Crap. What did I just sign up for? I can't draw anything more complicated than a smiley face. What in the world made me suddenly think I could actually make something....useful?
But then I remembered - this is supposed to be fun. I hadn't picked up a ball of clay since kindergarten, so I decided to cut myself a little slack, not expect any type of masterpiece, and be pleased if I just had something at the end of the day that could hold water....
......or gummy bears.
Walking into this class, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Sure, I've seen Ghost (how much extra business did THAT generate for the pottery industry back in the day....?) but to actually sit down at a wheel and create something myself - I had no clue what that was going to be like.
Getting started was simple enough. I received....a large block of clay!
So far, so good!
Starting with the large block of clay, you have to remove all of the air out of it and make it workable. You do this by kneading and folding the clay onto itself a lot - a process called Wedging. And it's not easy; it actually takes a bit of physical exertion and strength to work the clay because you keep folding and kneading it over, and over, and over, and over. It reminded me of how tiring it is to make bread dough by hand - which probably explains my recent bread-making machine purchase (but that's a story for another time...).
Once your dough...er, clay...is well kneaded and there are no air bubbles remaining, we cut it into four pieces and shaped them into balls of clay.
This is what I took over to the wheel where I would create pottery magic.
Using the wheel itself was pretty easy. A foot pedal controls stop and go, fast and slow on the wheel. Once you get used to the speed, then you have to get used to the actual semantics of working with the clay. Turns out molding and shaping clay on the wheel actually requires a bit of effort and strength; you have to anchor your elbows on your thighs and exert pressure through your arms, hands and finger to mold and shape the clay. But at the same time you have to be very careful, because the clay reacts to the position of my hands much easier than I imagined...so the slightest move of the thumb or release of pressure in your palm completely changes the dynamic of your piece. You also have to make sure you use enough water - but not too much water. There are a lot of moving parts (HA!); but once you get into a rhythm, and can feel the piece balancing out and starting to form, it's really amazing.
My first piece was moving along so well; I figured I was a natural at pottery making! The wheel was spinning, my fingers were moving along with the clay; shaping and molding.
My piece was just........about..........done.......
DISASTER STRUCK!!!!
Turns out, if you're not careful, you can ruin your masterpiece with just the slightest bit of extra pressure from your thumb or to work the kink out of the muscle that's twitching in your palm.
In pottery, apparently there is such a thing as "too much".
I was truly about to smash it into one big pancake, but our instructor (who's name I totally forgot - I really need to get better at names....), insisted I leave it an put it on the shelf until the end.
Onto the next piece!
From the next piece onward, I did much better. I was able to get a better feel for the clay through the added or released pressure in my fingers and palms. Eventually I created a dish:
I can see many, many gummy bears resting in this dish later..... :-P
Next, I learned to "pull" the clay, which is all about the slight squeeze and lift in order to give height to taller pieces, like this (quasi-) vase:
And gave one more attempt at a bowl.
It's round, it's deep, it counts.
In the end, everyone in the class made some amazing pieces.
And we all just had a lot of fun!
After our four balls of clay were molded and set aside to dry, we had the option to consider keeping or discarding the pieces we liked. The pieces we decided to keep would then finish drying before being glazed and fired in the kiln. This process takes a few weeks, so unfortunately I didn't actually walk away with any of my artwork, but I did walk away with a sense of pride, a smile on my face, and dirty clothes...
Just like kindergarten after all!
If you're in the greater Los Angeles/Long Beach area, stop by Clay for an afternoon of creative play and sore muscles! You can find more on their website HERE!
