Throwing with Newly Pugged Clay

planter with COVID-like bumps (in progress)

I'm pretty excited about this: I got into the studio a few days over the last few weeks! Incredibly, this is the first time I've gotten to throw with pugged clay (even though I got the pug mill in December!)

extruded mugs made with the pug mill extruder

 

Over the 8-day spring break (Monday through Tuesday this year), I was able to get into the studio to clean, glaze, and pack some pieces for shipping. The stuff I was glazing included a lot of pieces that I had made for student demos during Winter quarter, as well as some mugs I had made testing out the extruder on my pug mill. 

Cone 6 glazed stuff from Winter

Most of the work I made for class demos was done with my recycled pugged clay from home, which I was able to test to check that it can be fired to cone 6. I haven't been using this batch of cone 6 glazes much, especially for layering with sculptures, so I consider these tests of this application approach with these glazes.

low fire glazed sculpture from ??

I also finally glazed this sculpture that's been hanging around for maybe a year. This is a low fire body (at least I think it is). This piece has underglazes on it and has been through at least a couple of firings already. It will be nice to finally finish it.  In fact, getting through my whole backlog of unfinished work felt like a nice way to start the break/spring quarter.

COVID balls from spring break

I also made some new covid bulbs. I wanted to experiment with adding some texture, using some different glazes and trying out slightly different shapes for the bits that stick out. The round attachments are much easier and more pleasant to make, but I tried some triangular shapes to more closely match the familiar COVID image that we're all used to.

thrown mugs (in progress)

I threw a bit this week with my newly pugged clay. It throws really nicely--what a difference from the merely wedged clay--even though it isn't actually a throwing body. I did have to pick out some tiny acorns, which tells you about my inconsistent previous process for clay recycling. 

planter and mugs (in progress)

I hadn't thrown in 6 months, since I'm not teaching a wheel class anymore (the wheel doesn't translate to online as well as some other classes and media). This long time of not throwing feels very strange, so it was nice to get back on the wheel, if only in the brief time between class and dinner. I threw a few mugs and a couple of small planters. (Gallery One is having a planter fundraiser and I'm half thinking that I might have these ready for that.) 

last summer's COVID mug

The idea for these mugs/planters is to add some COVID-like decoration. I like the mug I made last year, but its fairly fragile (and awkward), so I reduced the depth of both the balls and the attachments. As with any new idea, I think my execution is intermediate right now; I'm not totally happy with what I've got. Next time I throw these, I'll space the bumps a little differently. I'm also considering using the triangle attachments instead of the round, though they aren't quite where I'd like them to be yet.