Tue Jul 30
Baby Blue Penguin
The first jar I made was also the smallest. It fits into the palm of your hand and holds a pair of tiny hoop earrings.
Making this jar was the result of wanting to learn how to make lids that fit by throwing everything in one piece. I spent a long time trying to make a closed form on the wheel, slicing off wobbly tops until I ended up with a small hollowed dome of clay.
Since it was my first attempt, I didn’t bother shaping it into a cylinder before making an indent with the back of a wooden chopstick. A few days later, I trimmed the lid’s flange and both sides of the jar’s bottom.
When sculpting on the pieces, I went with a familiar design based off my past duck and penguin planters. I also added a little fish to the inside of the jar. Muscle memory took over and before I knew it, baby blue penguin was born!
Since this was the first jar I sculpted at home rather than in the studio after moving to the states, I realized that I could start making more complex pieces again. The studio closed too early for me to sculpt or paint without feeling rushed so I’ve been making simpler forms for the past year.
With this first jar, I was excited to set up a home studio for handbuilding and painting so that I could do pottery every day of the week if I wanted to.
It actually took a couple tries to get the glazing done right on this penguin. Since this was my favourite, I saved this one to be glaze fired last so that I could learn from my mistakes with other jars. I made sure to leave a 2mm gap at the bottom of the lid to be glaze-free. Since the lid is smaller than the body in circumference, I used a pencil to trace where the lids sits so that I could apply a very clean band of wax. I messed this up the first time and only realized my mistake after dipping it in glaze. The unglazed area was too wide and uneven.
Lots of lessons learned and here’s to many more!
