Adventure #23 - "I need Patrick Swayze's arms around me"

This past weekend, Meagan planned an adventure that promised to be laid back, low-intensity and maybe even a little relaxing... pottery!  As her email clue mentioned, "Patrick and Demi make this look good"...leave it to us to make it look bad.... in some cases, really, really, ugly bad. ;)

We arrived at the Kansas City Clay Guild in Waldo around 5pm on Saturday evening.  We were greeted by our instructors, two women and a man, and we each claimed our own potters wheel.  We received a brief explanation on the use of the wheel and a basic demonstration from Paisley, our lead instructor.  Paisley had a kind of new-age vibe about her and an almost ethereal voice.  Her fluid hand movements made the process of throwing clay look so natural, instinctual and carefree... almost hypnotizing... though it could have been the afternoon of day drinking that was causing me to be so entranced by the process.  (Spring has finally arrived in KC! We HAD to be outside on a patio!)

She quickly turned a raw lump of clay into a smooth cylindrical tower, then worked it back to a low, circular mound, and back up to a tower, and back down to a mound.  We were told to start our project with this up and down movement of the clay in order to loosen it up, smooth any lumps, and generally become one with the clay.

Next, we were each given a rectangular chunk of gray clay and instructed to work it out in a sort of folding and pressing movement.

I cut Amy's face out of the photo because, trust me, she'd want me to ;)

We did this for about five minutes and then returned to our wheels to begin the "fun" part.  I use quotations because depending on who you ask, this adjective could easily be replaced with "embarrassing," "impossible," or "dirty."  

First, we rolled our clay into a ball, then plopped it smack dab into the middle of our wheel.  Then it was time to get those wheels spinning!  This was done with a foot pedal, similar to a sewing machine. The next, and as I later learned crucial, step was to secure the bottom of your clay by pressing one finger down around the bottom edge while the wheel spun.  This locked the clay into place on the wheel.  Once this was done, we started the up and down movement of the clay as I described previously.  Surprisingly, this required more arm strength than I expected, and I soon could feel a little burn in my biceps.

After doing that a few times, we could begin to create a vessel by placing downward pressure from our fingers into the middle of the top, thereby creating an opening.  We then used our wet hands to mold the clay into various shapes and sizes.

I was the first to finish with a very basic cereal bowl-type style in probably under ten minutes.  I didn't necessarily think I was done with my project, but one of our female instructors came up to me and essentially told me I was done and helped me remove my bowl from my wheel.  I later realized she was saving my bowl from my over-zealous plans to turn it into something maaaarvelous.  

Due to the fact that I finished so quickly, I received very little feedback or assistance from the instructors, but some of the girls sure needed it, while others received some unappreciated guidance. Several of the girls later told me that our male instructor came up to them just as they were completing their bowl/pot and literally smashed it right in front of them saying something to the effect of, "good job, now do it again, but better."  Seabrin said he was right over her shoulder at one point and said, "Now, what's going on here? Are you working the clay, or is the clay working you?!" I'd say someone takes their pottery a little..too..seriously... for our intents and purposes anyway.

After a photo-taking break, I grabbed another hunk of clay and began a second project.  This time around, my clay kept flying off the wheel every time I tried to begin working it.  I tried at least four or five times, each time loosing pieces of it as it went sliding off the wheel, until I ended up with a sloppy, soggy lump.  There was probably as much clay on my hands and in the waste basin as remained on the wheel.  Alli asked if I was making pottery or playing in the mud?  Finally, I said something to one of our instructors and realized that I was forgetting to seal the bottom edge to the wheel.  Aha!  Once I was past that issue, I again created a basic cereal bowl structure and then tried to sculpt that into something more artistic with curves and dimension.  I got about one curve in and the side wall collapsed inward.  It was then that I realized the instructor who stopped me prematurely on my first piece did in fact know what she was doing when she halted my masterpiece.

Fortunately, I had realized by this point that I was less interested in finishing a piece than I was in simply working with the clay.  I enjoyed the slick feel of it spinning between my fingers and watching it constantly change form with just a little gentle pressure from my hands.  Personally, I did find it calming and rather fun.  I'd definitely like to do it again.

Meghan on the other hand, may disagree.

Notice in the photo above that Meghan's wheel is empty.  She was really struggling to get the hang of it and basically kept having to start over until she was left with a pile of desecrated, unusable clay.  After this photo was taken she started anew with a fresh lump of clay and eventually ended up with a completed piece... though it took the entire ninety minutes we were there... and I'm pretty sure she told me that our male instructor essentially made it for her.  Oh well.  I'm proud of her for not giving up, or losing patience.  This is just another great example of the spirit of adventure we all share!  Whether we do well or not, we just keep on trying... and we always try to maintain a sense of humor and not take ourselves too seriously.  

Which brings me to... cropped photo commentary!!! A little lighthearted way I like to poke fun at my friends!

Here you will see the face of concentration....

a little tongue involvement always helps

 While here, you will see the face of defeat. Or is it annoyance? Or someone who needs a drink?

pout those lips

Pretty sure these are the faces of people who are glad they're not Meghan right about now...

Jessi: Ahh. I feel so much better about my baby pot now.
Meagan: I wonder if I booked enough time??

Finally, this is what we call "abstract art"....

Who's playing in the mud now?!?

In the end, we each ended up with at least one solid, formed, usable bowl/pot. 

Lisa was the clear stand out of the group, creating the most complicated and skillful pieces.  At the end of the adventure, when we each had to choose a glaze color, one of our instructors pointed out a few options that would accentuate any detailing etched onto the clay.  Alli chuckled and said, "I don't think any of us did any detailing."  Lisa quietly piped up, "I did."  Alli's response, "Of course you did!"  

Nice work, Lisa!

We had to leave our creations there to be fired and we all chose to have our instructor glaze them for us rather than schedule a repeat visit to do it ourselves.  So as of now, none of us have seen the finished-finished product... let's hope a little glaze goes a long way!!!