Going in circles with clay

I learned several things during a two-day wheel pottery workshop at Jacksonville Center for the Arts this past weekend.  First, I have a greatly renewed respect for potters who make all sorts of round things on that spinning wheel made rather famous in the sexy scene from the movie "Ghost." Second, making wheel pottery is far more difficult than it is sexy. Third, not sure I have the strength in my left hand to ever become a full-time potter.  Despite that, I had a great time in Sarah McCarthy's class and am pretty pleased with all the pieces I created--even the very first little bowl with a definite angle to it.  Sarah has thrown thousands of bowls and has such a positive attitude that she makes you believe even your funkiest bowls were good efforts in your first time at the wheel.

After spending most of the day trying to center lumps of wet clay on the wheel and being successful only part of the time, I switched to some slab work to give my throbbing hands a break.  Slab has been successful for me the vast majority of the time and this day Sarah taught me how to use wooden molds to quickly create very lovely pieces.  I can hardly wait to see all my pieces glazed and ready for prime time. I'll be proud of them all, even that slightly lopsided first bowl.

Aside from the creative process, the very best part of this workshop was meeting new people, working with friends and getting to know Sarah better.  Make that two Sarahs and their incredible gifts of contagious laughter.