Satisfying Curls of Clay

If you’d like to see how one of these types of jars is thrown, glazed, and reduction fired, that’s also the topic of my much longer YouTube video this week, a link to which you can find in my profile’s biography by tapping the Linktree. These stepped jars feel like monolithic objects, yes, akin to pillar boxes, like pointed out a few days ago, but they also feel like columns of sorts thanks to the ledge in the lid. The lid itself is monolithic too, it was thrown excessively large without much thought save for the internal vertical flange, the actual part that slots into the jar, all of this means I’ve got a good amount of clay to turn through until it’s carved back to a more appropriate shape, good thing clay is so recyclable, yet I think it does sometimes lead to lazy making. I’m using a whole heap of tungsten carbide trimmers in this video, made by various toolmakers, @sophisticated_pagan, @rd.pottery.tools @kjtoolsandglazes and @tortugatools. It’s funny, even with so many, each has its use for specific shapes and sections of these pots. I also, in my head, keep note of how sharp certain blades are, which can make them better or worse for certain processes. Devon’s, @sophisticated_pagan, trimmer is used for the initial pass when thinning the wall, it’s extremely sharp and when held steady and pressed in hard the clay curls away in beautiful small ribbons. Satisfying doesn’t quite do it justice.