Trimming my pots

After a couple of ugly thrown pots, I finally made one that I was reasonably satisfied with... :)

I finally managed to get the walls up to this height, and they didn't collapse on me... In addition, the walls seem to be of even thickness, which is much better than my previous pots...

So, after letting my pot dry until it is leather hard, the next step is to trim the pot... This is to cut off any excess clay, and to give the pot its final shape. I also have to trim the bottom of the pot to give it a foot...

This is my pot in the inverted position, with my trusty trimming tool... In order to trim well, the wheel has to spin relatively fast... which is a problem for me, because slow and steady is more my "pattern"... but I summed up my courage and pressed hard on the foot pedal and just prayed for the best...


As you can see, the scraps of clay flew all over the place... Fortunately I didn't make a hole in the pot while trimming...

And here is the end result (the pot is the one in the centre):


The other two pots in the photo are from my first few tries... they are shorter because the walls came up uneven (one edge was higher than the other) and had to be cut off from the top... the walls are rather thick too, which makes in chunky, and not as attractive... I suppose I will use them to practise carving and glazing...

After trimming, the next step will be to bisque fire the pots, and then to glaze them... will probably do that next week...