Turn, turn, turn

I turned the bottoms of these pieces today. The clay develops an attractive roughness under the tools.

Throwing pieces

I tried throwing on the wheel today. It's going to take some getting used to. I find having the wheel going anticlockwise works best for me. The connection between the clay, circular motion and me is very direct.

Clay god

The first piece I've made is a guardian to watch over me as I work. I'm deciding whether to leave her unfired like a kiln god or to put her to the heat.

lime and ginger and honey

I am drinking the house blend in an attempt to ward off the colds that are plaguing our part of Sydney at the moment.

ParraClay at the Armory

Yesterday I went by ferry to the Armory at Newington for a meeting of Parramatta Clay and Arts Incorporated: http://parraclay.org/

The nearest wharf is at Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush. There's a walkway/cycle path along the river. The armory is an interesting place with lots of old function specific buildings now put to other uses. By chance I encountered an ArtExpress exhibition http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/Visiting/Whats_on/events/all_events/artexpress_2011_-_a_field_guide_to_human_life which impressed me with the sophistication of the concepts behind and execution of the artworks. It's a tribute to the excellence of art and design teachers in NSW. I think when I was at high school the big issues were if someone you knew could bring you back a pair of Adidas from overseas and whether Amco, Wrangler, Lee or Levi's were the best jeans. Thinking about politics or social issues was rudimentary at best.

The meeting was a lot of fun. I sat at a table with twelve clever, articulate creative people who managed to make thoughtful constructive decisions quickly. Every discussion involved flights of fancy and pragmatic resolutions. It was a delight to be part of and it feels like good things are going to result.

Bring the noise

There's something very exciting about loud repetitive noise - especially when heard in common with a large group of like-minded people. Like this

"Earth, Fire and Water"

I found this quote on a pottery blog: "We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us that they may see, it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet."- W. B. Yeats, "Earth, Fire and Water" from The Celtic Twilight.

I started throwing on my new wheel yesterday. I'd dug the clay some years ago and had done some prep work on it. It felt workable but as I tried to centre it I felt that it had lots of sand in it. The amount of water I needed to keep it moving dissolved the body. I had developed a technique for removing the outer layers of skin from my palms. I've put the clay aside for more contemplation.

Old brickmakers used to fire a test load of bricks probably in a clamp kiln and only when they'd cooled would know whether they'd "answered". Experience would tell them whether a clay was likely to answer but there was always uncertainty.

I think I'm asking this clay the wrong question.