I participated in a group firing for Tidewater's bowls. My friend Joel Blum, took pictures of a few items.
I'm learning SO much, it was fun to experiment, and find a few methods I want to explore more. :)
This cup is my favorite. I used playground sand and had a fun surprise with what it did at cone 10. I knew it had iron, but I wasn't sure how much would melt, or what would happen. It is fun to hold, not as "sandy" as I expected, and I love disturbed rims. Going to do more with this for sure...

I have a little too much fun with my kid's bouncy balls as molds, and found object stamps...

Playing around with a mix of high-fire mason stains and underglazes, with wax over the flowers and dipped in simple white.

lots of learning...

the more I learn, the more I realize I'm such a beginner...but with passion!

*practice practice!

Adventures in bisque during school break...

I'm still trying to find "my style", and throwing bowls for Tidewater Gallery's Souper Supper has been a good motivation to get focused practice time in.

This was a good mishap, since it gave me a chance to check my walls. :) This one was a rice-bowl with chopstick notches. Those are always fun to eat out of...

For a while I was worried about consistent wall thickness, now I think I need to concentrate on the base, and letting the rim keep a bit more thickness to avoid chipping.

After 4 weeks of practice, this is what I settled on. (I need a scale so I can keep the balls of clay the same size though) I was not only experimenting on shapes, but on my signature, and I think I came up with a version I like enough to make a stamp out of. :)

*risky drying before loading the kiln...*

This is a fun new addition to my studio. On a lego-night while I was working, Jade brought out her leg0-impression of ME! I love it so much, and it goes well next to my dad's tiny welded-"Tara"-sculpture.

More TrOUT cups for the Steelhead Festival.

AAAAND my big mishap... I fired some work for a classmate, and 3 of his sculptures exploded...badly. Bisque crumbs are tucked all over in the elements. :( I'm waiting for him to come over and clean it himself. *sigh*

Unfortunately, his explosions his some of Jade's animal sculptures which are now missing a few legs and ears. Thankfully she and I have been discussing the issue of "non-attachment" for an artist, so no tears, she will just make them again. :)

It's always a learning process... I'm happy with what came out so far, now to glaze!

The kids have had fun this week hanging out with me in the studio while I get bowls made for Tidewater Gallery's annual "Souper Supper" Event. And of course more "TrOUT" items for the Steelhead festival.
I'm experimenting with silica sand... not sure if it's going to be a happy experiment or what...

Busy, busy, but I'm enjoying it. The semester starts next week, so this is my big push on wheel work for a little while. I'm getting lots of practice which has been SO helpful, and it's fun to try out new forms, or in these last few pics, variations on surface decoration will come later. :)

Happy January 2011!!!