Pottery Update

Hi kids! Guess what time it is? That's right! It's time for you to see pictures of my pottery! My latest batch came out of the kiln just this evening and I have a few pictures to show you! I'm not going to post them in the text here, but I'll give you a link: Jon C. Cook's Photo Gallery I'm trying not to post a lot of pictures in my text because Blogger seems to be doing some strange things to spacing and stuff. Rather than wrestle with it, I'll just send you over to my website! Have a look and tell me what you think! Better late than never eh? -J

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

Pottery 102 - Nights 4 and 5

Woohoo! I have to say that things are going well in Pottery class, and this two week post thing is really shaping up well as things are progressing a little more slowly and I'd have little to say in a once per week post. Anyway, I'll fill you in. I have succeeded in throwing my most technically advanced piece to date. It is taller, more even and straighter than anything I've done thus far. It is trimmed and getting ready to bisque fire. I had quite a few things that came out of the glaze fire, and I thought they looked good for the most part. A couple of little issues, but mostly, I was pleased! I will have pictures this weekend, which I will be posting to my site gallery. I'll update you here with a URL when they're available. So, I feel as though I am making steady progress with my skill. The majority of my progress has to do with the fact that I am not nearly as afraid of the process as I was. Not that I was scared to do anything, but I'm a little more confident in my ability to at least make some kind of vessel. I'm sure I haven't finished my amazingly terrible blunders. I know I have a lot of those left in me. The kind where clay flies from the wheel, coating everyone in a thin coat of slimy brown paste. Alright, I'll go, but within a week, PICTURES OF MY WORK! STAY TUNED!!! -J

Pottery 101 - Night 6

It's that time again! Michelle and I had our 6th night of pottery tonight, and things went very well. First of all some of our pieces are being bisque fired as we speak, so next week for sure we'll get to glaze! I would imagine though that we won't be able to see them fired for a few weeks yet. The process is slow and so it takes awhile, especially since there are so many pieces to fire from all of the students. Tonight for me was a trimming night. I think I trimmed 5 pieces, and put a handle on one of them. I stayed very busy and ended up feeling like I made a lot of progress. I was particularly happy with the result of my one-piece goblet. It is my favorite piece so far. The instructor commented on it and said it was the nicest single piece goblet he'd seen thrown in his classes. Not the best goblet, but the best single piece goblet. He said he was going to experiment with my design a little, which is always nice to hear your instructor say. Michelle had a good night too! She produced a pair of small bowls that were very pretty. I look forward to seeing how they turn out. Next week I plan to glaze whatever comes out of the kiln, and throw as much as I can. With only two weeks remaining, I'm going to try and get as much practice in as possible. Michelle and I talked about whether we would continue in the class. I think I have decided that I'll be doing it for at least another 8 weeks after this. After all, I need material for my blog, right? :) Michelle is as yet undecided, and may actually devote some time to a photography class or something of that nature. I guess that's about it for this week's update. Can't wait to finally show what we've been working on! Tune in next week for the next exciting chapter! -J

Pottery 101 - Night 5

Well, a good night yet again. Still no glazing. No bisque firing as of tonight, so nothing was ready to glaze. I was in a good position though, to crank out some pieces. I did 4 tonight. I just tried to keep my head down and practice throwing. I managed a one piece goblet, a skinny little bud vase, some kind of tallish, muggy, vasey thing, and another kind of tallish....muggy....vasey thing. I think it went well. I'm gaining a little more control over the clay because I'm trying to make myself not quite so afraid of it. In order to do that you have to set out to make a goblet stem and end up with a napkin ring once or twice. :) That's pretty much all I did, which was my goal anyway, in the event that there was no glazing to do. Michelle trimmed a piece, or maybe two. I can't remember. But she also threw a couple of nice mug forms as well. I'd say we're both improving each week. There's going to be a kiln opening at the next First Friday, and I think Michelle and I are going to go over, despite the fact that we have nothing in the kiln to actually see. I think it'll be a fun night anyway. There will be pictures. I promise. It's just a matter of time. -J

Pottery 101 - Night 4

We're at the halfway mark of our 8 week class. I think tonight, Michelle and I both did very well and had our own respective breakthroughs. I figured out how to make a pot with a bottom that isn't proportionally way too heavy, and Michelle had a fantastic night with trimming her already thrown pottery. We were even told that we didn't have to worry about our mid-term grade and that we pass. :) The bad news is that we didn't glaze anything tonight. The good news is that I think I have a time table for when we get to finally see some finished work. Assuming our pieces are bisque fired this week, (bisque firing is the first of two firings, and is done to prepare the piece for glazing and the second firing) then we'll be able to glaze next week. If that happens, then I anticipate we'll see something finished in early September. *fingers crossed* I can't speak for Michelle, but I for one would like to take another round of this class to solidify the things I've learned, and have the opportunity to make a few more things, with perhaps a bit more freedom. So far, I'm having a good time with it. I mentioned last week that I'd like to focus on throwing taller cylinders, and so the piece I threw tonight was just that. I tried for another tall, straight cylinder. It would have been my tallest yet, but I ended up pulling the wall too thin and lost about 2 inches of height as a result. No harm done though, because it still made a decently sized piece. I'm doing better gauging the width of my walls at the base of the piece, but I still have to take considerable time to make sure I don't make a mistake and mess up what I'm working on. Bill (our instructor) will walk past and hold a finger above the piece after a glance at the walls. This finger indicates how tall the piece WOULD be if I were getting the excess width out of the base. As I said though, tonight I think I sort of got it. It should come a little easier next time. Anyway, more to come next week! -J