Been teachin!

I'm feeling the need to blog but don't have a whole lot to blog about right now.  My studio is somewhat shut down until I can get an electrician in to look at the wiring and come up with a way to heat it.  Fortunately, I got a larger check than I expected from one of my video clients so I should be able to spring for a decent heating system once I figure out what the wiring can handle.

One thing I have done though is a little teaching.  A friend of mine wanted to make some gifts for her family and thought that pottery might be the answer.  So she came over for a 6 hour lesson.  I warned her that what she wanted to make was rather challenging and probably wouldn't happen on the first day.

However, we were able to collaborate and she she was quite successful!  For the larger items, I made the bodies of the pieces while she added handles, did the trimming, and decorating.

Now, either I'm a really good teacher, or she had some skills that she didn't tell me about.  We did a general lesson of wheel throwing and after about 2 hours of instruction, I gave her some clay and told her I was going to take a break while she played around a bit.

I had to walk away at that point.  I wasn't allowing her to fail with anything and as a result, I had had my hands in each piece she had created so far.  So I wanted to give her the opportunity to learn what works and what doesn't without me constantly there to rescue.

She did really well!  Every so often I would pop my head in and offer some advice but I didn't touch the stuff anymore.  She made a cute bowl with a nice rim. Then she made a bowl that's a little wonky, but that's ok.  When it started to fold on itself, I advised her to stop and just let it be.  So it has just a little bit of ruffle through the bottom but since she stopped at that point, it looks like a design rather than what it really means which is that the bowl was about to implode.  And she made a cute little cup when I wasn't looking!

I was really impressed.  Then she came back the next day and we did all of the trimming and finishing work.  I can't wait to see if everything survives the first kiln firing!

In other news, I seem to be getting a really big response to my chicken roaster, and I don't even have one done yet.  It's going to be about 6 weeks before the prototype is even ready for testing but I'll be sure to keep you updated on the results.  I'm assuming it's going to have some kinks to work out and it will probably take a year or so before I'm confidant that I can make them for sale.

Wish me heat!