New Vase

I made another small pie pan with my leftover nabe clay. It was much harder this time around since the clay only had a few days to "rest" (ideally 2 weeks is best) so it was lumpy and inconsistent. I managed to make the pan, but it had thick spots. After carving it looked much better and it's hard to tell but it isn't a perfect circle like my first.

Here is a pic of it with the handles attached. For now it will dry in a box for a few days and then wait for bisque firing. My nabe clay is officially gone now but I sure got a lot out of 10kg.

1 large pie pan
1 small pie pan
2 s/m tea pots
1 small hot pot with lid




I also carved this small pitcher I made on Sunday. It's a mix of leftover clays, mostly red and black stone. I'll most likely use it as a sauce holder for dressings and such. I love the shape, very classic. One of the other students thought it was an American sized coffee cup until they saw the spout haha.






I still had 20kg of bizen clay left...and what's the best way to use it up quick? Making big vases!
Here is a bizen clay 5kg vase.

I originally was going for tall and lean but alas my vases never quite turn out how I want them to in the beginning. So of course I went with the flow and made a wide shorter style instead.





I made the top too thin so it started to flop, but before it turned for the worse I stopped and made it apart of the design instead. I actually really like how it turned out in the end and it was good wheel practice. The hard part is going to be carving this thing. It's a strange shape and will need a special long bucket or wood block to hold it up while I carve the bottom. I'll have to make a trip to the hardware and dollar store to find something.



This vase will skip bisque firing and go directly into the noborigama in October. Since I only have a month left until I leave the country this will not dry in time. Bizen also looks amazing without any glazing in the noborigama. So it seems I'll make a visit to Sarayama again when I return to Japan in Fall :)