My Scalloped Cake Pan

Pottery Class -  More Hand-building! 

My scalloped  Cake Pan 

Today while in class, I noticed some of the many items that were pulled out of the kiln and were made by beginners--like me!  Some of them were perfect but others were pulled in areas and didn't always sit squarely or flat.  Some of them had cracks that were not fixable.  It sort of reminds me of people and life.  We start out with such good intentions, and we want everything to be perfect.  But we can't always see the full picture, we don't always "get" what we are doing.  I once had a friend who repeatedly made the wrong choices, each time getting the wrong result.  One day, someone lovingly showed her the mistake that she was making, and she was then able to choose wisely and get the right end result.  Well, clay is very similar.  I asked a few questions about the pieces that were cracked and received answers that will help me with my clay building in the future.

For one thing, if there's a hairline crack that is forming in the clay, you have to stop and repair it.  If you don't attend to the small cracks, when the heat of the kiln is turned on (life) the pressure and the heat will drive the crack apart.  You also can't be too rough on the clay.  A firm and gentle hand is a must!  Thirdly, The clay needs to be properly compressed by repeatedly going over it with your hands or a card.  I use an old hotel card for this.  This brings the tiny bubbles to the surface that you cannot ignore.  These imperfections are really trapped air.  AND you have to force that air out of the clay because it will explode in the kiln if you don't.  Yes, it's just like life, you try and hope everything works out, but the kiln of life has a way of bringing the imperfections out!  But I keep trying.  Sometimes, when you can't use the item for the intended purpose, you can turn it into something else.  And guess what, you want to because you made that item and you care.  Sounds like life, again!

Back to my class.  Today, I made this cake pan with the scalloped edges.  It was hard to do.  It kept wanting to sag.  I finally had to make a reinforcing towel that I duct taped together to hold my pan together.  Sometimes, I feel like I need some duct tape to hold things together-lol.

This is going to be a cake pan (if it doesn't crack) 

 I also made a pull for my Coffee Canister.  I will be glazing this white, like the others.  You will have to go back into my blog to see the other three pieces.  This has been so much fun for me and a good diversion from the stresses of life!

This will be for my Keurig Pods 

I am hoping to blog about my whaling scene tomorrow that is for Nantucket country.  This is a great little antique store that I paint for on Nantucket.  She sells everything from quilts to firkins, as well as my things, which she has lovingly represented now for 22 years now.  Google it.

Enjoy! 

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