Small teal, white and blue homemade pottery cup with five etched flowers, cup is on white windowsill with window in the background

small cup with floral etching

 

Welcome to my Free Inquiry Project, where I plan on developing my passion for pottery!

 

In the summer of 2019, I decided to take a few pottery lessons at Yunomi studio in downtown Victoria. I had wanted to take lessons for years, and with a push from my loving partner Graydon (aka shove) I bit the bullet. After my first class I was hooked. I really enjoy having a creative outlet to make something so beautiful with my hands. I love the challenging physical nature of needing to push and struggle to center clay on my wheel, but then have gentle movements to shape it. The studio has huge windows that let in natural light, and the owner Ann is friendly, supportive, incredibly knowledgeable and skilled. The first thing I made was a flower pot. It is very thick and a little lopsided, but it is still one of my favourite pieces as it shows me how far I have come. I have experimented with plates (fun), mugs (fun), bowls (fun), garlic pots (tricky as heck) and many others. Over the past spring, the studio was shut down for three months due to COVID, and I really missed having it in my weekly routine. Once Ann was able to reopen with excellent safety standards, I dove back in. Over the summer I have been working to get back to the level I was pre COVID, and I am ready to start getting more adventurous and creative with my pieces again.

Small flower pot. Inside is sunny yellow, outside is dark blue, 4 drainage holes in bottom of pot. Pot is on white windowsill.

The first piece of pottery I ever made was this chunky, lopsided flower pot

For my inquiry project, I am going to focus on expanding my knowledge and understanding of pottery in all aspects. I am going research pottery’s place in world history and culture, as well as locally on Vancouver Island. I plan on watching a ton of youtube to improve my techniques and to spark new ideas for design. I am looking into purchasing some of my own tools like a glaze pen, to enable me to draw more intricate designs in glaze on my pieces. For a more dedicated project, I have three goals:

Goal 1: Part of pottery practice is making several pieces as close to identical as you can, so I am going to make a set of 6 plates and a set of 5 flower pots. I made a set of plates early in my learning, so I am excited to try again with better skill. I also like to give flower pots as gifts, and I could store them easier if I made them more similar in size.

Goal 2: One of my closest friends is getting married in May 2021 in an intimate wedding on her parent’s property. She and her fiancée have requested a large bowl as their wedding present. Large pieces are very challenging due to the amount of clay to shape, as well as difficulties glazing. I have only made one before, so I am likely going to do one more test run and then attempt their bowl.

Goal 3: Make something brand new I have never tried before! I am not quite sure yet what this will be, but with advice from Ann and the internet, I am going to broaden my horizons and try something fresh.