Out of Two Lumps of Clay

With two lumps of clay, some water, a wheel, heat, glaze and much instruction from an excellent teacher, I present to you my first hand crafted ceramic projects.

Why pottery? I think I was drawn to this particular medium because it is both artistic and functional. Or maybe I watched this scene from Ghost one too many times.

A quick Google search made it clear that the Marian Heintz Pottery Studio was the place to go in Chattanooga for a wheel thrown pottery class. Marian had excellent reviews and an easy, affordable class schedule.

On a Saturday morning in late February, I went to her studio in Brainerd and was greeted by this little guy as I checked in.

Wren the Cat.

Cats aside, the class had six participants which I felt gave everyone enough one on one time with Marian and created a fun atmosphere for us all to compare projects.

In the beginning stages, you have to build the clay up and bring it back down for internal strength.

I'll let you decide what this looks like.

Here's the up:

And here's the down.

And then you get to shaping. Wheel thrown pottery is a balance of keeping the clay wet but not too wet, the speed of your wheel and the pressure and direction of your hands.

A cup and a bowl were our goals for the day. Unfortunately, I clipped the top of the clay off on the down on the bowl. It's a pretty tiny bowl. I'll put blueberries in it or use it as a jewelry catcher.

As you can imagine, the bowl was a little more challenging to shape, but I feel like it came out better than my cup other than its tiny size.

The class lasted about three hours, and we left our works of art to be fired and glazed a couple of times to create a smooth, bold color and finish.

Marian helping a girl out.

Unfortunately, my poor little bowl had another slight accident in the kiln when a piece (probably a handle from a mug) fell off and landed in my bowl while it was being cooked. Marian popped it out and sanded the little imperfections down. The consummate professional, Marian offered for me to come back and make another bowl at my convenience. I'll take her up on that, and I love the bowl-imperfections and all.

Would I do pottery again? Absolutely! Would I recommend Marian's studio? No doubt. If you've visited Hutton & Smith Brewing Company here in Chattanooga, you've seen or maybe even drank out of her work.

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