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| - I took a wheel thrown pottery course taught by Thom at Clay Arts Vegas. It was an 8 week course meeting every Saturday from 1:00 until 4:00. We started with the basics like wedging, centering and making cylinders. From there we learned to make bowls, pull a handle, trim our pieces and glaze our final products. I finshed the class with some fun pieces. Some I am very pleased with. Some less so. Regardless of the quality and level of success on each, they are all my own creations. How can I be mad at that? One thing I am mad at, or at least disappoined in, is that one of my first pieces went missing and has never been found. Whether it broke or was taken by mistake is a mystery to me. Its frustrating to think about. Not that the piece was any good. It was just my first.
I did end up with many other pieces and much of the success is thanks to Thom's early guidance. He explained how to correct my improper form by first saying his hand were the clay and asking me to show how I was holding my hand to center on the wheel. Then I was the clay and he showed me how I should be pushing. From there I took off. He came back by over the next couple of weeks to give me more tips in technique. Thom missed the last few weeks of the course due to a scheduling conflict. I feel I did my best works in his absence. Without trying to copy the piece he was demonstrating each week, I was free to do my own thing. It was more relaxing for me. But he did set the foundation.
I glazed most all of my pieces while in class. There was one, however, that I saved for a special session outside of class. I saved it for the 2nd Saturday Raku Party. Raku is a different glazing process that produces some unique finishes to pieces. It starts by brushing on a special type of glaze and bringing it up to 1750 degrees in under an hour. When the pieces are up to temperature, they are taken out of the kiln and placed under a trash can full of newspaper. This is where the magic begins. After the pieces cool enough, they are removed and the often metallic sheen is revealed. There is also a varient that burns horse hair and feathers on to a piece. Fascinating. I glazed my own piece under the trash can and tried the horse hair on an extra piece from the studio. The results are amazing.
Clay Arts Vegas is a hell of a place to learn a new skill. The people there are funny and knowledgeable. I enjoyed my time there and look forward to the prospect of taking another class in the future. Maybe a hand building course.
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