Hobbies

For years Jeff has been urging me to get a hobby. I am not a scrapbooker; I don't sew. Can reading children's books be a hobby? Cooking desserts? I have been telling him that his hobbies take up the money, and so if I had a hobby it would need to be low cost, or free. For Christmas he decided to gift me a hobby. It was arranged and paid for that I could take some pottery classes at the local rec center. It was supposed to be an escape from the kids once a week and time for me to do something for myself.

Well, after this job situation occured I felt guilty for still going. That money could be used for something else. But Jeff insisted that I still go- it was my Christmas present. I am so glad that I did! It has been an escape from reality and a chance to do something new. The last time I worked with clay I was in elementary school making a coil ashtray for a dad who doesn't smoke. Needless to say, my skills were a little rusty. I have been thrust into the world of pottery- with all of its wheels, terracotta, glazes, kilns, and tools. It has been fun.

This is a picture of my first success. I made a bowl and glazed it blue with clear on the bottom. We have been working with terracotta and it really is beautiful. I will be eating my cereal out of this bowl for a long time.

My next success has yet to be fired or glazed. But it is s sort of candy dish, or salsa bowl. Small, yet more balanced with thinner sides than the first success.

One of the unexpected side effects from all this terracotta is the awesome "just been playing with sunless tanner on your hands and forgot to wash it off" look that stays for days after class is over. The orange glow is killer- especially stuck in all the dry cracks around knuckles, and around the fingernails. And yes, this is after repeated washings.

Class is held in a state-of-the-art facility built in the fifties. The floor is black and white checkerboard, the sinks only run cold water, the room has no heat, old, drafty, single-paned windows line one wall, we recently got some paper towels (but still no soap), and there are always two kids indoor soccer games going on outside the very un-airtight door to the classroom. Sometimes I forget about the soccer and think they are cheering for me. Yay! I made a bowl!

This is my awesome teacher Katie. And some of my classmates at the pottery wheels making cool stuff. And here is me also. I needed proof of me being there since some people don't believe that I am actually doing this.

So I guess the question to be left for another post is- Will I keep this as a hobby? We shall see. Next week is my last class. I am hoping to make something other than a bowl. Maybe a gravy boat, or a plate. Vases are just way past my skill level at this point. Wish me luck.