Levels of Satisfaction

I find trimming immensely satisfying, really I do. You start with a plain form and end up with something unique and individual. But, shit damn, it takes forever. It can take me upwards of an hour to go from leather-hard piece to full-trimmed vase.

Well, tonight I threw, which is kind of instant gratification and meditation and perfection all wrapped into one.



All while listening to a. lot. of Okkervil River, a band that I love more each time I listen.

(Those little things to the left are chopstick rests - four of them - to go with the four tiny soy-sauce dishes that were thrown)

I took a lot of pictures of those thrown pieces because a) I wanted to document the process, b) I tend to forget what I throw, as I've been throwing so much lately, and c) I'm really kind of proud of how far I've come. I do think I'm better at this than I've ever been; a product of sheer time spent at the wheel. Those vase shapes (though they may be giant mugs to satisfy my parents, I don't know) are bigger than I would have been able to throw a year ago. The walls are thinner, they need a bit less trimming, and they're all together more graceful than in the past. Centering is one of the hardest things to learn and master when getting into potter/ceramics, and I haven't necessarily mastered the technique, but I have gotten so much better at throwing with slightly-off-center clay. Ha.
I'm no longer worried about messing up glazing (because even if I do, it doesn't effect me like it used to), and I'm just excited.

We'll see where this all goes.