Colorado Art Studio

Terracotta pinch pot cold finished with paint and beeswax

No decals to share today - maybe next post….  This pinch pot is a sample project that I made for my after school kid’s clay class and was inspired by the book  Finding One’s Way With Clay: Creating Pinched Pottery and Working With Colored Clayswritten by Paulus Berensohn.  I thought it would be a great project for my students whose ages range from 2nd - 5th grade.  I tried to make it a fun project by instructing the kids to animate their pots by adding noses and in some cases full blown faces on their pinch pots.

Terracotta nose pinch pot cold finished - my daughter's nose pot

I normally use low fire white earthenware for my kids classes and decided to mix it up and bring in a terracotta.  You should have seen the kids reactions!  Their whole clay knowledge base was turned upside down - they had no idea that clay comes in colors and of course I had lots of potty talk happening.  “Ewwww -  this clay looks like poop!” etc. etc. 

During our last class, we used acrylic paints to finish the pots and then sealed the exteriors with beeswax as an alternative to glazing since I won’t see the kids till mid January.  We planted grass seed in the pots - which should be fun if it grows.  The grass in my daughter’s pot is just now starting to sprout - I’ll post a follow up photo if it turns out. I think I’m going to make some more pinch pots - it was pretty satisfying.

Meanwhile, I added a Wordpress Plugin that allows user to edit their own comments now for a set period of time in the event of typos etc.  - if you have any problems with it, let me know.  I also recently upgraded to WP 2.7 which allows nested comments, but it’s not functional on my blog yet because I need to update my theme to be compatible with 2.7.  I just haven’t had the motivation to update it yet.

I have some errands to run right now so until later,

~Cynthia

Finding One's Way with Clay by Paulus Berensohn

One of the perks of being a member of the Colorado Potters Guild is being able to check books out of the library.  Finding One’s Way with Clay by Paulus Berensohn happened to catch my eye the other day and I have enjoyed reading and looking at all the photos in the book.  It’s an older book, but still available new and used.  I was just a lass of 6 years in 1972 when this book was first published!

I was looking for some project ideas I could make with the kids in my after school clay class and found a couple of interesting ideas in The Spirit of Clay by Piepenburg that involved pinching pots - so when I saw the cover of Berensohn’s book, I was captivated.  I have a fairly primitive studio & mobile studio, so his projects really appeal to me since hands and a few small tools are all that are required - no expensive, heavy or complicated  equipment needed.  I want to do make some humble pinch pots now.

One of the interesting things about the book is that it actually feels very current, which is why I keep double checking the publication date.  Additionally, the photography by True Kelly is fantastic (especially her artistic shots of Paulus) and lends a sort of timeless quality.  I did get a hippie vibe from the author and photos which is further confirmed after reading this 2007 interview published in The Harvard Crimson Magazine.

Meanwhile, I attended the semi-annual Colorado Potters Guild Potluck yesterday afternoon and enjoyed getting together with the other members socially.  Following lunch, we had our formal meeting and it was announced that I will be taking over the Guild’s website duties - yes, call me webmistress from now on.  ;)  I plan to vamp it up a tad and will be moving the site to a Wordpress Platform.  The project will be done slowly over the course of the winter - so no urgency.

On another note, ever want to know how your writing style stacks up with the Meyer’s Brigg Personality test?  Type your blog url into Typealyzer to find out.  I am apparently a ESFP - performer:

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

With that, I bid you adieu for today,

~Cynthia