First Day of Pottery

recently took my very first pottery class! Can you believe after all these years of crafting, I've never throw clay on a pottery wheel? I'm amazed that it's taken me so long to finally give it a try. It was definitely nothing like I expected - because I totally thought I'd end up with a pile of clay and no bowl. With that said, I went into my first class with absolutely ZERO expectations. Well, it's been 3 weeks now since my first day and let's just say I'm in love!

My very first bowl came out pretty well. It's nice and round - and I chose a pink glaze. I'm still waiting to hear back from the studio on when it's ready for me to pick up. I went to a 1.5hr class that consisted of learning how to throw for absolute beginners. We didn't learn to wedge, trim, or glaze - but honestly that's far too much to cover in 1.5hr for an absolute beginner. Instead, the studio prepared the clay in advance and they also handle trimming and glazing.

I became a member at the studio as soon as the class was over. I couldn't imagine myself giving up pottery after one try - especially after a successful first try. I even have my own shelf! Call it beginners luck, but my first bowl gave me the confidence to feel like I could create anything with clay. Well, at least if it's slab building - because I've been trash at throwing ever since my first class.

Throwing on a wheel is still something that I find challenging. However, over the past couple of weeks, I've started to improve! Centering the clay has started to become a bit easier for me although there's still room for improvement. Pulling up the walls is something I finally had a breakthrough with recently while practicing throwing the other day. But all in all, I need to spend some more time at the wheel to get better.

My current exercise is to prepare 4 balls of 1 lb. clay and try throwing each one in hopes of creating a bud vase. I almost made one recently but I think my walls were too thin. I tend to pull unevenly which makes the vessel rather flimsy.

Well, I'm excited to return back to the studio next week to try again!