Getting Down To Earth

My hands are back the mud, both kinds: dirt and clay!

I’ve been trying to get as much yard work done in-between rain showers.

I planted some left over seeds, re-edged poorly neglected beds and spread new mulch.

When it was too wet or cold outside, I pulled out my clay.

I’m not yet behind my pottery wheel on my back porch but I am hand-building inside where it’s warm and dry.

Hand-building allows me to work with clay without a wheel.

While there are various techniques in hand building, such as pinching and coiling, I am making pieces from slabs of clay.

This technique involves rolling out clay into flat pieces called slabs.

The slabs will be draped over a hump mold to take on the shape of a large bowl or plate.

I made several hump molds this month.

In the photograph above, you can see my molds in the background on my workbench.

Next week, I hope to have a set of large nesting bowls made!

Summer, fall, winter, spring, 
The seasons rotate as each brings 
Its special beauty to this Earth of ours. 
Winter’s snow and summer’s flowers; 
Frozen rivers will flow come spring, 
There is a renewal of everything. 
—Edna Frohock, American poet (1906–97)