Sort of Epic, Gift Shop Opens

Today started off epic, but sadly, clouds converged over Flat Tire country and the day turned drab and grey.
I went off to grab some video, but the light changed,the weather changed, and my mood changed, so I headed back home to get started on some Holiday Cheer.
With only twenty days left until the day of giving, I figured I better get going.
The Evil Hoku came over a couple of days ago and started up.
He was coming over today to finish his stuff so I pulled out the ole Merry Wheel and set things turning.
I did some mugs for some co-workers and a bowl for my nephew:



Of course that's not how they look finished.
Evil Hoku kindly demonstrated how to trim a thrown pot on the wheel.
First you cut the bowl/whatever off the bat. The bat is thing the clay sits on while you work it on the wheel. Take said bowl, turn it upside down and recenter it back on the wheel head:



Then you spin that wheel up and start removing excess clay. The foot of the bowl or pot is set at this time. Oh, the pot is held to wheel by lumps of clay.
Let those trimmings fly!



When doing bowls, you try to match the bottom center of the bowl to the curve of the lower shoulder. Do your best not to break up that curve:



Voila! Evil Hoku is a pretty good potter, for a photo major:



The stuff we did today has to dry out for a couple of days before they get thrown in the kiln for a bisque firing. My kiln is small, so I'm going to have to stack them in there:



Then again, if the elves get really busy this year, I may have to fire up The Beast:



I'm a little afraid of firing The Beast up for it's old and a bit leaky so it may take like 3.5 GAGILLION watts of electricity in order for that thing to hit temperature.
Anyways, that's only the bisque, after that the pieces are glazed and fired again.
This is only low fire clay, stuff I'm not really used to working with and firing. The clay is only fired to eighteen hundred degrees and some change. High fire clay, which I usually work with is fired to about twenty four hundred.
I'm a cone 10 kind of guy.
The main difference is in the glazes. I'll post some pics of low fire and high fire stuff later.
We should get this stuff fired and glazed by next week. By then another load will be ready and the process starts over again.
The Gift Shop is open.