January 17th

It's been a good day. Last night's snow has mostly melted, but it was nice while it lasted. And considering I stayed up well past my bedtime to watch the flakes falling, I really should be stacking Zs now. But no. I've spent my evening reading potters' blogs. I even found some pottery pieces to bid on at eBay.

The Intermediate Wheel class at Clayworks has begun. Ron Philbeck is my instructor this go 'round. I was really nervous about upping to Intermediate...still feel like a beginner in so many ways. But I came away from my first class (last night) feeling very motivated. Ron's an excellent teacher, and two things he demonstrated last night will -- I know-- help me elevate my throwing skills. Which is exactly what I want to achieve from this class.

This time, I don't want to split my focus. Improving my throwing is paramount. But I do have a few pieces leftover from Independent Study that I'll need to glaze. And one of them is my first foray into porcelain. This piece sat around my house for quite some time before I decided to "creature-ize" it.



The red underglaze on the horse will burn out some in reduction. At least it has in previous pieces. But who knows? That's what I love about the gas kiln. You can plan all you like, but surprises are bound to happen.



There are a couple more Cave Creature pieces I'm working on. And I'll post more on them as they evolve. But the goal for the next 9 weeks is to improve my throwing skills. I feel like I'm off to a good start. We'll see.