Pottery - Night...oh nevermind.

Hey all! It's me! I know I've had a bit of a hiatus here, but let me tell you that the past 4 weeks have been ridiculously busy. I have been running around like crazy with work and with everything else. New accounts have been opening at work, which can be a little bit of a headache, but I think all in all we have things running. Also, I played a wedding this past weekend with my good friend TJ. I hadn't done much with my saxophone and I had to work really hard to build my chops back up. Anyway, tonight begins my vacation until the beginning of the new year. Now I can relax, and catch up on my blog. As well as get ready for Christmas. And a host of other things. Ok, so maybe RELAX isn't the word, but I can at least do some other stuff. :) On to pottery! Ok, so I have been a few more times since my last update, and I want to report that all is going well, and I will be continuing into the new year with the classes. Last night I went down to the studio to work on a few things. I threw three pieces that were by far my tallest work, and I think my most complex. Each of them fell into the 10-11" range, and I used a throwing stick to create the kind of urn-like pieces you might imagine when you think of a genie bottle, or a classic long necked vase. The throwing stick is basically a wooden tool that lets you reach into said long necks where your hand would not be able to go. A new batch of glazed work is coming out next Monday. I keep promising pictures, and you probably think I'm deliberately putting you off. This time you'd be right. :) Y'see, several pieces are going to people as gifts, and I think one or two actually read my posts. Owing to a strict no peeking clause here in the Cook household, I'm delaying a bit to maximize the potential for surprise. I think it might also be more efficient to link to my gallery where the pottery will be shown as well. So, here I am, now an 18 week veteran of the Bill Meadows pottery class in Ashland Kentucky. How do I feel, looking back? I am amazed at how much I have improved, and also amazed at how much improving I have to do before I would consider myself proficient. I like being where I am though. It is so much easier when you are a beginner in a particular skill to see your improvement. As you get better, your leaps become smaller, and it can get discouraging. The fortunate thing about pottery is that I decided to do it for fun and don't have to improve at any rate, nor do I need to be graded, or anything that would make it seem like some required class for credit. Nope, this is a hobby and I am quite enjoying myself. -J