Thursday, June 14, 2012

And The Wheel Turns...





A closer look at the napkin rings


A bucket of water. A sponge. Assortedribs. A Hydro-Bat. A wiggle wire. Put them together and what have you got? Well, my afternoon, I suppose. I spent much of today exploring the wheel... again. I try to avoid the wheel because although I think it is fun to use I feel as though I am not very good at it. I know, practice makes better, but I enjoy handbuilding so why bother? I guess, because I'm stubborn. Today I made a ladle and napkin rings for the sake of SCIENCE! No, not science... for displays!

Throwing from the hump
I used Standard 112 which is a clay I've never used before.  It was nice to throw with and not gritty at all.  When it's fired it will be a speckled brown.  I threw the ladle using a technique called “throwing from the hump” where you have a lot more clay than you need and only use the top portion so that you can throw several items from the same mound of clay. After I cut the ladle off, I threw a cylinder to make the napkin rings. I put the fan on while it was still rotating. I did not want to cut the napkin rings off with the clay so wet for fear of warping them. I left the cylinder dry a bit and turned my attention to making the handle for the ladle.  I made a pulled handle and set that next to the ladle so they could dry together. I'll be attaching them when they are closer to leather hard. 



Waiting to be united.
The wiggle wire can be used in a variety of ways.  Today I used it to cut napkin rings from a cylinder.  This created texture on the sides while leaving the inside and outside of the napkin rings smooth.  I plan on glazing it in a way that will bring attention to the pattern caused by the wiggle wire.


It was a busy day running around and reminding myself how to throw again. To think, I managed to throw something without getting clay behind my ears. Crazy!


Items I used you should check out:

Friday, June 08, 2012

Goodbye is Such Sweet Sorrow


Getting ready for our picnic lunch.


We scrambled around this morning: tables and stools were moved outside, flowers and soda were being bought, lunch was being called in, and a card was being passed around. What was this all for, you might ask? Well, we are saying goodbye to a very special member of our team. Megan has been with The Ceramic Shop since quite nearly the beginning (racking up a total of 10 years!). Today she leaves for the weekend, but we wont be seeing her on Monday. Megan has been preparing to leave over the last couple of months after she was accepted into a graduate program for Occupational Therapy at Temple University.

Something to always remember us by.
We closed the store for half an hour (sorry if we missed you!) and sat down for a company-wide lunch as a way to say “congratulations and we'll miss you.” During lunch Mark reminisced about days long since past, when Megan first started working for him. He recalled how she was still attending school at UArts and looked very much like an art student. When she first started everyone would call and ask for him, but soon when he answered the phone everyone would request Megan. She seemed to have all the answers (about ceramics). We know that it will be strange without her, but we are glad to know that she'll still find time to stop by and say “hi.”

At lunch Mark presented Megan with the “Porcelain Key Award.” A permanent connection to The Ceramic Shop. It represents an open invitation to stop by and see us any time. We hope to see you soon and often Megan. Good luck in all your future endeavors!  

Megan will always be a part of The Ceramic Shop.