
I am still trying to find a new balance between working, dyeing, walking and doing the things that I also enjoy doing.
It was a very long day yesterday and I really wanted to skip my pottery class, but the class structure is a tightly scheduled group of classes and if you miss one you will never be finished, so of course I went….and I had a lot of fun.
The group of woman in my glass are great. We spend a lot of time laughing and helping each other learn this process. Sometimes with grace, but most times not. It is playing in mud after all.
Our teacher is a little older than my oldest daughter Stacey and her dad has plowed our driveway for at least 15 years. How I ended up in her pottery class is a strange coincidence in itself. This is a small community that we live in so you almost always know someone who knows someone if you know what I mean.
Well, last night, our teacher, Jennie was worried about one of her chickens who had been attacked by a neighbor dog. (too long of a story for this post), so knowing that the Vet I am working with also attends one of her classes on a different night, I encouraged her to call him. After much discussion, she finally called him and felt much better afterwards knowing that she could bring her chicken, who really is a much loved member of her family in to be looked at the next day if she felt she needed to be seen. (who knew a chicken could be a pet…not me?)
Now this chicken is named Nina Simone, so when I saw her name pop up on my computer screen the next day I had to chuckle. It definitely was different seeing a chicken on the operating table in the surgery area, but she came through with flying colors and will live to cluck another tale or two. Heck, she behaved better than a lot of dogs!

With each class comes new growth. I love the glaze on this bowl, but If you look at it closely you can see that it is a bit thick and if you lift it, it is a bit heavier than you would want it to be. One of the things I really wanted to concentrate on in this round of classes was to get a more consistent and thinner wall and on a few of my pieces I succeeded.
The batter bowl and the coffee mug were my successes.
Now we will see if I can not ruin them when I glaze them next week.
I love new challenges and pottery has really helped me to stretch my brain. I have really grown to appreciate the talent of true pottery artists!
My now husband (we were still dating then) and I took a pottery class and I refer to our creations as hurricane pots. I would love to take another class (after all these years) in part because the clay provided to us had a lot of smutz in it and was tough to work with. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Absolutely stunning bowl. Your work is beautiful. And I love the glazes on that bowl!
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Can I just say – you are being too critical! Seriously. Go look at the pottery that is being sold out there and you will see that yours is wonderful. I think it was meant to be for you to be in that class at that time so that you could get Nina Simone the help she needed.(Although, I can’t imagine paying what that bill must have been for a . . . chicken. LOL)
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The reward is in the creation of the bowl, not its perfection. Someday I shall pursue this art, too. Can I tell you how happy I am to know there is a chicken out there named Nina Simone? It makes my heart sing. LOL
Happy Thanksgiving, girlfriend!!!
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Control comes with time, and practice, just like with knitting and spinning and weaving! You are looking good.
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What a beautiful piece! Love the glaze on it. Glad Nina Simone is on the mend. She’ll be repaying her owners back in eggs donations.
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I know several people who have pet chickens! So I shared your post with my chicken-loving friends, my pottery-loving friends and my fiber-loving friends, too. Very good story.
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So glad you went to class! Not only because Nina Simone needed you . . . but also because art is such a powerful force at keeping our lives in balance! Your pottery is beautiful. 🙂
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