My beginning wheel-throw class ends next week. At this point, all our beginning pots (mine being quite rudimentary) have been trimmed and should be glazed next week in our final class. Then they are fired again before they can be picked up.
It has been a difficult class for me. Someone asked me today if I was having fun, and my reply was not yet. But I have been working in class with an instructor, practicing, and studying by watching videos of other potters and keeping notes. The notes I've made include areas of a pottery studio, how to use the equipment, types of and handling of the clay, the steps in the throwing process, and the craft lingo, So, beginning is a heavy lift with all that to accomplish.
My handy-dandy tool for documenting my learning is a new zine where I'm including notes, definitions, practice activity, and things to remember, etc.
Below is the visible side of the zine. The back side of it is covered with notes from YouTube videos watched on the subject and isn't pictured.
My goal after watching one of the YouTube videos was to work toward throwing 100 pots during the class (of five weeks). I made it to 50, and that includes all the failures. I'm calling that good. The failed pots are just as, and maybe more, instructive than those that seem successful. For example, a number were too wet and that caused the clay to fail. So, I've cut down on the water used in the process. Others failed in trimming because a wall was too thin. So, I now leave all the walls a bit thicker. That said, mistakes happen. Efforts to fix problem areas sometimes succeed but more often fail. Sometimes, we don't know the reason. I did have one that was thrown off the wheel because my foot simply went down on the pedal and the pot hadn't been secured. Oh well (and that was one of the better pots.)
I start a new class next week as well. That means a new zine(s), because I'll be learning how to do other things like make a mug with a handle, make a plate, hand-build, etc, and I'm sure much more.
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