20. Using a Potter's Wheel
As a preschool teacher, I often play with clay. I love the silky feel of it, the way it holds your pinches and pulls, even its play-in-the-dirt messiness. But I had never used a potter’s wheel, and imagined a zen-like experience as my hands connected with the spinning clay.
Not exactly.
Throwing a pot requires many steps. You have to center it and hold it just right to stop it from wobbling; then poke your fingers in the middle, just so, to open it up. Then you have to hold it - not too tightly - and pull the sides up. All of this while continually dousing it with water.
Once your pot looks somewhat pot-like (and of the nine of us in the class, very few got to this point on the first try), you use a tool to remove excess clay from the bottom and sides, sponge away the moisture from the inside and outside, and use the sponge to smooth the rim. Then you use a wire tool to slice through the bottom, severing it from the wheel, and try, gingerly, to lift it off without smooshing it.
This pretty much sums it up:
It takes many months, if not years, I think, of practice, to get these steps so in your body that using the wheel becomes a meditative experience.
My second attempt.
My daughter joined me for this one. Her verdict? “It’s hard!”
We took a BYOB Pottery Class at Voice of Clay in Brookline, NH. When I bought the Groupon for the class, I thought, “Great! Brookline’s easy to get to.” A couple of weeks later I looked at the fine print and realized that Voice of Clay is not in Brookline, MA, (close to where we live), but over an hour away in NH. Oh well; as a new permit holder, my daughter was happy to make the drive.
With instructor Peter
At Voice of Clay, our instructor, Peter, explained and demonstrated each step, then set us up in pairs at the wheels. He was there to help when needed, and most of us needed a lot of help.
I made two pots. The first pathetic, lopsided attempt had walls so thin you could blow them in; the second attempt proved only slightly better. The people at Voice of Clay will fire your bowls for you for an extra $10 and you can pick them up in a week or two, but we decided to throw ours back in the pile. Smashing them felt weirdly satisfying.
If you’re interested in trying out a wheel and Brookline, NH, isn’t too far from you, the BYOB class at Voice of Clay is a great intro. As their website says, it’s all about the experience of using the wheel; you can’t expect to produce a masterpiece the first time out. They also a offer a variety of more in-depth group and private classes.
While I always thought using a potter’s wheel would be my kind of thing - and while we had a lot of fun at the class - it’s not something I’ll dive into after this adventure quest is over. Loving that I’m trying things out and learning what sparks my interest and what I’m willing to put aside.
Voice of Clay, Brookline, NH: BYOB Pottery Class (ages 16 and over), $45. I had a Groupon so paid $28 each.
