Wednesday 13 March 2019

Wednesday

Good morning, everyone.  It's a fine dry morning at the moment but will is stay like that?  Who knows!  Yesterday was a fine old mix of high wind, sunshine, lashing rain . . . no snow or hail though.  It felt cold in the wind but probably wasn't all that cold really.

As always, pottery was great.
The buttons were finished and I have now sewn them onto the patchwork bag where they look great, although I expected the glaze to come out a bit brighter.  You never can tell!

There's four, placed where the handles join the bag.

I didn't have much luck with the pendants I started last week.  One of them (a butterfly on a circle) came apart, although Alex says when I glaze them, the glaze will probably (!) stick them together, so I will give that a go and see.
The other snapped in half as I was 'buffing' it up - I'd rolled it too thin.  That wasn't savable!  Ah, well!


I started some more, making them a bit thicker so, hopefully, they will survive.  I forgot to take photos - silly me!

I've decided I want to make a set of coasters in leaf shapes so I started the first one, a maple leaf.  It's quite big because I'd also like to be able to use them on the table for my smallish serving dishes.  I learnt that to prevent the clay from curling up a bit as it dries, you gouge channels into the back and then sandwich it between two boards.  That was a new one for some of the others too.
Here's what I have done so far.  After it's dried, I will smooth it off (very carefully) and then it can have its first firing.  Now I have to decide whether to do the same shape in different glazes or different leaf shapes in the same glaze.  I'm just not sure.


Next week is the last session of this term, but enough of us want to continue for extra weeks so I think the LEA has agreed.  We have to pay, of course, but we expected that.

We were talking about next term and I discovered that some were able to book well after I had been told on the web site that it was fully booked which I found distinctly annoying because we gel really well as a group!  I followed it up at the office and got apologies but, as it now is genuinely full with a waiting list, there's no chance to transfer across, especially as I have a place on Thursday evenings.
So I will do the Thursday evenings next term and make darn sure I book really early when the Autumn term courses are published so I get back into the Tuesday group.

Back home, I sorted some books - spaces are now appearing on the shelves - but forgot to do under that kitchen sink.  I've printed that poster out now and will attach it to the fridge door in the hopes that it will remind me.

Today is a very full day.  First of all I go swimming - I must as I missed Monday - and then there's a small window of time before a friend comes over.  After she goes, it is tuition and straight after tuition is is governors' meeting.  I have to fill in a form for that plus reading the paperwork, so I'll need to do that this morning.

Phew - at least there will be very little nibble time - I've had enough problems filling my meals in without extra nibbles!

Well, time to get ready for swimming so I'd better stop rambling.  Have a great day.

15 comments:

  1. What a shame about the pottery you really are enjoying it and I love the stuff you are making.

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    1. I am, Diane, I'm loving it, but at least I did get onto the Thursday evening course next term. It means changing my SW day to Wednesday (same leader, different people) so I'll miss that group too, but it's all in a good cause and, hopefully, things will be back to normal in the Autumn term.
      xx

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  2. That was annoying about the classes - better luck for the future terms that you get back to Tuesdays. You are doing so well and the butterflies just add that finishing touch. For your thinner pendants you would probably be better with porcelain - it is far harder and has a lovely smooth finish but you may not be able to get it at your class.
    It is throwing it down here today - no walk in the park for us with little Freddie today I think. xx

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    1. I'm pretty sure we don't have porcelain, just white clay and terracotta. I'm pretty sure I could buy some in though - I'll ask Alex about it. Is the firing, etc, the same?
      xx

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  3. Yes, a shame about your classes. The butterfly looks lovely, by the way!
    Margaret P

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    1. Thanks very much, Margaret. It was a disappointment but I'm glad I won't miss out on the classes, just the people. I felt lucky that there was a second group going.
      I was really pleased with how the butterfly buttons turned out.
      xx

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  4. It's always great to see your pottery work and the butterfly buttons are lovely. Do you mind telling me how small they are? Your modelling work is so neat. X

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    1. Thanks, Jules. The buttons are 4cms across but I can't claim any credit for the modelling - I used a decorative icing press thingy and only needed to neaten the sides and drill the holes. A bit of a cheat really, but everyone does it when that sort of thing is needed. :-)
      xx

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  5. I think the leaf coasters will look brilliant.
    I wimped out of swimming - so cold outside. Back to it next week

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    1. Don't blame you!
      I won't be going today (Thursday) - It's blowing a gale out there and lashing it down.
      xx

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  6. The butterfly button looks lovely but I think I’d be afraid of breaking it on a bag.

    It’s a shame about the mix up over the booking for the next course so I hope you manage to get back to your Tuesday group for the next one.

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    1. I did wonder but they are very hard, harder than the ones I already had (made of fimo) so I'm hoping. I have two spares, in case.
      xx

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  7. It seems like there's a lot to learn about pottery - it will take some experience to get it down. And that's good! Your buttons look great.

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    1. Loads! So much I won't ever but it's fun learning (and making mistakes!)
      xx

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