Bucket List Item

The first half of the set, glazed.

Ever since I first learned how to do pottery, way back in 1969, I have wanted to make a set of dishes. Making a set of anything in pottery presents the challenge of uniformity.  One must make plates and bowls of similar size and shape so that the set makes sense and stacks well.  One must design it in such a way that the function remains while the decoration is still pleasing.  Glazes must be food-safe and the dishes themselves should be able to go through the dishwasher.  No pits or indentations should trap food.  The set should go into the microwave without issue.  The dishes must be durable.

I've done it!

It just took me a lifetime but I've completed a full set for my daughter.  I still have some glazing to do on the bowls, plates and mugs but that will be done by this weekend.  Last summer I delivered the luncheon plates, soup mugs and serving items, shown here.  This summer I'll take the coffee mugs, dinner plates, and two sizes of bowls.  My daughter, like me, makes many soups and stews.  The bigger

The second half of the set, as yet, still unglazed.

bowls will work nicely for those and the tiny bowls are so handy for desserts, cooking prep and more.

At 19 I did not have the skills to pull this off.  Today I do.  For that, I thank my former teachers, especially Gary Clontz.

The Great Crafts Project

 As a homeschooling project I taught my granddaughter to make ceramic plates and trinkets.  She's learned math, English, a little chemistry, and a lot of problem-solving!

Fat Cat

Here's a nice, fat, yellow cat for you!  Another item from the granbeanie collection.  Will be on sale at the Saturday Market on the River in Augusta, GA, May 2.

I'll have a few pots there, just some glaze tests and small items to help round out her work.  I'm looking forward to the summer when I can work a little more on my pottery ;-)

Passing on pottery

Now that I'm partially retired I am doing pottery more as a teacher to my granddaughter than as a fulltime potter.  I like to think of it as passing on a very old skill to a new generation.  Even if she chooses never to take up the craft herself, she will always know what it means to make something from the earth with her own hands. I can't help but think that will serve her well.  Here are some of her pots.