I hate those little voices that we all hear… we all do hear them… right? These aren’t the ones that tell us to do something bad or really fun (I do have a fun loving voice, but that’s getting off track). The voice I’m referring to nags us from the passenger seat of our own mind.
Well here’s the result of this morning’s great idea to move a 21 inch greenware canister up to the UOP ceramics studio for bisque firing. My only excuse is that I hadn’t been awake long enough to think this one through properly. It was a spur of the moment idea and unfortunately the little voice inside my head got to enjoy telling me “I told you this wouldn’t work!”
Yeah yeah… I know... it didn’t work.
So now I get to look at this piece from an unintended vantage point. A pile of shards… which is essentially a gold mine of information that can be enjoyed just as much as the finished piece. (Ok… my little voice is saying that’s BS, but says it’s still a valid exercise.)
This was a 21 inch canister with walls half an inch thick. It seems a tad thick but at this scale, I’m still not really sure what’s an ideal wall thickness. Any thinner and it feels fragile and any thicker is well… thick. Either way, it felt good in the hands and was in balance with itself. For 16 pounds of clay it felt pretty darn light. You can’t tell from the shards, but it had a great form. Nicely swollen and ribbed at the bottom and rim.
And last but not least… I loved the surface… a whole flock of crows wrapping the entire piece.
Bumm’n
I guess there’s always next time, eh?
I guess there’s always next time, eh?
10 comments:
It would have been lovely, but now it's gone. That's always my attitude. Moving on now ...
the first step is....
I really don't know how thick a pot that size should be but sometimes a bit thicker just makes sense.
But alas it would have been a fine pot.
Now on to something even better.
I can't wait to see the crows somewhere else!
I hate that nagging backseat driver! The one that tells you one more pull will be fine. Or, "Go ahead, you can rib that shoulder out another half inch." Or the on that CLAIMS to have told you that vase needed a second coat of glaze to get the desired effect, but YOU didn't listen.
I hate my nagging voice. Could really live without it.
Sorry about that, it was a beauty. I have lots of nagging voices, my Gary says I am my own worst enemy, not thinking or over thinking. It would have shrunk some in the bisque and not been as thick then right?
Save the shards with crows on them, fire the pieces, frame the pieces with a silver band. Sell the best ones!
I feel for you! I just had a 20" platter fall off the wall, smashing down on the ground into many pieces, somehow we go on...
I am happy to hear that the little voice isn't just happening to me. I have to admit that we all end up getting used to loss with practice, unfortunately as ceramic artists, we get in lots of practice over time... But like Hollis said, "Moving on now..."
PS I still flinch when it happens.
bummed for you Zy. It's the lesson we clay people learn over and over; it's ceramics, nothing is for sure. And believe me; I take drives into the bad neighborhood of my mind quite often. And then there's the sunny side of town too!
oh crip that's rather frustrating...twas an awesome piece
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