Over the winter, my thoughts turn to solving pottery problems, learning about new ideas and techniques. One reoccurring problem I have had was making large pet dishes (8 inches or larger in diameter). In almost every single instance, I would ruin the pet dish when taking it off the bat.
It wasn’t until I had some extra time over the winter to research alternative ways of taking large pots and dishes off of the bat when I came across a discussion thread on potters.org: “How to get it off the bat?” . In short, the brilliant solution was to use a piece of canvas or heavy denim on the bat. Throw the pot on top of the canvas then simply use the wire tool to cut under the canvas thus preventing the wire cutting through the bottom of the pot.
Last winter, I took a stab at making a mold from plaster to produce unique organic shaped bowls. These became one of my favorites to make when the weather on the back porch kept me inside.
Making the small plaster mold, led me to think about making larger molds! So, in my quest of how to make larger slab molds, I came across this You Tube video: Ceramic Arts Daily: 3 Smart and Simple Bisque Clay Hump Mold Techniques by Kari Radasch.
I was so thrilled to learn that I could use CLAY rather plaster because I certainly have a lot of clay handy! And so, my newest creation this winter is making bisque clay hump molds of various sizes!
With spring only nine days way, I’m looking forward to playing in the mud with these new ideas and techniques I learned over the winter!
Back Porch Studio 