Thursday, August 31, 2017

My Novel Freshman Experience, Part Five


In Which I Finally Get to Play With Clay!!


Today, we went over notes for our first test next week. Uh, my first graded test in...uh...well, a lot of years.  I feel pretty good.  I'd already read the material and knew a few things already. 



One of the sections in the reading was a short story on the evolution of pottery.  The first storage containers were baskets. Been there done that, wove the baskets...literally.  That means I am learning my crafts in order.  LOL  Here are a few of my baskets.  

 The one up above—with the coffee cup in the background (you're not surprised, are you?)—is one of the most useful ones I've made.  It's the perfect size for holding magazines.


Okay, so today, we started making pinch pots.  Our first assignment is to make one asymmetrical and one symmetrical cup.  The one on the right is obviously my asymmetrical one.  It looks rather like a heart, but that indent makes it easy to pick up.  Let's see how it fires.  The one on the far right is a plain cup that fulfilled the assignment.  But (oh, man is this a fun but!!) we're allowed to experiment and make what we want...so I did a second one. I'd picked up an acorn on my walk up to school.  Those indents in the center one are acorn caps imprints.  Again, no idea how these will dry and fire, but they weren't too bad.  Next class, I'm pinching a Kiln God...well, that was the assignment, but mine is going to be a Kiln Goddess.  I've already got an idea!

The studio is open and available a lot during the week.  I suspect I'll be up there as often as I can squeeze out the time! 

Oh, my glee is complete...yep, I've go Pottery Glee!

Holly


If you've missed any Novel Experience posts, you can find them here...
Part FourPart ThreePart TwoPart One

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

My Novel Freshman Experience...Part. Four


Making Clay and a Trip to a Gallery


Today was my second class.  We made clay.  Well, there was a lot of clay already ready in the studio, so we watched a batch being made.  If you've ever made bread, there were similarities.  The class has a "recipe." You simply follow it, bag it and it's good to go.

So it was a quick class. 

We had to visit a local gallery before Thursday's class.  I have a buddy visiting today...so he came along.  I love that I got to introduce him to an art gallery!  His favorite part of the exhibit was the nature pictures.  The turtle especially.




Me?  I really enjoyed the bird teapot.  I like the action of the bird and the function of the piece (I have a nice sized teapot collection).  I've been reading ahead and reading extra (I know, me read? Go figure! LOL) and have been giving the idea of themes in my pottery some thought.  There are definitely themes in my writing...love (of course LOL) and family are pretty blatant.  That idea of Family First runs pretty strong as well.  Toss in a bit of science, some crafty stuff and green bits (I will always be proud of working organic food, a dual-flush toilet and compost pile into books!) ...well, you can see a lot of me in my books.  I want people to see "me" in my pottery as well.  So I've been thinking about it.  I think I'll be concentrating on women and nature themes.  The women part makes sense.  I've built my many and varied jobs on women.  Lactation consulting, working with teen moms, and even my writing is mainly for women (but hey, to my male readers, you know I adore you).  We have a kiln god assignment coming up.  Since I've been reading ahead, I've been mulling some of the projects and I've got some ideas...I have to run them by Prof. H, but I'll tell you about my kiln god idea after I've run it by him.  I think it's simple enough for a novice to do okay with, but I think it fits my themes well as well as fulfills the assignment requirement.

Today's visit falls into another of my Days of Beauty (DOB1DOB 2).  I've had a few of them in the last few months.  I have never been an art expert, though I've always known what I enjoy.  I feel as if I've been broadening my horizons as I visit the Erie Art Museum more often—I've found so much enjoyment there.  I enjoyed today's visit to The Mercyhurst Cumming's Gallery as well.  The pieces were lovely!!  

Thanks for everyone who started following my blog to see what happens next.  I'm truly hoping you all try something new sometime soon.  You might find a new passion, or not. But learning something new is never wasted time.  I have no idea if I'll be a ceramic ace, or flop, but no matter what, so far, I've enjoyed every moment!

Holly
If you've missed any Novel Experience posts, you can find them here...
Part Three, Part Two, Part One





Thursday, August 24, 2017

My Novel Freshman Experience...Part 3 The First Day of School.

Bestseller's List

I'm not Holly the author this morning, but rather Holly the student.  Yes today was my first day of school in decades.  Oh, I've had classes, but not ones where I would be graded.  Not one that came with a syllabus, tests and project deadlines.  And not one where I anticipated being the oldest student (I wasn't).  I've always taken  pics of the kids' first day of school, so in all fairness, here's mine...




I'll confess, I mainly loved school (except chemistry and I still maintain it was more a teaching issue than me) and I tend was always addicted to the new book smell that first day, but there was no book requirement for the class, just a hefty handout along with the syllabus. Though I didn't have that new book smell, it was clear and concise as it laid out assignments and requirements.  I'll be making a pinch, a coil, a dwelling, a shoe/boot and a narrative sculpture (or teapot).  I know you all will be shocked to know how utterly excited I am.  (Yes, because I'm known for my calm, unflappable demeanor, right?? LOL)

Here's the studio...



The professor (you know how I feel about people's privacy, so he'll just be Prof. H. here this term) was very nice as he walked us through the term, his expectations and the class requirements.

Let's not mention to the other students, but I'm sort of jazzed that we're doing a class presentation on a ceramic artist.  I'll confess, I'm inspired by Susan Shie, though she's not a ceramic artist.  I saw her presentation at the Erie Art Museum and blogged about it here.  I loved how she turned her textile art into a narrative. I already know that I want to find someone doing something like that in ceramic arts.  Anyway, I'm going hunting for my subject.  I'll report back.

I know I'm going back for purely enrichment reasons, but I also know that many people go back to school out of necessity.  If you're considering going back and you're nervous, don't be.  My university has been amazeballs.  The adult ed people were totally helpful and though I know I'm only one day in, so far so good!  I'll keep you updated as the term goes on!

If you want to follow my back to school adventures, there's a follow by email to the right you can sign up at!!

And in case you missed them, here are links to My Novel Freshman Experience  Part 1, Part 2.

Holly

PS.

Just One Thing
I wrote about pottery in Just One Thing.  Someone who is a potter asked if I did pottery because of this scene...
            It felt good to be back at the wheel. This was my true talent—my true art. I learned about and dabbled with other mediums, but pottery . . . I don’t know that I can describe it, but it’s home. There’s something so primal, so tactile about wedging the clay, a sort of kneading motion. Then shaping it into a ball and placing it in the center of the batt.
           
But what I really love is the forming of the object. What was once a lump of clay, through the power of my hands and inner vision, becomes something else entirely. A bowl. A plate. A vase. Some might say there’s more artistry in the glazing, but to my mind that’s just the frosting. It’s the pottery itself that’s the heart of the creation.

A bonus scene...my potter heroine's Halloween costume.


             I took off my jacket, untied my striped scarf, and let my wild, teased hair loose. Then I carefully put my glasses on and took the unglazed clay pot out of my bag.
            “Harry Potter?” Jerry asked.
            “No, she’s a Hairy Potter. H-A-I-R-Y.” Jerry looked confused so Sam explained. “She does pottery. She’s a potter.”
            “But there are no universal potters I could think of, so I went for—”
            “A hairy potter,” Jerry finished. “That’s a good one.”

            “Well, it’s only good if people know I made pottery. Otherwise, it requires an explanation.”