Making Bowls in My Studio.
So much has been changing in the world outside my door, but I have been making some breakfast bowls in the peace and quiet of the studio! It is lovely to be able to turn a lump of clay into something useful and I imagine that the very first useful things that were ever made out of clay were bowls, so such things have a very long history.
I would usually be giving my pupil a lesson today, but our enforced isolation makes that impossible, so I have made a video of how I make a bowl, and try to explain the process as I go along. Hopefully it will upload successfully here. If not I may have to investigate getting a YouTube account and posting things there, but we will have a go!
I haven't included music with this, but I quite like the gentle sound of the potter's wheel. The wheel is a kick wheel that I operate with my foot, I generally prefer using this to an electric wheel, it is peaceful and quite meditative, and working with clay feels more of a dialogue, than an imposition of will.
The bowls I made today were about 7 1/4 inches in diameter ( 18.5 cm). I used 800 grams (1.7 pounds) of clay for each bowl.
To record this video I used a small digital camera on a tripod, and a webcam that was attached to a wooden step ladder, and connected by usb into an old netbook. All good fun!
I would usually be giving my pupil a lesson today, but our enforced isolation makes that impossible, so I have made a video of how I make a bowl, and try to explain the process as I go along. Hopefully it will upload successfully here. If not I may have to investigate getting a YouTube account and posting things there, but we will have a go!
I haven't included music with this, but I quite like the gentle sound of the potter's wheel. The wheel is a kick wheel that I operate with my foot, I generally prefer using this to an electric wheel, it is peaceful and quite meditative, and working with clay feels more of a dialogue, than an imposition of will.
The bowls I made today were about 7 1/4 inches in diameter ( 18.5 cm). I used 800 grams (1.7 pounds) of clay for each bowl.
To record this video I used a small digital camera on a tripod, and a webcam that was attached to a wooden step ladder, and connected by usb into an old netbook. All good fun!
Comments
We are indeed fortunate being able to get on and do what we do, my problem is I 'cant ask my client to pop in for a consult.
I wonder if in future your sales will be to NZers more than internationals, the market I sell at took a hit after the White Island eruption but now there is no market.
However it is good to see you are fully engaged with wheel and camera.
Really nice to hear from you. It is good to be making something, even if there is little prospect of selling things for quite some time. You had White Island up your way, and I am sorry that it impacted on your sales, and we had major roadworks on our stretch of the Main Road from the beginning of November right through to the day before the "lock down", so we really didn't have anything like our usual summer trade here. Our current state of isolation has some positives, in that it is so lovely and quiet without all the noise of traffic or roadworks. I am appreciating that quite a lot really.
I still love the bowl we got from you when you were down this way, it is very special. Do you ever sell work on line? I'm wondering if we may have to do some of that when the "lock down" eases a bit.
Very Best Wishes to you both,
Peter & Laura
On line trading!!!! I have looked but am disheartened, what I miss about the market is the social interaction but I won't miss the early mornings now winter is on its way, a lot of my fun came from the coffin I had put shelves in I had it stood up with a display of my wood turning on the shelves, it attracted people and they all had a story to tell me.
Now the road outside is improved will it quieter or will the traffic be going faster, I am hopeful out of this shutdown something good will happen I'm just not sure what it will be.
Go well peter
Bob
How is Laura's work going?
We miss you both and Aotearoa NZ.
Meanwhile we have a little dry weather and workshops are being cleared.....
That's nice, I'm glad you are using the bowl every day and are enjoying the colours. I'm a bit similar regards online trading, which is why I asked! I keep thinking it sounds like a good idea, but then get a bit disheartened. We will probably give Laura's cards a try on line as they seem the most suitable thing to be mailing around, but pottery is rather more challenging especially if doing "one off" type of items as each one would have to be advertised individually and kept as stock until sold. Lines of similar items, such as mugs, seem a more practical approach. Similar difficulty for you with wood turning as each one is so individual. The coffin certainly sounds like a great talking point! I find that my model aeroplanes that hang from the gallery ceiling are quite a nice "ice breaker" sometimes.
Mmmm... improved road = more speed! It does, I notice the occasional passing truck breaking more land speed records then ever before... no doubt trying to deliver toilet rolls to supermarkets!
Lovely to hear from you. Happy to report that the garden is still producing happy looking flowers and some vegetables! The season hasn't been all that easy for growing veggies, and my tomatoes (which were planted at the right time) have only just really started producing (we had our second ripe-ish tomato yesterday for lunch). I've harvested a rather odd bunch of pumpkins (one at 5.5 kg, one average supermarket size, and 7 small ones). Thankfully I have been able to keep us in leafy green veggies since last November.
Laura was enjoying having a display at the botanic gardens in Dunedin, but there is no access at all to that at the moment. Really not sure when "normal" will resume. She has been doing some drawing, and I'm hoping that, with less distractions, this will really blossom! (especially as she is mostly drawing flowers!). Definitely Autumn here now, but still waiting for the first frost.
So glad we were able to get together with you when you were over here recently. We had a nice pizza with friends at Karitane a few weeks after you were here, but haven't been out like that since!
Hope you are staying well.
Love to you both,
P&L