Among my various experiments, hobbies and creative kicks I have acquired a large blob of clay. It is grey and has some firing point I forget and needs a certain amount of cones ...whatever. It is clay and I want to make something. Specifically I want to make a clay vessel. I use that term loosely as anything I would fire up would never get vitrified enough to hold water and would seep and leak.
I should be so lucky if I could manage to make something that would seep. Almost everything I have attempted that would be vessel like has either exploded in the fire pit ( just place them in or near a fire we might have burning outside) or has promptly dissolved back into dust the moment I pace it decoratively on a table.
I tried again this early Spring. I did a simple pinch pot method, dried it as best I could and placed it near the edge of a red hot fire pit, occasionally turning the pieces to get an even burn. Then I carefully placed the hot pieces in the fire coals itself.
The spectacular explosions and showers of crackling sparks was very exciting. However it left me with nothing but sharp pieces of rubble barely fit for the drain layer in the planters. Undeterred I purchased a child's potters wheel.
The wheel and assembly was brightly colored plastic in primary colors. I stuffed it with batteries and was good to go. After wedging any air out of the clay I smooshed the ball in the center of the wheel and proceeded to paint the surrounding area with clay splatter while simultaneously giving myself a clay facial. Multitasking.
The first few attempts were disastrous messy, misshapen and I have no idea how an uncoordinated child with no patience would ever be able to craft anything but a wet clay missile launched in frustration. Resisting the urge to fling my sticky mess I slowed the speed and carefully nursed the lump along until it looked like a giant booger with a good sized hole in it. Eureka!
In fact I produced three smallish "vessels" that were quite cute, a little bottom heavy, but cute. Pots only a mother could love. They stayed drying in the sun room all Summer. I finally fired them three days ago. One popped and broke sounding like a musket being fired. The other two would pop and flake off shard on the base of the pots but did not lose all integrity.
I have them sitting on a window sill now. I might even paint them. They are unmistakably hideous. But they are mine and they make me smile. My ugly clay children.
