The cat bowls are complete!

I was trying to make them a little more obviously flattened on the side that meets - right now if you see them individually they just look lopsided XD

At last night’s pottery session, after trimming the bottom of the large bowl I’d thrown a couple of weeks back,  half an hour of unsuccessful mug attempts and a failed cat grass dish, I gave up trying to do anything, grabbed a chunk of clay and just started playing.

I had a bio lab that was all about microscopy.  That probably sounds boring.  If it weren’t for the fact that I’m in the research-stream version of my cell and developmental biology class, it probably would have been.  As it happens, though, I am.  The awesome thing about being in the research stream is that you have really small classes, and Really Sweet Toys.  While the other classes have to use the crappy old microscopes, we get to use Totally Freaking Awesome microscopes.  Where they get an old jury-rigged TV setup for fluorescence microscopy, we get Real Lab Equipment.  Bliss, I tell you.  Sheer bliss.  So anyway, my lab partner and I spent a good portion of our morning geeking out over the gear.

Okay, so we were only looking at tomato leaves (and the fine hairs on the stems), but it was still pretty nice to work with microscopes that you can actually adjust properly.  Refreshing.  Also, it is rumoured that in a later lab this term, we get to remove the ovaries from a female Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as a fruit fly.  I have no idea how that’s going to work, but I’m hoping for a Honey-I-Shrunk-The-Kids sort of scenario.

In pottery news, I have a couple of pieces from last week to show off:

Jonathan immediately pointed out that the shape of the handle is reminiscent of the Pompeii mummies, so this shall henceforth be known as the Pompeii mug.  I can’t unsee it.

The interesting thing about this simple yellow cup is that I used no yellow glazes on it.  The yellow colour is actually from an interaction between two brown glazes.  It’s also (in my opinion) a nicer colour than any of the actual yellow glazes.

I learned a new skill tonight, too - I trimmed my first foot:

I’m so pleased with it that I think from now on I’ll be trimming all of my wheel-thrown pieces.  It makes such a big difference to the look of the piece.

Finally, I tried my hand at a larger bowl than any I’d attempted before.  The elbow got a bit thin, though, and it started to collapse.  I managed to collar it just enough to rescue the piece, but it’s a bit lopsided.  Still, I liked it well enough to set it aside to be trimmed next week.

I’m so terribly pleased with my latest pottery piece.  Pleased, and a bit shocked at how well it turned out.  This is my first attempt at a serving platter, and is also my largest piece thus far.  It constitutes 3 weekends of studio sessions, and is intended as a gift for my Aunt Janet, who is a collector of gorgeous pottery by artists so far my superior that I hesitate to call my work pottery at all.  Still, I think my poor little offering won’t be so outclassed as to shame me - after all, I’m still pretty new at this stuff

Do please click on the photos to view larger versions, I think the detail in the glaze is worth it!

In other news, holy cow is Anaïs ever ridiculously preggers!  Here she is at a local artisan show with some of her latest samples - she’s been moving away from the hardcore bike messenger market (though of course she still makes those amazing bags) and trying her hand at some kinder, gentler designs.

Pottery Night, starring Sophie, Kristien, Dad and Jef!

Dad shows off a shockingly good caricature of his brother:

I finished Xmas presents for my sister and mom:

Jef made some hilarious critters which I think he called skrogs:

Sophie directed:

…and also made a rather impressive little mouse in a house:

Afterward we ate too much Chinese food and Sophie taught Jef to play Pattycake:

The rest of the night went a lot like this: