Nerves

Back in the old days with white clay...

I haven't worked with wet clay since Spring Break. This always happens because school gets very busy right after the break. There are projects, field trips, student oral reports, report cards, office records, thank you cards, and more. Oh, and then there's classroom clean up. I like that my new school budgets in time for room cleaning and pack up.

So, today, I'm going to start out by making some plates. It's a non-threatening way to ease back into studio practice. Usually, I make a lot of plates for Open Studios in October. But, this year, I decided not to enter Open Studios. I felt like I needed a break. Plates are good to make because they fill the kiln, when you might only have a few sculptural pieces to fire. Also, they are good to give as gifts. And, they will come in handy to sell at our school gift faire in December.

I like the scalloped shape that I came up with a couple of years ago. That makes it easy to create confidently. Then, I get to change up the decoration! Hopefully, I'll get to make some wonky handbuilt greek vessels this summer. I also want to make some castings of milk bottles and other shapes. But, for this afternoon, it's strictly plates...

Last summer's plates...

Historical options...