Pottery! I'm getting better.

So this semester I am taking an advanced hand building pottery class. I love it!! It is just so relaxing and nice to have a fun class. So here are some of my pieces that have been fired once. They still need to be glazed and then fired again.

This is one of the two large pieces I have made so far. I really liked how it turned out. With this one you start the bottom with what you call a "pookie". Basically it's a plaster mold that you use to build up the bottom in larger pieces. I am going to be sager firing it. That means you put a bunch of "stuff" for a lack of a better word like leaves, dirt, etc. When it is fired, this stuff transfers onto the pot and creates really cool colors and patterns.

This is my second large piece and it is my favorite out of all of them. I'm not sure how it turned out so good but I love it! I painted on a white slip, which is basically watered down clay. And I am planning on using a crackle glaze.

This is a smaller piece and is made a little differently than the other two. It is called a half and half. You take a smaller "pookie" and roll out a slab of clay and out it evenly in the small pookie. Then you put that in front of the fan and let in harden a little bit. Then you do the same thing again so that you have two exactly the same. Then you let them harder to the same consistency and use slip to fasten the two halves together to make one small pot. Then you can do a lot with them. You can leave them without an opening or carve an opening like in the one below. I also did a little extra carving on this one too.

This is also a half and half. I used some white slip to paint on this one. I really liked how it turned out.

This one is another half and half. I painted this one with a yellow slip and am planning on putting horse hair on it after it fires. It turns out so cool!!

This is the last half and half and I painted it with red slip. I also really love the opening on this one!

A better view of the top.

And this is a picture of me making tiles. We made a original tile from clay using a pattern that we liked. Then we poured plaster over it to make a plaster mold of the tire. When that is done, then you put more clay in the mold and can make as many identical tiles as you want. I will take a picture of the finished tile later and post it.

Thats all my pottery for now!