It’s Wheelie Exciting!

It’s Wheelie Exciting!

Hi there!

Thanks for popping in. It’s pottery this afternoon, so I’ve been obsessing about what to do. Christmas is looming, want to make gifts – so I’m going on the wheel today. It’s by far the fastest way forward. And now I’ve learned how to use a bat as well, my olive dishes have turned into salad bowls! Well, let’s say cereal bowls… look?

See these little diddy ones? So that was pretty exciting, even to get to that stage! But then, I wanted to get bigger. Correction. I wanted to throw bigger pots. Getting bigger is coming very naturally to this old frame of mine! Especially around the midriff! No no. It’s the POTS and BOWLS I want to grow – not the jean size!

Now follow the development from left to right. See the first two are sitting on tiles? That’s the point. When you throw a pot or bowl on the wheel, you often wreck it when you transfer it from the wheel to the tile. And the bigger the pot gets, the wobblier it is, and the more likely you are to dink it or distort it when sliding it onto said tile.

So I went from throwing directly on the metal wheel, to throwing on a so-called bat, which is the round wooden platter that you can see the next 4 are sitting on. You lift the whole bat off the wheel, bowl and all!

How does the wooden bat stick to the wheel? Good question. You lay a kind of chamois cloth on the wheel and then place the bat on that. It clings. All technical stuff, you know! I love it!

So now we can go large!

The bats get bigger too. Look out world! She’s got big bats, HUGE bats – and she’s not afraid to use them!

Shall I show you what happened next to all those thrown pots? Turning turning turning…. this is like a proper before and after shaping session. Look!

Some of them went in the Raku fire, and some of them went in the kiln last week. So now I’m off to pottapottapottery, to see how they came out! Here they are, all glazed, sitting quietly on the To-be-fired shelf.

It’s wheelie exciting. Am I mad? Maybe. But I bloody love it. I go to sleep thinking about it. I wake up thinking about it. Pottery ladies, pottery!

Love & Hugs

Barb xxx

32 thoughts on “It’s Wheelie Exciting!

  1. It does us all good to be “potty” sometimes !!! So nice to see all your pots and know how much you enjoy the break from all your other activities.

    WARNING – anyone receiving an email from Paul Church asking you to download or open PDF’s – DO NOT OPEN ANY OF IT. This is not from our Paul. Hubby has ascertained that this is a ransom email and there is a virus embedded in it. I have advised the Clarity team, as have others, and hopefully no-one will be caught out.

    Love the new dies and Maria’s demo has persuaded me to buy the stencils too.

    We have a bit of sunshine between the showers today but flipping cold.
    🍒🍒🍒

  2. Wow, I am impressed! What a joy to produce such beautiful things and to enjoy every moment of the process. Have a great afternoon.
    A belated well done to Angela for winning the limerick competition. They were all brilliant and you thoroughly deserved your prize. Enjoy spending it.
    Hugs. Annette X

  3. Love the pots Barbara, you have some very lucky recipients (friends). It is great you have found something away from the shop floor to provide a relief. Loved Maria’s first show, 2nd has to be on record – on school /ballet class run this afternoon.

  4. You’re making great progress ! Better than me with the snow globe stamp yesterday but it looks a little better this morning and I can see where I’ve gone wrong and try to make better next time. Better look at a brayer tutorial to remind me of how it’s done ! Enjoy pottery. I have a Groovi class with Ronk Langton tomorrow been touch and go I’d make it due to family emergency but fingers crossed and a prevailing wind etc. Etc. ! X

  5. Love seeing how your pottery has progressed. Its nice to have something you can escape to like we do with the Clarity products. On a role with my stamping of baubles making Christmas cards whilst watching Maria on the TV. Lunch finished so back to it & also to get ready for the 4pm show with Maria followed by Paul at 6pm. All in all a great crafty day.

  6. These look brilliant, looking forward to further updates. recording Maria’s shows, hopefully will catch up later. xx

  7. Oh I can relate to this! In another life I took pottery lessons on the wheel and it fascinated me for years. I even had a mini kiln in my third floor apartment in Hamburg (Germany) and a wheel.
    Have you ventured into glazes yet? I mean the mixing of your own?
    Its a science on its own and should be right up your alley. But I can see, a the moment the magic of turning the bottom is quite enough. It is magic how the vessel changes when you get this right. You certainly did today, as your pictures prove eloquently.
    As much as you work it is good to see you playing with something not clarity related. We do need to get away now and then.
    Thanks for blogging this 😊
    Anja from Germany

  8. Hi Barbara
    Your pots look amazing, well done. I think they will go down a storm at Christmas. It’s great to see you enjoying something completely different which helps you step away from the coalface.
    Love Diane xxx

  9. Wow Barb, your pots look fantastic, it’s brilliant that you have found something you love doing that relaxes you and gets you away from the stress that comes from running a business. Looking forward to catching up on today’s Hochanda with Paul and Maria.xxx

  10. Great pots, glad you have something away from your ‘Clarity’ world to feel passionate about. Managed to catch Maria on her 4pm show so have got my dies and stencils coming. Such beautiful designs. Xx

  11. Who’s a clever girl then, very impressed with your pots. I wonder what one would look like if you impressed one of your stamps into the damp clay. I saw a jumper pattern today Barb and I think someone in their design team may have been watching your “torn paper mountain scape technique”. The pattern is, Debbie Bliss Flora sweater DB195. It would look good on you, but perhaps not in your “warmer” moments! haha. x

  12. You are getting to be quite an expert potter Barbara! I hope the firing goes well too as those pots are beautiful x

  13. Your pots look amazing, it must be very satisfying to do.
    Calamity here! The window cleaners came to clear my gutters and knocked a lump of grass on to my skybox and broke off the receiver bit so I only managed to record Maria’s first show. However I have seen some of the ODS and it just toppled into my basket. Such a generous offer, would be rude not to buy it. Thank you very much.
    I’m very excited as my daughter in law has booked me and her mum on a workshop to make 4 fused glass coasters as our Christmas present. We are asked to take ideas for a design and after a bit of head scratching I have decided on an Art Deco theme using some of your stamps as I love the Rennie Mackintosh roses. Hope you approve.

  14. Ooh you are becoming quite the potter! Am looking forward to seeing them finished. It’s so cool you have found a hobby outside of Clarity that you love so much! I loved Maria’s shows, the new dies and stencils are gorgeous! xxx

  15. What fabulous pots Barbara and love the way you have shaped them, and so exciting waiting to see how they turn out and what the colour will look like. I think you were born to do this as you have become so skilled in a relatively short space of time in all aspects of the craft. Whoever gets your pots will be thrilled I’m sure. x

  16. Hi Barb, well looking at that lot I think you have Christmas pretty much sorted, love the shapes and can’t wait to see the finished articles. So glad you found a craft to diversify into, but not leave the others. Bx

  17. Fab, fab, fab, it’s so lovely to have something that takes you away from the cog wheels and puts you somewhere completely away from everything. Really lovely to hear your excitement and enjoyment of pottery! – I play golf which puts me in quiet and with different people. It really takes your mind away from the hum drum of the daily grind! – Its called balance and we all need that!
    Big bats?! Well what can we say? On this occasion I will accept your wors for it! 🤣

  18. Love your pottery. I find it very therapeutic. I recently made a small vase but before constructing it I put on of Leonie’s stencils on it and made an impression. I have now glazed it and am very pleased how it turned out. I am sure every one will love their Christmas presents.

  19. Love your bowls Barbara and I am sure the recipients will at Christmas. I love going to pottery. I find it really therapeutic. I recently made a small vase and imprinted one of Leonie’s stencils on it and then coloured it with the glazes. Very pleased with it.

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