Foot polished, also for the tea teacher:)

Futa oki, and a wool beaded bag that I made for it,

going to the tea teacher tomorrow:)

Scott wearing his mask!

Custer Feldspar, to make glaze

This is my husband of almost 30 years, Scott. He is unbagging a fifty
pound bag of Custer Feldspar. I would do it, but because of my arm, I
can not. I would have never bought so much of this stuff, but the
price break down makes a huge difference.

Glazed but not quite ready to fire:

My arm is much better now. I was just doing something that perhaps I
should have done in a different way. It was acually a ceramic related
injury, really too stupid to write about. Ok, I was trying to scrape
into thin slivers a gallon of nearly dry stoneware slip. I didn't
want to waste it! I hacked at it like a crazy woman until it was as
thin as sliced cheese! Then, with the same sharp paint scraper, I
chopped at it until it was finely ground. I really did an outstanding
job, and the reconstution went smooth. That evening I was fine, but
the next morning, I felt as if my right side was paralyzed. Here some
two days later, I am able to move my arm again, but I will wait a few
days before I return to mopping the studio floor! It is better to
work smart, and I will try to remember that for next time.

Over did it, not thinking....

I won't be throwing for a few days.

Out of the kiln, first firing

06, firing at home, electric

Fresh out of the kiln:

Trying to get the oil spot look, sort of.

Just trimmed

Painting again

Hard to make a nice foot:

Might just be a soup bowl

It was hard for me to throw this very white porcelain.

Too big, but the shrink rate is high

Fresh thrown, porcelain

Not easy to throw....

Took the rings off:

Wobble

The walls are not strait. Thrown on kick wheel, off the hump. I
think tea bowls are not ment to be perfect. That won't be a problem
for me. : )

Foot too tall...

I love the way these tall footed tea bowls look. I made this one on
the kick wheel, throwing off the hump. After trimming the heck out of
it, I turned it, and it feels hard to hold on to. I think the tall
foot is just for looks, but what do I know?

Don's clay, thrown on kick wheel

Summer bowl, Don's clay

Cobalt oxide, Buckner Shino

Yunomi

Blue oxide, Buckner Snino:)

Bottom

Cobalt oxide, Buckner Shino:)

Tea Bowl Bottom:

Measuring Don's clay for shrinkage<-------->

I am back in Austin, throwing Don's clay out in the back yard, on the
kick wheel that lives in the greenhouse. Actually, it is not a
greenhouse anymore, just a kick wheel house.

I am going to try to figure out the shrink rate of this red brown clay
of Don's. I asked him, but he wasn't sure. I have measured it, and I
will measure it after it is a finished bowl. That way I should be
able to judge the right size when I am throwing in the future. Every
clay shrinks a little different than the next.

This might could be a little taller, but I am not going to worry about
it.

Summer bowl, red brown clay

Trimmed

This is the tea bowl I threw yesterday off of the hump. This is a
different clay than I usually use. It is a cone seven clay, that I
plan to fire at cone six. It is the clay that a man named Don uses to
make his beautiful bird feeders. He puts a little green lizard on
each of his pieces, and they are sold all over the country. He sold
me a few boxes of his clay for me to try. It is special made for him,
and he buys a ton at a time! A ton is a lot of clay! Anyway, I am
going to fire it in my electric kiln, just to see how it will work. I
do not know the shrink rate of this clay, so it will be many tries,
before I can make the bowls the right size. This clay throws nice and
smooth, and it will fire to a pretty brown red color.

"off the HUMP"

This photo was altered, and that is why it doesn't look quite right.
There wasn't really a black background.

This bowl was thrown "off the hump". I took a brutal ribbing in class
the week before last, about not wanting to throw off the hump. I also
found out that there was a song about it, and instantly I heard the
song, because of an iPhone.

Anyway, I thought I would give throwing a bowl this way a try. It
wasn't too bad. I have yet to cut it off, so I am not sure if I will
really have a bowl or not.

Thrown and trimmed on the kick wheel:

It is still early here. I am in Austin, and my husband is at our
place in the country, the place where our flowers grow. I am headed
there after the trash truck picks up the cans, and I will stay three
days. It is always refreshing to excape the city for some fresh air.

I came out here just as the sun was starting to rise, to trim. It's
nice, what else can I say! At first I didn't think that I would like
using this old kick wheel, but the more I sit down at it to work, the
more at home it feels. Also, there is something really special about
working outside with the plants and singing birds.

I think I was told to trim "Yunomi" this way:

So, perhaps it will be better:)


Well, today I found out why I should trim my bowls on the clay mound, or clay hump, like my friend the tea bowl expert told me to do. He told me what to do, but he did not tell me why. I always need to know why, before I can understand anything! The why would be that my tea bowl rim is not even. Actually, this sounds right, but the problem is that since I am not making real tea bowls or yunomi, yet, my edges are even. Even edges are not what a tea bowl should have, but for now, or until I learn different, mine are still even and level.

Taller than it should be?

Bottom

Not as big as it looks

Too much glaze

Just thrown on kick wheel:

Wheel thrown, more natural

Bisque fired, thrown on kick wheel, oxide painting

From now on, I will only post pictures of what I am pretty sure is
the "Chawan". Before I believed that the taller cup shapes were the
winter style tea bowl. Because I am no longer sure, I will only post
pictures of this style, the more bowl shaped forms.

What I had been saying was one thing, was in fact something else, all
together something different. This I was told by a true Expert.
Actually, I know very little about making tea bowls, the entire
purpose of this blog. This is Texas! Who on earth has ever heard of a
tea bowl???

I was told by a friend before I started this process, that I couldn't
make a tea bowl, I hope he isn't right.

Bisque, thrown on kick wheel, oxide painting:

Bisque, thrown on kick wheel, oxide painting.

I am pretty sure that this is a tea bowl.

This I am making is:

"YUNOMI"

Thanks for the very good advice!

NEXT TIME ITRIM, I am going to make a mound of clay shaped like the inside of my Yunomi. I have not done that style of trimming before. In the future I am going to try to use the kick wheel to make and trim the
Chawan and Yunomi. I am a long way from where I want to be, as of yet. Good! Now I have plenty to do!

Shimpo RK-WHISPER___________o

This wheel lives in a small town in Texas, only 900 people. It is in a large metal building
that I share with my husband, as a workshop. At one time we were
thinking about moving here, for the small town life in the country. I
do not know if we will ever move here, but for now it is a nice place
to get away from the city.

I bought this wheel with my own profits from my pie bird business,
years ago. I thought that I could teach myself to use it. When I
learned that I could not, I just let it sit. I was thinking about
selling it, but instead, I decided to learn to use it. That is how I
ended up at Clayways Studio. Were it not for this wheel, I would have
never have taken classes, something that has made a big difference in
my life.

Three:)

Perhaps a little too wide

Winter style tea bowl

Third one better:)

The weather is GREAT!

Not centered, and not easy to trim on the kick wheel