Peterson Art Center - Class #1

This place was so much smaller (shorter - only two stories) than I thought it would be, but the directions worked well, even though I got a bit mixed up (took the wrong exit and then realized that the paper I thought had the directions, didn't). Good thing I kind of knew how to find the main road and then called my sister to get the exact address! What did I do before cell phones and the internet?

There are only two students right now in the class. The teacher, Bill, reminds me of the librarian at the high school, how odd/funny is that? I think you'd probably have to know the hs librarian to understand, he's quite the interesting character! The other student is brand-new to throwing, but I must say, she picked it all up very quickly! After getting there, the teacher had us both watch him throw a bowl even though I had said I'd had two months of pottery classes. There were so many little techniques and tips that Bill taught us that I had perfect outcomes on all three bowls that I created today! Each one was centered easily (enough) and the tops were quite level without touching up until I went too fast on the third one. But even having to fix it and using the new tips/techniques, everything was perfect in the end!

At the beginning of the class we used a course, stoneware clay. It was stiffer than what I'm used to and a bit more difficult to throw, but all went well. Then he had us try the porcelain, which I've always wanted to try, but thought was difficult to work with. I LOVE porcelain!! It's is so soft, and silky. It just glides through your fingers! It still takes work to get it into the preferred shape, but so buttery that it's worth it! (And who doesn't like butter?) The glazes are also smoother when applied to porcelain. It's so elegant! I can just imagine a beautiful porcelain vase with a bunch of gorgeous tulips, amazing!! Plus, another attempt at the cupcake stand??? Definitely! Bill asked me what I wanted to learn to do and this is what I should've mentioned. I must remember that for next week!

Once we had decided which clay we preferred, we all headed down to the store room where boxes and boxes of 25 lb bags of clay were stacked two by two. Then we carried our new prized possessions (one 25 lb bag of porcelain each!) back up to the studio and used our own clay to throw the next bowl (my third and last of the day). I'm glad that I waited to see how the place worked instead of bringing my own. Our class is also the only one on Saturdays. There's an open lab, complete with instructor, for an extra 1.5 hours after class!

I'm so glad I chose to do this!!!

Perhaps there will be pictures next time!