Beginner having fun

Hello, rec.crafts.potters.

I inherited my mum's home pottery stuff after she passed away last
summer. There's a small top-loading kiln, some clays, glazes, tools,
books, and a bunch of pots she made or bought because she loved them,
and of course her notebooks.

My sister (who did a university degree in glass and ceramics, although
she now works in a different field) came to visit for a week and showed
me what to do. I'm a "crafty" person, but mostly I work in textiles -
quilting, knitting and things like that. We had a ball trying to figure
it all out, and we have 5 children (aged 18months - 7 years) between us
so we let them all have a go too.

Anyway, I have a million questions, and I also would like to share what
I'm doing, maybe put some photos on a webpage and post links here. Would
that be welcome in this group?
--
M Rimmer

Most certainly! Welcome to the clan!! You should be warned however that it
is an addiction that can consume you.
Donna

"M Rimmer" wrote in message
...
Hello, rec.crafts.potters.

I inherited my mum's home pottery stuff after she passed away last summer.
There's a small top-loading kiln, some clays, glazes, tools, books, and a
bunch of pots she made or bought because she loved them, and of course her
notebooks.

My sister (who did a university degree in glass and ceramics, although she
now works in a different field) came to visit for a week and showed me
what to do. I'm a "crafty" person, but mostly I work in textiles -
quilting, knitting and things like that. We had a ball trying to figure it
all out, and we have 5 children (aged 18months - 7 years) between us so we
let them all have a go too.

Anyway, I have a million questions, and I also would like to share what
I'm doing, maybe put some photos on a webpage and post links here. Would
that be welcome in this group?
--
M Rimmer

"M Rimmer" wrote in message
...
Hello, rec.crafts.potters.

I inherited my mum's home pottery stuff after she passed away last summer.
There's a small top-loading kiln, some clays, glazes, tools, books, and a
bunch of pots she made or bought because she loved them, and of course her
notebooks.

My sister (who did a university degree in glass and ceramics, although she
now works in a different field) came to visit for a week and showed me
what to do. I'm a "crafty" person, but mostly I work in textiles -
quilting, knitting and things like that. We had a ball trying to figure it
all out, and we have 5 children (aged 18months - 7 years) between us so we
let them all have a go too.

Anyway, I have a million questions, and I also would like to share what
I'm doing, maybe put some photos on a webpage and post links here. Would
that be welcome in this group?
--
M Rimmer

In message , DKat
writes
Most certainly! Welcome to the clan!! You should be warned however that it
is an addiction that can consume you.
Donna

Thank you for your kind welcome.

I opened the kiln this morning after my first ever glost firing
yesterday. I was so thrilled to see all my previously dull looking pots
come out all shiny and brightly coloured. It's a bit like magic - you
put your pots in this magic box and many hours later they're
transformed. Am I just revealing what a newbie I am to get so excited or
does it always feel like this?

I've been asking around my friends if anyone else is into pottery, who I
could chat with and swap notes, or ideally someone who was into it 10
years ago but hasn't done any for ages and would be delighted if I could
take all this old equipment off their hands ;-) And it turns out a
friend's husband got an electric wheel on ebay but he doesn't use it
much because he doesn't have a kiln. Which is great because I have a
kiln but don't have a wheel, though I'd love to try. So next Wednesday
after I've taken the kids to school I'm going to my friends house and
will probably spend all day watching lumps of clay flying at the walls.
In return, I'll fire her husband's pots for him, and maybe we can have a
chat and compare notes. He's not all that chatty though.

In the meantime I'm pressing on with handbuilding. I've got hold of a
book called "Handbuilt Pottery Techniques Revealed" by Jacqui Atkin,
which takes you in minute detail (suitable for total newbies) how to
make a coil pot that doesn't look like it was made by a spastic monkey
(later chapters go into pinch pots, slab building and moulds). I feel
rather cross that most of the books I've seen say no more than "make
some clay sausages and coil them into a pot - look at the picture to see
one I made" followed by a picture of a pot so fine and perfectly
symmetrical you'd swear it was slipcast. When even my clay sausages turn
out hideously deformed and uneven, and my first attempt of using them to
make a pot ended up looking like it was made by a drunken chimp, and
fell apart into several coils as it dried. But working from Atkins' book
I spent a couple of hours today (after one false start which ended up in
the reclaim bucket) working on the bottom half of an urn-y thing. I'm
pretty pleased at how it's coming along, although there's still stacks
of room for improvement, and I'm having a lot of fun. My shoulders hurt
though. I think I either need to find a higher chair, a lower workbench,
or else just relax whilst I'm working.
--
M Rimmer

"M Rimmer" wrote in message
...
In message , DKat
writes
Most certainly! Welcome to the clan!! You should be warned however that
it
is an addiction that can consume you.
Donna

Thank you for your kind welcome.

I opened the kiln this morning after my first ever glost firing yesterday.
I was so thrilled to see all my previously dull looking pots come out all
shiny and brightly coloured. It's a bit like magic - you put your pots in
this magic box and many hours later they're transformed. Am I just
revealing what a newbie I am to get so excited or does it always feel like
this?

opening the glass or ceramic kiln after firing is always like christmas
morning. you'll find you won't have the patience to wait, but don't peek.

I've been asking around my friends if anyone else is into pottery, who I
could chat with and swap notes, or ideally someone who was into it 10
years ago but hasn't done any for ages and would be delighted if I could
take all this old equipment off their hands ;-) And it turns out a
friend's husband got an electric wheel on ebay but he doesn't use it much
because he doesn't have a kiln. Which is great because I have a kiln but
don't have a wheel, though I'd love to try. So next Wednesday after I've
taken the kids to school I'm going to my friends house and will probably
spend all day watching lumps of clay flying at the walls. In return, I'll
fire her husband's pots for him, and maybe we can have a chat and compare
notes. He's not all that chatty though.

In the meantime I'm pressing on with handbuilding. I've got hold of a book
called "Handbuilt Pottery Techniques Revealed" by Jacqui Atkin, which
takes you in minute detail (suitable for total newbies) how to make a coil
pot that doesn't look like it was made by a spastic monkey (later chapters
go into pinch pots, slab building and moulds). I feel rather cross that
most of the books I've seen say no more than "make some clay sausages and
coil them into a pot - look at the picture to see one I made" followed by
a picture of a pot so fine and perfectly symmetrical you'd swear it was
slipcast. When even my clay sausages turn out hideously deformed and
uneven, and my first attempt of using them to make a pot ended up looking
like it was made by a drunken chimp, and fell apart into several coils as
it dried. But working from Atkins' book I spent a couple of hours today
(after one false start which ended up in the reclaim bucket) working on
the bottom half of an urn-y thing. I'm pretty pleased at how it's coming
along, although there's still stacks of room for improvement, and I'm
having a lot of fun. My shoulders hurt though. I think I either need to
find a higher chair, a lower workbench, or else just relax whilst I'm
working.
--
M Rimmer

oh, to have that newbie enthusiasm again

regards,
charlie
http://glassartists.org/chaniarts

(heh,heh,heh,heh... it's got you...)
I have never known a potter who does not wait in anticipation for the kiln
to cool down enough to take a peak. Many of us are pyromaniacs to boot
which means we really crave doing a flame fire one way or another (pit or
raku if a high fire gas/wood kiln is not available). If you can take a
workshop that offers some type of reduction firing, I recommend it.

You are going to find that you have muscles you never knew you had.
Wedging, throwing, rolling the clay out, moving the clay - it all takes
muscles that you will develop and be in better shape from it.

While we all get excited about the magic of the flame it is nice to hear
about it from a new perspective. Keep us up to date when you have the time.
DK

"M Rimmer" wrote in message
...
In message , DKat
writes
Most certainly! Welcome to the clan!! You should be warned however that
it
is an addiction that can consume you.
Donna

Thank you for your kind welcome.

I opened the kiln this morning after my first ever glost firing yesterday.
I was so thrilled to see all my previously dull looking pots come out all
shiny and brightly coloured. It's a bit like magic - you put your pots in
this magic box and many hours later they're transformed. Am I just
revealing what a newbie I am to get so excited or does it always feel like
this?

I've been asking around my friends if anyone else is into pottery, who I
could chat with and swap notes, or ideally someone who was into it 10
years ago but hasn't done any for ages and would be delighted if I could
take all this old equipment off their hands ;-) And it turns out a
friend's husband got an electric wheel on ebay but he doesn't use it much
because he doesn't have a kiln. Which is great because I have a kiln but
don't have a wheel, though I'd love to try. So next Wednesday after I've
taken the kids to school I'm going to my friends house and will probably
spend all day watching lumps of clay flying at the walls. In return, I'll
fire her husband's pots for him, and maybe we can have a chat and compare
notes. He's not all that chatty though.

In the meantime I'm pressing on with handbuilding. I've got hold of a book
called "Handbuilt Pottery Techniques Revealed" by Jacqui Atkin, which
takes you in minute detail (suitable for total newbies) how to make a coil
pot that doesn't look like it was made by a spastic monkey (later chapters
go into pinch pots, slab building and moulds). I feel rather cross that
most of the books I've seen say no more than "make some clay sausages and
coil them into a pot - look at the picture to see one I made" followed by
a picture of a pot so fine and perfectly symmetrical you'd swear it was
slipcast. When even my clay sausages turn out hideously deformed and
uneven, and my first attempt of using them to make a pot ended up looking
like it was made by a drunken chimp, and fell apart into several coils as
it dried. But working from Atkins' book I spent a couple of hours today
(after one false start which ended up in the reclaim bucket) working on
the bottom half of an urn-y thing. I'm pretty pleased at how it's coming
along, although there's still stacks of room for improvement, and I'm
having a lot of fun. My shoulders hurt though. I think I either need to
find a higher chair, a lower workbench, or else just relax whilst I'm
working.
--
M Rimmer

M Rimmer wrote:
In message , DKat
writes
Most certainly! Welcome to the clan!! You should be warned however
that it
is an addiction that can consume you.
Donna

Thank you for your kind welcome.

I opened the kiln this morning after my first ever glost firing
yesterday. I was so thrilled to see all my previously dull looking pots
come out all shiny and brightly coloured. It's a bit like magic - you
put your pots in this magic box and many hours later they're
transformed. Am I just revealing what a newbie I am to get so excited or
does it always feel like this?

I've been asking around my friends if anyone else is into pottery, who I
could chat with and swap notes, or ideally someone who was into it 10
years ago but hasn't done any for ages and would be delighted if I could
take all this old equipment off their hands ;-) And it turns out a
friend's husband got an electric wheel on ebay but he doesn't use it
much because he doesn't have a kiln. Which is great because I have a
kiln but don't have a wheel, though I'd love to try. So next Wednesday
after I've taken the kids to school I'm going to my friends house and
will probably spend all day watching lumps of clay flying at the walls.
In return, I'll fire her husband's pots for him, and maybe we can have a
chat and compare notes. He's not all that chatty though.

In the meantime I'm pressing on with handbuilding. I've got hold of a
book called "Handbuilt Pottery Techniques Revealed" by Jacqui Atkin,
which takes you in minute detail (suitable for total newbies) how to
make a coil pot that doesn't look like it was made by a spastic monkey
(later chapters go into pinch pots, slab building and moulds). I feel
rather cross that most of the books I've seen say no more than "make
some clay sausages and coil them into a pot - look at the picture to see
one I made" followed by a picture of a pot so fine and perfectly
symmetrical you'd swear it was slipcast. When even my clay sausages turn
out hideously deformed and uneven, and my first attempt of using them to
make a pot ended up looking like it was made by a drunken chimp, and
fell apart into several coils as it dried. But working from Atkins' book
I spent a couple of hours today (after one false start which ended up in
the reclaim bucket) working on the bottom half of an urn-y thing. I'm
pretty pleased at how it's coming along, although there's still stacks
of room for improvement, and I'm having a lot of fun. My shoulders hurt
though. I think I either need to find a higher chair, a lower workbench,
or else just relax whilst I'm working.
Yup, been doing it for about 30 odd (and some were VERY odd) years
now... And it still feels that way, christmas and a birthday all rolled
into one (and some times you don't get the bike... But when you do....
OOOOOOHHHH WWWOOOOWWWW)
Hugs
Eddie

"M Rimmer" wrote in message
...
In the meantime I'm pressing on with handbuilding. I've got hold of a
book called "Handbuilt Pottery Techniques Revealed" by Jacqui Atkin,
which takes you in minute detail (suitable for total newbies) how to
make a coil pot that doesn't look like it was made by a spastic monkey
(later chapters go into pinch pots, slab building and moulds). I feel
rather cross that most of the books I've seen say no more than "make
some clay sausages and coil them into a pot - look at the picture to see
one I made" followed by a picture of a pot so fine and perfectly


I just bought the same book. Stumbled upon it at my pottery-pusher's shop
(in German) - bought it, found it in English on Amazon and gave the German
one to my pottery teacher. It really is a great book. I also like that it
shows some variations of the designs, so you get your imagination going a
bit more.

If you can, do take a course or two. My teacher has more like open
workshops, where we all just come and do what we want and ask her for help
as we need it.

symmetrical you'd swear it was slipcast. When even my clay sausages turn
out hideously deformed and uneven, and my first attempt of using them to
make a pot ended up looking like it was made by a drunken chimp, and
fell apart into several coils as it dried. But working from Atkins' book

Hahaha! I love the way you describe this!

If you have the same trouble again, just ask on the group for tips. You have
found a really great gang here (I found them not so long ago, myself).


I spent a couple of hours today (after one false start which ended up in
the reclaim bucket) working on the bottom half of an urn-y thing. I'm
pretty pleased at how it's coming along, although there's still stacks
of room for improvement, and I'm having a lot of fun. My shoulders hurt
though. I think I either need to find a higher chair, a lower workbench,
or else just relax whilst I'm working.


Or it could be that you are "just" hunching over or hitching your shoulders
up without noticing it. Try to take quick stretch-breaks. I'm not good at
that, myself - I get so caught up with what I am doing!

Keep having fun, that's the most important bit!

Marianne (in Switzerland - ummm - normally - am at my mom's in Norway just
now :-)

Is it Summer nights that never end that far north and do you get to see the
aurora borealis (sp?)?
(I'm wintering in San Diego for a once in a life time adventure - Husband's
sabbatical).
Donna

"Bubbles" wrote in message
...

"M Rimmer" wrote in message
...
In the meantime I'm pressing on with handbuilding. I've got hold of a
book called "Handbuilt Pottery Techniques Revealed" by Jacqui Atkin,
which takes you in minute detail (suitable for total newbies) how to
make a coil pot that doesn't look like it was made by a spastic monkey
(later chapters go into pinch pots, slab building and moulds). I feel
rather cross that most of the books I've seen say no more than "make
some clay sausages and coil them into a pot - look at the picture to see
one I made" followed by a picture of a pot so fine and perfectly


I just bought the same book. Stumbled upon it at my pottery-pusher's shop
(in German) - bought it, found it in English on Amazon and gave the German
one to my pottery teacher. It really is a great book. I also like that it
shows some variations of the designs, so you get your imagination going a
bit more.

If you can, do take a course or two. My teacher has more like open
workshops, where we all just come and do what we want and ask her for help
as we need it.

symmetrical you'd swear it was slipcast. When even my clay sausages turn
out hideously deformed and uneven, and my first attempt of using them to
make a pot ended up looking like it was made by a drunken chimp, and
fell apart into several coils as it dried. But working from Atkins' book

Hahaha! I love the way you describe this!

If you have the same trouble again, just ask on the group for tips. You
have
found a really great gang here (I found them not so long ago, myself).


I spent a couple of hours today (after one false start which ended up in
the reclaim bucket) working on the bottom half of an urn-y thing. I'm
pretty pleased at how it's coming along, although there's still stacks
of room for improvement, and I'm having a lot of fun. My shoulders hurt
though. I think I either need to find a higher chair, a lower workbench,
or else just relax whilst I'm working.


Or it could be that you are "just" hunching over or hitching your
shoulders
up without noticing it. Try to take quick stretch-breaks. I'm not good at
that, myself - I get so caught up with what I am doing!

Keep having fun, that's the most important bit!

Marianne (in Switzerland - ummm - normally - am at my mom's in Norway just
now :-)

Hi Donna :-)

In Oslo, they almost never end - the sun goes down here, but the nights
aren't dark-dark. But if you go above the arctic circle, the sun doesn't go
down and you have the most wonderful golden sunlight all night long. It has
to be experienced, it simply can't be described.

I have, in fact, never seen the northern lights (aka aurora borealis),
although they have come as far south as Oslo, but then I wasn't in Oslo -
rotten luck, I have! HEhe! The further north you get, the more chance you
have of seeing the northern lights in the winter - when the sun never comes
UP! In Oslo, sunup at 9 AM and sundown at 3 PM is one of my least favourite
parts of mid-winter.

Marianne

"DKat" wrote in message
...
Is it Summer nights that never end that far north and do you get to see
the
aurora borealis (sp?)?
(I'm wintering in San Diego for a once in a life time adventure -
Husband's
sabbatical).
Donna

"Bubbles" wrote in message
...

Marianne (in Switzerland - ummm - normally - am at my mom's in Norway
just
now :-)