45. Back to work

End of April 2009 : Half of the pottery studio is now in working order. I am breaking chunks of dry clay with a heavy hammer to soak them in a large bin in order to be able to use that clay again. Then I spread that mud on a plastic sheet on my work bench and wait for a few days until it has the right consistency. I knead this stuff into balls ready to use on the potter's wheel.

With 2.2 kg of red clay I threw the top part of a fruit bowl and with 0.9 kg I threw the foot of the fruit bowl. The next day I put the two parts together and spread a cover coat of white clay in the inside of the fruit bowl. A day later again, with the tip of a wooden tool, I carved a phrase taken from 'Alice In Wonderland'. Scratching the white cover coat, it made the red clay appear in the writing. That's it.

Now it is drying on a shelf until further notice, i.e. when it looks and feels very dry. It would then need to be 'bisque' fired but since I don't have a kiln any more... don't know what I'll do!!