This year I started taking beginning wheel classes to learn how to throw clay. Roswell, GA had a home donated to the city with a trust stating it had to be used for art and they turned it into a clay studio. I decided to start the evening classes and learn something new.
First few lessons were incredibly challenging. Things certainly didn’t click right away. Luckily, Clay West offers studio hours to come and practice – so I started putting in a few hours here and there to improve. That extra time was incredibly helpful not only because “practice with intent makes better” but also because the others around me gave lots of tips that helped me improve.
The process of making pottery is incredibly long – this is an art form that does not offer instant gratification the way that painting or other crafts give. After you throw your piece – you wait a few hours to trim out the bottom and add detail. Next you put it in the bisque kiln – a few days later and you are ready to glaze. Once you glaze your piece, it needs to be fired again in a very hot kiln. When you’re sharing a kiln at a studio like ours, it can be several days before they load the kiln and several more before it fires! It’s easily a week before you’ll see your piece again. So, start to finish is a several week process.
Glazing was not my friend at first – not only is it impossible to know exactly what the glaze will do… beginners often over glaze and it runs and attaches to the kiln shelf. NOT pretty. This happened with almost every single one of my first pieces – and it made me want to give up! I’m glad that I didn’t, but there is something to be said for discovering if an art form that often yields poor results is for you or not.
While the final result has not always been something I liked – the craft of making each piece was a joy. I loved each step of making, creating, crafting each piece and discovering new details to give each one.
For now- I’m selling my work at very reasonable prices in my Etsy shop because I figure that a beginner should have beginner prices. 😉 haha. If you want to check out my shop – please visit: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VeryValerie
Lots of hand crafted yarn bowls, coffee mugs, sponge holders, Georgia mugs, Georgia ornaments for your tree and more! www.VeryValerie.com
"VeryValerie" 