The Big Show and My Submissions

Maybe.
If they make it out of the kiln.
So it's like I should have started way earlier.
Sometimes though, inspiration just isn't there.
The feeling just isn't there.
Nothing is there.
Okay, not really.
Something is there, it's just not all there.
This is what I started with:



My usual bottle shape.
Then did another one, this time I thinned out the shoulder, so much so that it started to collapse then I got this:



This technique is also used to create double walled pots, usually done when you want to carve out a design on the outer wall.
I did another, sort of vase looking thingy with a small puka on top:



My modus operandi is usually to throw some forms on the wheel then alter them creating themed thingamajiggys, sometimes tea pots.
If you are new here, you can find some of my Unidentified Flying Teapots here and up at the top of the page.
So anyways, that was the plan, to make another variation of the UFT, but something happened on the way to the throwing wheel.
I got this bright idea, okay maybe not so bright after all, to do something different.
So I started in:



This is actually the first form above, only inverted so the pointy side is down. Unfortunately, because of the size of my kiln, I had to cut the top/bottom off so that it would fit with the cover on top.
The cover was thrown separately and then fitted and shaped.
The legs were attached with the help of the chuck, which is what the bottle form is sitting in.
I have no pictures but what happened is when the clay shrunk, it lifted the golf balls from the kiln shelf and two of them detached.
I should know better, but as I said I really wasn't feeling it with this one.
Anyways, I reattached the landing golf balls and stuck it into the kiln.
I'll let it dry there.
Looking back, I should have done something else to the form, not sure what but it's not very visually interesting.
Maybe I'll be inspired when I glaze.
The third form on top, I got to today.
I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but was not prepared to do it.
I need to set up better in the future and I'll be doing this one over.
I sort of hass affed it, making stuff up as I went along.
First I cut some grooves in it to create bands.
Then I stuck some round thingys on it to give it an industrial look:



The lid though needed more work, so I followed the same theme:



The plan was to leave it like that, with the narrow bottom, but after thinking about it, I decided no way would anyone set that up on a shelf like that!
So, I got a nozzle I had made earlier and attached it to the bottom to increase stability:



Not that it's very stable that way either, but it's a little better.
The second form I made, I decided to scrap:



The idea was to add a nozzle to the bottom of that also and add some landing gear like the first form, but I didn't like what I did with the grooves.
Looks like honey dipper or some kind of bell.
It was also really heavy, so I just set it aside.
I'll probably fire it, just to that I have a model to use next time.
Okay, so what's this all about?
Well, most of what I do on the wheel, we call vessels.
I mean they are containers, forms that are meant to carry things; vessels.
So I wanted to create some space looking vessels out of vessel shapes, only inverted.
I think the idea is still valid while my execution leaves something to be desired.
I actually started to feel it working on the last one, but since I am now behind schedule, and the clay was really dried out, there wasn't too much else for me to do.
Thinking back, I should have saved one of the UFTs as a backup piece, I mean I shouldn't have entered both into that other show, then I would have at least one finished work to go.
The rule is usually once your work is shown, you aren't supposed to enter it in another show, but there are some unscrupulous folks who do.
In my case, once a piece has been under the bright lights, I consider it dead, meaning it won't show again.
Over all, not my best effort for this, The Big Show, but these things just can't be forced out of me.
Somedays, you got it, some days you just find yourself lacking.
The other thing for me is that once I've done a theme or form, it gets really boring and repetitive to keep doing it.
I used to enter the same stuff all the time, but that got old fast.
Besides, part of making art is trying to stay cutting edge, going places you've never been and trying stuff you've never tried.
I'd rather fail at something new than succeed at something old.
Okay, not really for I do the old stuff really well so it's kinda fun to do over.
As long as I don't keep doing it over and over and over and over.
If you know what I mean.
So I'm going to fire this up tomorrow night and start glazing on Tuesday.
Stay tuned.