Summer of the Vase
Summer time and the living is easy….as they say.
As a teacher on summer break, I am taking every opportunity to rest, renew my creative spirit and fill my bucket as full as possible. I certainly hit the ground running (to rest and renew…HA!) by treating myself to a new art supply I have been wanting for a long time and finally got up the nerve to make the purchase…a tiny wheel for throwing pottery! Being June is my birthday month, I decided it would be my birthday gift.
It is the cutest little wheel and I have probably thrown over 100 pots already in 3 different clay bodies. I will admit I am quite obsessed and quickly titled my summer…
My monthly painted calendar
I purchased the tiny wheel from Small Ceramics, a UK based small company that 3-d prints these wheels and accessories. It came within the week and then suddenly I was at the point of no return, I had to give it a try. I was excited, yet had so many questions. Because of its small size, I was able to take it around and ask for a little help from my wheel throwing friend, Marsha who gave me a few pointers and off I went. I have tried to throw as much as I can between all the things that make life busy. And below you can see a mash up of many pots and vases. Some pretty good, others interesting and a few flops too. It’s all worth it!
I have decorated some with underglazes, and watercolor underglazes. Painting designs or just adding a pop of color. One particular technique I am really loving is sgraffito. This is when you scratch back into the greenware with an embossing tool or knife to essentially “draw” into the clay and reveal the clay body color underneath. It is quite a simple, but a satisfying way to decorate and design the surface of your pots.
June’s Cards
Inbetween all the throwing and slinging of clay this month, I managed to make some cards to send to family and friends. You can see a little of my designs coming through on the vases that I also draw with colored pencils on paper or in my digital art. I am a believer that your style just happens as you draw or paint or do your creative work. You can’t help it, it just happens. BUT you have to do that creative thing again and again to see/find/reveal it. At least that is how is seems to me right now.
Tiny yet so very big…
to me. They are imperfectly mine and I cannot get over how joyful these little clay objects make me. I shall make more, explore more, creatively play more and design more. With each turn of the wheel, sure my confidence grows, but more than that… my fear of failure lessens and that is the whole point.
I have been posting more on social media lately to share my vases and pots and all the littles more frequently. Join in on Facebook or Instagram, if you find yourself there. What am I going to do with all these vases? I have some thoughts… so stay tuned.
Hope you find your creative bliss out there and get a little obsessed too.
Stay creative out there~
Hannah
