Went to my first pottery class last night!!!

    • Gold Top Dog

    Went to my first pottery class last night!!!

    And we threw on the wheel the first night!  I learned centering and made a basic little pot!  The teacher helped me a little bit when it started to go wonky, but I decided to keep it as something to compare stuff with as I get better.  It was totally fun!  Being preggo it was a little uncomfortable to crouch over the wheel, so I will have to wear sweats next time rather than jeans. 
     
    Anyway it was totally fun!  I loved it.  Any potters here?  I want to see pics of your stuff!
    • Gold Top Dog
    Isn't it fun? I took a pottery class when I was in college. I remember my wrist getting sore from rubbing the wheel. I certainly didn't make anything worth taking a picture of, but it was fun. [:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Wow, that's an impressive start! I took a pottery class when I was like 10 or something, and then another in high school. All that classing and I only ever successfully made I think 2 bowls on the wheel? And both of them were fairly clumsy with really thick bottoms. I like hand-building though. [:)]
    • Gold Top Dog
    I have a bruise on my forearm from the wheel - and my left hip ached all night, I think from bracing my elbow so hard against it while trying to center the clay!  Who knew pottery could be a contact sport eh! 
     
    I love getting my hands dirty.  I am a big time touch person so this is totally fun for me. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    I took a class in college and LOVED working on the wheel.  I'm jealous.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I took two or three classes in high school.  So much fun.  I have some very thick mugs and bowls still.  Towards the end of my class we got to work with porselin.  It was so nice.  Not grainy like the clay.  But not as sturdy either on the wheel.  I could imagine that the belly would get in the way a little. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    A few years ago, a friend and I decided to take a wheel-throwing class to help us get through the depressing rainy winter here in Oregon.  Neither of us has a shred of artistic ability (an accountant and a biologist - what a creative pair we made!).  We figured, "How hard can it be?  It looks so simple - the wheel spins, and you put your hands and fingers in the right places and the shapes magically appear."  WRONG!  I was astounded by how strong your hands and arms had to be, and I was NEVER able to center the clay correctly, so every time I tried to add anything more than 2 inches of height to a piece, it warped funny and would break at its base.  The teacher tried to make me feel better by saying when he MAJORED in pottery in college (huh?  there's such a major?!), they had a whole semester course on centering.  We had 8 classes total - so it wasn't a skill he expected us to master.  However, other students had better luck and made nice things. 
     
    We loved the class and had a blast doing it (came home with more clay on our bodies and in our hair), but all I ended up with was a bunch of really shallow, small vessels that are pretty much useless.  I call them soy sauce dishes.  DH uses them for lining up various spices when he's cooking, like the chefs do on those FoodTV shows!
     
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    I took a college ceramics class. It was lots of fun. We made a pinch pot the first day, LOL. We worked on hand stuff for a while, before we got to work on the wheel. It was fun! We just had kick wheels, not electric wheels. I'm not very coordinated, so I ended up falling off.... twice. I think I left my creations there.... I would like to keep learning, because it was really fun, but I have no idea where I'd go, and I have absolutely no extra time.
    • Gold Top Dog
    My 6 year old is taking a pottery class this summer. Course description said they would get into wheel throwing. She got a child's wheel for Christmas, but we haven't been brave enough to set it up yet!
    • Gold Top Dog
    I took up pottery classes during one of my summer vacations when I was in high school. Really fun! I made sushi dishes and pots. I always wanted to make a plate, but that's advanced stuff. Then the pottery school moved, and I wasn't able to get the last jug I made. Hopefully it's still on their shelves at the new location...

    Glad to hear you're having fun at yours!