handmade

Social Distance Walking

I’m lucky in that I can walk out my door and head up the hill for a walk, and I rarely encounter anyone else.

Today, I was passed by one car and was otherwise completely alone. It was a beautiful spring day after a day of rain and the mountain was lush. Several times on my way up I could smell the wild boars that must have been lurking nearby quietly. I don’t worry about them. The only time I ever see one is when they jump up to run away when I get too close on the road.

The road is roped off now, because of a landslide that damaged the road higher up, but it’s no problem for walkers to go through.

The hill slid out from under, taking half the road with it.
Another area where a slide has taken down some trees.
Some other sights from the walk. The view from the mountain, some thistles at the side of the road, a slide which has exposed some clay, and a cantankerous snake.

A very nice walk, and a nice clay discovery, I’ll be heading up again from the other side in my car to get some for pots and glaze.

Slab plates

This is one way I make slab plates. I posted the pictures to FB but am reposting here with descriptions of each step. You can adjust the steps if your clay is more or less forgiving than mine. 

First cut slabs and let them rest overnight to stiffen up some. These slabs are 10mm thick. 


Trim the slab with an undercut bevel, and save the trimmed edges. 


Sprinkle something on your form to prevent the clay from sticking. I use corn starch. 

Place the trimmed slab bevel side down on your form and paddle it THOROUGHLY, from center to edge, then once more evenly all over.  You can use whatever you want as a paddle, here I used a sandbag, but I usually use a wooden paddle. 


Place the trimmed edges you saved back on the paddled slab, followed by a paper towel or other cloth, and your board. Turn over the form to release the slab onto the board. 


Press the center of the slab down gently and let the edge pieces support the edge of the plate. While supporting the edge with one hand, use the other to define a concavity in the bevel with a convex tool. Anything convex and with a curve you like will work. I used a little ball here. Sometimes I use a rib, sometimes a roller, sometimes a clamshell. I like rollers and balls because they compress the edge well. 


Finish and further compress the edge with a damp (not wet) chamois or sponge. Done!