Getting Thrown

It feels like it has been a long time since I've worked in wet clay. And, when I first start up again, I feel quite nervous. Today, it wasn't a good kind of nervous. So, I hand-built a dozen plates to warm up my fingers. Then, I built this wonky Arbol de Vida. I like the fact that it's kind of loose and sloppy. Last Saturday, I broke an Arbol de Vida while loading it into the kiln. Oh, and it was on it's last of three firings. And, it was a good one. I'm still kind of mad about it. I try to be so careful, and I handle my work so gingerly, that I generally have very little loss. Just one little tap on the side of the kiln, and the whole base popped off. The kiln is generally harder on my work than I am, so most of my loss is a result of firing, as opposed to klutziness.

It's nice to have a few days off from school to work and to get some projects together. It's a chance to try some new things and ideas.