Removing excess clay from a pottery vessel after it has been thrown on a pottery wheel is called trimming. I worked on trimming the excess clay from my bowl using a Giffin grip. A Giffin grip centers your clay vessel on the pottery wheel. The alternative is to use small pieces of cylindrical clay that holds down the vessel on the wheel while you trim it.
The first step for me was to get the extra clay from the bottom of my bowl. I also trimmed the extra clay off of the walls of the bowl.
I decided that I wanted some feet on the bottom of my bowl. I did not want it to sit flat on a table because I plan to decorate it with glaze so that it can be a serving bowl.
I experimented with a number of different shapes for the feet, but finally decided on just some round balls that were slightly flattened. I made the ball small enough so that they really could not be seen when looking at the bowl from overhead.
I attached the balls to the bowl by scoring the bottom and adding a little “slip” to help glue it down. Slip is a mixture of clay and water with the consistency of glue.
My bowl is now ready to dry out to the bone dry stage so that it can be placed in the kiln for firing. Next week when I go to class, hopefully it will be bisque fired and ready for me to glaze. If it is not dry enough or if the teacher does not put it in the kiln, then I will work on another vessel. Stay tuned for future developments.
Enjoy your day.
