Excitedly, I used some glass from my 30th birthday ceremony in my latest ceramic glazing experiment. The piece I was glazing was one of the first pieces I threw on the wheel. Twice, it was going to be a bowl, until I pulled up too far and caused the top to fall off. What was left was a base (perfect for a candle holder), and a wavy, delicate rim, and the shape delighted me for some reason, so I decided to fire it.
Tag: Choplet
Ceramics, Part IV – My First Wheel-Throwings
I am very excited to have successfully thrown a couple of pots on the potter’s wheel. This was not an easy feat for me!
The first step in the process is called “centering,” during which you shape the clay into a cone, and then flatten it, and cone it and flatten it again, until it spins in the center of the wheel without showing any signs of wobble.
The trick is bracing your elbows against your body so that your hands put even pressure on the clay. You make yourself as solid as possible so that the clay moves in the way you are directing it – rather than having a wobbly mound of clay make you move and wobble, too! Continue reading “Ceramics, Part IV – My First Wheel-Throwings”
Someone Else’s Ceramics
Briefly, I wanted to show off some of the amazing talent of my friend and client, Christina, whose wedding I photographed this year. Christina and I were introduced through a mutual friend, and then discovered that we both take classes at the same ceramic studio – Choplet.
Christina hand-made all of her own centerpieces for her wedding in ceramics. I was completely blown away by the concept of a “modern farm,” that she managed to make both elegant and adorable. Continue reading “Someone Else’s Ceramics”
Ceramics, Part III – Glazing Experiments
Above are sets of images I took of several of my ceramics pieces (you can click on the images for a larger view – use the back button on your browser to get back here). Most of them were completed during my 8-week session at Choplet ceramics studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this winter. (The two plates at the bottom were made during a shorter class I took last April at Brick House in Queens.) It was such a great learning experience! My favorite part was experimenting with various glazing techniques – I was guided in this by my class instructor at Choplet, Damien, as well as my friend Christina. Christina showed me how to use an oxide to create the really cool effect on the funky little incense burner (third one down), and served as a general adviser as I scrambled to get all of my glazing experiments into the kiln by the end of the last class.
