Happy One Year Blogging !!!!

It has been a year since I started blogging... It began with my thought of sharing with others my journey as a potter. without planning it turned out to be an important tool, helping me to view my work, my rhythm and my deeper thoughts about pottery. Hearing some of your voices and comments throughout this year has given me great joy.

It is not always easy juggling between the importance of being in the moment with your work at the studio and between stopping, arranging and taking a photograph of it for others to share, but I am full of motivation to carry on some more...

These are days of celebration for many people around the world. For us, today is the first day of chanuka and we will be lighting the first candle.

May all your days be happy and filled with light and love ...

Hand Building

Some small hand built plates, I'm thinking some glass combined with the glaze.

Testing

Some more test tiles, stoneware and porcelain, waiting for the next firing.

Working Small

I have noticed that when I began my pottery studies I was working with little clay creating naturally only small pots as a beginner. With time the pieces have grown gradually, but as they did I stopped making small ones. last week I decided to go back and make some small boxes made out of 200-500 grams. It was a good experience and I now understand I should play more with different sizes creating a variety of small, medium and large pieces.

Timing

So far it has been a warm and sunny winter with very little rain. A batch of mug handles has dried up too fast, by the time I began attaching them it was too late, I had to start again and make a fresh batch - timing is important.

Another Raku Firing

This tuseday another Raku firing at Amnon Israeli's studio together with Leonid Gosin.
Some spiral bowls of Leonid, some beutifull bottels of Amnon and some testers and tea cups of mine.

Turning Bat

Instead of turning the pot strait on the wheel and holding it with lumps of clay, you can stick a flat sponge on a bat and turn strait on it, it saves time and you can easily pick up the pot to check during the turning.

A Safe Working Environment

As my studio was built on rented land, we had an agreement with our landlady that no permanent floor be put in. So up to now I have been using mats as the floor to the studio and I could not truly clean it as good as it should be, taking in account the danger of breathing the dust of a pottery. So yet another investment was put in a pvc plastic mat that I could just hose down. I'm aware that pvc has its problems but for now it is a definite improvement in my work space. these are before and after pictures of the studio...

Space Management

I found out with time that maneging the space you work in is an important part of being a potter. These last days I've been busy reorganizing the studio: putting up more selves, cutting the table in half in order to fit in a second wheel, and generally creating more space in the studio. One of the things I'm exited about is taking all my glaze tests down from the shelves and hanging them up - they now take less shelf space they are even aesthetic to look at, and if you move them they even make a nice sound.

A Gift From Japan

Last week I was not feeling so well, I think it has to do with the circle of seasons, the circle of creating and my inner rhythm. Some times they are not synchronized and I just fall and have to stop. So It made me so happy getting a parcel from Japan sent by my friend Yoshiko. They are cocoon dolls hand made from paper, and they have a heavy center of gravity so they don't fall!! I tried pushing them down but they just kept coming back up! It's a good reminder in times of weakness... as soon as I'll get my center stronger I will just pop back up - Thanks again Yoshiko, and also for the Japanese sweets (picture of boxes) -to remind me how sweet life can be....