller bowl. Oops. I’ll try again next week.
Throwing off the hump (see picture below) is theoretically supposed to be a very efficient way to quickly make a bunch of smaller pieces with a large lump of clay. I’ve seen lots of potters successfully throwing off the hump, but I struggle with making consistently sized shapes and struggle even more getting each piece off the hump. It’s hard to tell in the photo above, but the cups were circular on the wheel and then very oval by the time I got them on the bat.
I’m going to consider these pieces as practice, which means they will be going into the clay recycling bucket. This is only my third time throwing off the hump so I’m sure the next time will be a bit better, and I’ll hopefully be able to keep a few pieces.
See ya next week!
rachel om pottery 
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