10 Bowls

10 (+ a couple extra) bowls, thrown, thin, and trimmed.  What a relief to work on a new form!  I really enjoyed the challenge of these bowls.  And I really like the product!  Nice, concise, economical forms.  We used three pounds of clay on each of these forms.  I experimented with tall bowls and wide, shallow bowls (which are quite tricky), but mostly worked wit the very practical, in-between shape.

In the past I actively avoided trimming my pieces.  Trimming is the process of shaping the foot of a vessel that is wheel-thrown.  One allows the clay to set up and reach the leather hard stage (where the clay is still malleable, but not so soft that you would ruin the piece if you picked it up).  Turn your piece over on the wheel, re-center it, attach with clay, and use sharp trimming tools to reduce excess clay from the piece and re-shape the foot.  I usually avoid this for a couple of reasons...
1. It usually takes longer to trim a piece than it does to just throw it on the wheel.
2. Re-centering your piece upside down on the wheel can be a very tricky process.  Not easily accomplished, requires alot of patience, and it often reveals whatever flaws exist in your piece (slightly off center pieces).
3.  It is easy to mess-up trimming.  You could accidently trim through the bottom of your piece, or trim it un even (the piece would wobble about an uneven foot) or nick it with your tool, or dig into too deep and knock it off center.

Despite all these draw-backs, I really liked it once I got use to the idea and learned a few techniques to help me control the process.  It's nice to be able to to further editing, to reduce the weight of the piece, and to get creative doing more sculpting.  Here are some images of my trimmed feet.

     

We also helped out with a bisqueware firing.  Check out the kiln, packed to the brim with the class's bowls and cylinders!