Beginning Ceramics

So, even though I earned my AA degree in Graphic Design last month, I registered for one class this summer. Mostly for personal interest and recreational purposes. And to get me out of the house a couple times each week.

I decided I wanted to do sometime completely non-computer-related. The choices for summer quarter are somewhat limited, but I settled on Ceramics I.

The summer quarter is only 8 weeks long, as compared to the usual 11 weeks during the regular school year. Today is the beginning of the fourth week — already nearly halfway through the quarter.

Beginning today, we will learn about throwing on the wheel. But first, we learned about three other ways to make pottery — pinching (more can be done to refine the piece than is shown at this link, but this shows the basic method), coiling (you can smooth the outside of the pot to hide the coils, as well as the inside), and slab construction.

Here is a picture of my pinched bowl on the shelf, waiting for its first (bisque) firing.

I also have a two coil pots and two slab pots underway, but they are not ready for bisque firing yet.