Month: February 2015

Knowledge is Necessary!

| Teresa Craighead

In any artistic endeavor, two things are necessary: knowledge and practice! Working with porcelain is very challenging, as it requires different handling and different techniques than working with stoneware. I am learning these things in Antoinette’s Badenhorst’s online porcelain classes, and her instruction is making a huge difference in my porcelain throwing.

After her last lessons, I was able to throw a larger piece on the wheel than I have ever thrown before — because of understanding some vital basics about working with porcelain. (Her class is actually called “Understanding Porcelain”!)

able to throw after good instruction about porcelain!
able to throw this pitcher form after good instruction about porcelain!

Practice without knowledge just makes me better at doing something badly! Here is the same pitcher with a cup after cleaning up, carving and adding a handle:

carved pitcher and cup
carved pitcher and cup
from the top
from the top

 

Her class is only half over, and I am very excited about what I might be able to accomplish with more and more practice!

Gaining Courage

| Teresa Craighead

What is it about pushing our own boundaries that is so scary? I mean, who really cares whether the next pot I throw flops or works? Who cares if that next drawing I make is awful? Nobody but me will even see it. But … somehow … it feels as if the world depends upon me doing something perfectly, expertly, beautifully … what??

Too often I let fear inhibit, or even stop me, from doing something creative. What is that really about? I don’t even know. But I have found that joining with others in some sort of collective helps. I have taken a few online classes for pottery and drawing that have been of great benefit in helping me “just do it.”

Right now I am in an online porcelain class, offered by the extremely talented Antoinette Badenhorst, whose work in porcelain is absolutely stunning. Like this:

Gorgeous vase by Antoinette
Gorgeous vase by Antoinette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and this:

Screen Shot 2015-01-30 at 10.38.57 AM

Seriously, this woman is talented! And she’s a great instructor, too — providing excellent guidance as well as personal encouragement in her classes. This is my second class with her, and frankly, I’ll sign up for ANYTHING she offers, because I have learned so much about porcelain and how to handle it from her. I highly recommend her classes! You can find them here: Porcelain By Antoinette, and her Facebook page is also amazing!

One more:

one more!
one more!