Day five

I had another go at my Mum's mug tonight. Here it is compared to a normal sized mug. Oh, my Mum does like a nice big cuppa!


I know it will shrink, but now I remember where I got the idea from for this plant pot!


And my Mum's plant seems very happy in it!

I'm just letting the plant pot mug set up a bit now before I add the handle. Oh, and I must remember to add those flowers too! Thankfully things ran smoothly this evening. I let the clay dry out a bit before using it, which prevented it from just collapsing all over the place when I was trying to put it together. The lino cut seemed to make a clearer impression tonight as well.

So that's day five. I must admit that I am itching to get my black/brown clay out, as messy as it is. I think its because I'm looking forward to just playing! Me! The one who finds it impossible to just play! But it's soooo messy. I need to get Freda and some other pieces out of the way first, but hopefully that won't take too long, now that I am having clay time every day! :)

Update:


Is this handle too big?

Day four

Well, today nearly didn't happen! I went shopping with my Mum this afternoon, and I came home so exhausted that I just went to bed! She bought me a lovely little gift set of of Baileys with a mug, whisk, and chocolate! I can't wait to indulge... :)

But have no fear, I did get up again in the middle of the night to have some clay time! Remember this mug that I made for my Mum?


Well, apart from the fact that the glaze was hideous, it got broken anyway, so I was working on a replacement. I tried experimenting with a square bottom, but it wasn't working, so I took that off and put a round bottom on it, but the whole thing just wasn't working really, so unfortunately I have nothing to show you. I don't feel that the time was wasted though because a) it was MY time, my clay time, and b) I was spending time getting to know my new clay.

I shall see how the mood takes me tomorrow and either try again or work on something else. Freda keeps calling me, but I'm resisting for some reason. I think it's because she kept me up all night last time and I'm worried she'll do the same again.

It was so funny when Mum's mug broke. She rang me and said "Linda I have some bad news". Of course I was really worried. "What's happened?" I said. "My mug got broken". Well, I just laughed my head off! I never liked the finished thing anyway and I couldn't think of a better ending for it! But for some strange reason my Mum loved it. Mum's are cute like that aren't they?

Anyway, remember folks, it's not too late to join the challenge! It's one hour a day of ME TIME!! Go on! You know you want to! :)

Day three - phew!

Well, I still haven't recovered from Monday yet! And I had a busy day today, with a trip out of town this morning (yeah, I got up before lunchtime!) and my niece and brother round for dinner this evening. Somehow I still managed to make some clay time, spurred on by my 28 day challenge buddy, Kathy! Thank you Kathy!

Ok, I didn't do much, but I did some! Today I decorated the goblets I made last night.


I'd like to work on Freda some more, but I know I'll get engrossed and be up 'til 6am!!

I'm taking my Mum shopping tomorrow, and I'm supposed to be out in the evening, so it will be another busy day! I'm looking forward to a day at home on Friday to enjoy more clay time and relax!

More on the white earthenware clay I've been using - it seems grainier than the stoneware (if that's even a word) and it's darker in colour than I expected. I hope there wasn't a mix up at the suppliers and I've got the wrong clay! Unusually there is no label on the bag. Hmm... I expect I'll know when I order another bag!

Day two

It's day two of the 28 day challenge, and I still haven't recovered from day one! My thighs ache so much from sitting at that wheel, I feel like I've been horse riding! Still, I pressed on, and made a few goblets tonight (slab built - I have no wheel at home), to replace the 3 that stuck to the kiln shelf.


I shall let these set up over night and then paint them with coloured slip tomorrow and carve them.

I used my new earthenware clay tonight. To be honest I'm not sure if I really like it. Maybe it will just take a little while to get used to it? We'll see. I'll let you know by the end of the bag!

I have my bag of black/brown clay now too. I'm looking forward to using it, but I have some other pieces that I need to get done first. I'd rather make my white clay pieces first because this black clay is sooo messy! It will just contaminate everything!

Well, that's about it for tonight. I'm going to keep it short and sweet because I'm just so worn out! (incidentally, I've had my thyroid tested again and it is under active again. I have another test in a couple of months)

But, before I go, I'd just like to welcome Kathy to the challenge! Yippee!! We have a participant!! Remember, it's not too late to join in!

Day one - left handed potter

Yes, it's day one of the 28 day challenge - for me at least. Remember you can join the challenge any time between now and 2nd April. The aim is to have all challenges completed by the end of April. For more details click here.

So what did I do today? I went to class of course! (Is that cheating?) I was planning on doing an hour at home as well, but by the time I got home I was exhausted!

Firstly, there was a coiled pot/vase that I was working on, but after being in the cupboard for about 5 or 6 weeks it had become too dry to add to. I decided to break bits off to make it look old and broken, but I forgot to take a photo!! Now we have no classes for 4 weeks, so I'll have to wait 'til then.

Then I decided to have another go on the wheel. Long time readers will remember that the first (and last) time I tried the wheel was probably around Oct/Nov time, 2008! And I wasn't very successful! I managed to centre the clay and that was all. I was quite happy with that at the time though.

This evening I had another go. I must say, this wheel was much more comfortable to use than the one at the last class. Here's the funny thing though - although I am right handed everything that the tutor showed me felt backwards and awkward. I naturally wanted to use my left hand to steady the clay and not my right, and I had to consciously think to do it the other way. Maybe I am a left handed potter? The wheel only spins anti-clockwise though - for right handed people.

Scott is confident that I can learn to throw right handed, but how do I know if I would be better left or right handed? This turned into a bit of a discussion at home. He knows many left handed people who have learnt, for example, to play the guitar right handed because it's so much easier to come by guitars for right handed people. He thinks maybe I will just have to do the same thing. I suppose I will, if I want to use the wheels at class. How about you other potters though? Are any of you left handed? Can you throw both ways? Does it make a difference?

Oh, I suppose you want to see what I made, right? Ok, but don't laugh...


HAHAHAHAHA!!! Ok, you can if you want to!!


I know what you're thinking - "that took you an hour??" Well... yes. You didn't see how many attempts it took! I was doing really well with one pot, and then I must have squeezed too hard and I cut it in half! This is the first one that I didn't kill! Thinking about it now, I think I was supposed to cut around the bottom before I took the pot off the wheel, but no one told me that! Oh well. I'm learning.

So, that's day one. See you tomorrow with the photos from day two!

The 28 Day Challenge - rules and logo

So here it is folks, The 28 Day Challenge, rules and logo! One stop is all you need to find out everything you need to know!


What is it?
The 28 Day Challenge is an excuse to do the things we really love, but somehow never seem to have time for, or don't make time for. Creativity is essential to our well being, and yet all too often it comes last on our list of priorities. The 28 Day Challenge is a way of reminding ourselves to put our well being first! This is a celebration of spring! It's time to blow away those cobwebs and be the creative person that you want to be! My hope is that in 28 days time there will be lots of happy and relaxed people!

What is the activity?
Anything you want! Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes. It could be clay, drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, writing, gardening, playing an instrument, singing or dancing! Whatever activity you most love to do which enables you to express yourself and forget about the world around us. Or something else that you enjoy, which helps you to relax, like meeting with friends!

What are the rules?
The rules are short and sweet - you just have to pick an activity that you love and do it for at least one hour a day for 28 days. Personally, I can't wait to start, but if this is a bit short notice for you, then you have until the 2nd of April to begin, so that all 28 day challenges will be completed by the end of April.

Copy and paste the logo into your side bar, and link back to this page, so that others can take part too if they wish. And leave a comment on this post to say what your activity will be.


Take a photo every day of what you have achieved, and then you can either share it on your blog at the end of each day, or post all 7 photos at the end of each week, whichever suits you better, but you have to share! Why? Because you may just inspire others to be creative every day and to look after their well being, and at the very least you will have a visible record of your achievements for you to look back on.

My activity will be clay. What about you?

The 28 day "challenge" and other news

Well, hello campers! Hi-de-hi!

What have you all been up to this week? C'mon, don't be shy! I want to hear all about it!

Me? Well, I worked on Freda the head a little more. Those eyes were killing me! And I'm still not completely sure about them. I can't tell you how many times I re-did those eyes! But the good news is that I think they looked slightly better each time. Here they are so far... with the rest of the head... obviously!



I expect it's still too early to recognise who she might be, but guesses are more than welcome!


My clay recycling is going well, I think. I'm just waiting for the clay to firm up enough for me to wedge it now.

Mmmm, looks like yummy cake mixture!

Mississippi mud pie!

I have no idea why blogger keeps turning my pictures round! Anyone wanna lick the spoon?

And that's pretty much it for this week. Hopefully I'll have more to post in the future though, and this leads me nicely onto my 28 day challenge...

My "challenge" is to have some clay time every day for 28 days. It sounds like 4 weeks of bliss to me, but I always seem to have a problem with making time for it. I've seen my counsellor again recently, and she's always trying to encourage me to make more time for clay. I saw the sense in this when my mood picked up quite suddenly this week after spending some time on Freda. I suspect the weather has helped too. Spring seems to have suddenly arrived this week and my counsellor said that many of her clients have reported a change in mood this week. But anyway, clay always seems to help.

So that is the challenge! At least one hour a day, preferably two. Who's with me? It doesn't have to be clay, it could be drawing, painting, sewing, gardening... whatever floats your boat. I might not post about it every day though, I might just save up a weeks worth of photos to share all at once. I suppose it depends on time. But I want you lovely people to join in with me! Hmmm.... I could really do with a logo or something... "Scott!! I need some help with something!" :) See you tomorrow - with a logo!