Ugly Pot Siblings

Back in March I wrote a posting that highlighted a particularly ugly pot made during my post graduate school pottery class at the Cambridge Adult Education Center. My brief time in that studio was not a complete waste of time. I did actually make some pieces that I liked enough that they were never covertly abandoned at my parent's home.

This bowl still makes it's home in my kitchen cabinet and is frequently used for the dinner salad. I remember thinking as I made this hand built (as opposed to being wheel thrown) bowl, that I was soooo creative using fork tines to make the texture on the outside surface. How delusional I was, probably due to the fact that I was living on a diet consisting primarily of popcorn during my unemployed tenure. Regardless....I like this bowl. I think that I got the proportions right and I like how the foot elevates the bowl just enough to fully appreciate the curved form.

I used a shell to imprint texture on the inside surface. Unlike my ugly, dumpy pot, the glaze on this piece works for me. The colors and splashes of highlights always make me think of Cape Cod where I found the shell while visiting my Aunt and Uncle.

I made this bowl following a similar form, but tried a different technique by layering strips of clay. A wax resist was used on the vertical strips to help highlight the textural pattern with the glaze treatment. While I like the visual effect of the foot, I think I made it a smidge too high. This bowl is frequently used by my son as his popcorn bowl and it has fallen over more than a couple of times. I wish he would just choose another bowl, but I think he enjoys the challenge.