clay play, done! ...for now.

this concludes my play with clay in los angeles. i reached my goal of making a few 5-pound salad bowls, most of which will be gifted and hopefully appreciated because do you know how hard it is to throw five pounds of clay? i was trembling every time i tried to center and cone those things, but when i was able to do one, i couldn't help but keep throwing more and more of it. i also couldn't help pulling it to make it bigger. "just one more pull and it's done," i'd tell myself. then i'd pull again maybe twice more after that. it's a risk because at some point, there's a possibility it might collapse. sometimes it did, but when it works out more times than it doesn't, it just makes you want to keep going.

all this stuff is by no means perfect, but that's what i like about them. even the ones that didn't work out, i tried to salvage. those rough edges give character.

there have been a few people that i've connected with at the studio where i've been throwing. one in particular is rami kim. this woman is crazy productive. so inspiring. she does stop-motion animation, too, along with painting and various other things. she usually doesn't throw but handbuilds her clay, and she does it well! i traded a couple of bowls for a few of her thangs and i can say i'm proud to own them. her pieces are the sculpture in the bowl there with the two spoons.

(pardon, les photos sont mal.)

bowled over

my first set of practice pieces, done!

my goal is to pull a gigantic salad bowl. i've tried numerous times and they either collapse or end up being something else. i'm enjoying the surprises and might even take the approach of not planning or expecting things to come out a certain way. i have so many ideas going in my head, though...

adding to the fun of all this, are the people i've met who all seem to be in or involved in the arts–animators, architects, graphic designers, set designers... everyone is so artistic and unique, not just with ideas, but with attitude and character as well. not to mention their friendliness and willingness to help others. such a fantastic and great group of people!

pot class. POTTERY class, I mean. pottery.

enrolled myself in a pottery class to get back to the things I enjoyed doing when I was young. I was about 13 or 14 when I took a ceramics class and remember wanting to create so many things. alas, I just wasn't motivated enough and a lot of unused clay went to waste. this time, though, I get to use the wheel, which for me, has been difficult. the only experience I had with clay was sculpting it, not throwing it on a wheel, centering, coning, pulling, trimming, etc. it looks so easy when you see someone else doing it. even the way you sit on the chair is important. and you need muscle. but really, though, it's a feeling, much like anything and everything else. I'm patiently waiting for that feeling to finally hit me and still figuring out which techniques are best as everyone wheel throws differently.

these are some things people have made in the studio and some small bowls I made that are ready to be fired! I keep wanting to make bigger bowls, but small bowls for now–better for portion control. hashtag wink emoji.