Gary's Third Pottery Blog

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Gary's third pottery blog

WRITE TO ME! garyrith@yahoo.com Come see me! Open studio HERE! November 25-26 (11-4 each day); Aurora Art and Design, daily until 12/24; Cooperstown Art Assoc. daily until 12/24; Ellis Hollow Community Fair, 12/10; December 10, Little Red Wagon at the Space at Greenstar. All material on this blog unless stated otherwise is copyright Gary Edward Rith 2016

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

my dog ate my...FOUR LEAF clover!


Almost!  I found this pretty four leaf clover at the bottom of our steps, and was showing it to Penny, who, being a beagle, was like "CHOMP"..but it, and my luck, survived :)  Some of you will remember that I have a hobby of finding four leaf clovers, and although I stopped counting a couple years ago when I had found 500 in my lifetime, I still find quite a few...this is the second or third of the year so far...
In other news, you see below a mug shape from 12 years ago and on the right, a mug from yesterday.  It is VERY hard to do what I want here, the little foot like that?  The one on the left is an old favorite mug of mine, also the first time I put a pig on a handle like that--and it was made in 2 parts.  But the cup on the right....I finally thought "if I make it backwards, I bet I can do get the shape I want this time" and it is made in one piece, and what I did this time, in working backwards, is form the TOP first, then work on the bottom.  AH HA! That did it! So I made more, including a matching teapot, to finish today...


You might need an elaborate elephant teapot for your kitchen! For sale now at my etsy gallery!
elephant teapot

11 comments:

Joe Troncale said...

Nice forms as always! Nice use of the new handles...
I didn't understand about making the cup from top to bottom, however. Maybe you could "SPLAIN" it to me.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

I formed the V, which is the upper 2/3 of the cup, then the base after that, by choking it in etc. I have always formed the base first then tried to form the V, which for some reason I have found difficult :)

Barbara Rogers said...

Nice form, and good idea to do top down...can't wait to see the fired version! Glad to know a four-leaf clover finder. You are certainly a lucky guy!

Michèle Hastings said...

nice shape, great idea to work backwards.
we had a four leaf clover patch in our backyard a couple of weeks ago. Jeff kept bringing them in and we had them in little vases all over the kitchen. he also tucked one inside our receipt book for good luck ;-)

Busy Bee Suz said...

Well, I'd say you are the luckiest guy I know! Penny just wanted a little lucky nibble. :)
I do love the shape of those mugs.

Claudia from Idiot's Kitchen said...

If Penny had eaten that clover, she would have been a lucky dog!

smartcat said...

I think Penny was contemplating her luck.

Nice mug....smart way to make it.

I'll try to stay away from making remarks about rolling in clover....maybe!

Lori Buff said...

My goblets are similar to those mugs, they ARE difficult and have tendency towards warping and cracking. The mugs look really great and should be worth the effort.

Joe Troncale said...

Thanks for the feedback. I have to try doing it now, just to take the "Gary Rith Throwing Challenge!"
I like the idea of "American Pottery Idol." Or instead of "The Voice" it could be "The Pot."

Joyful Things said...

I love the lounging pig on the 12 year old mug - too cute.

Summer said...

A four leaf clover friend! I'm a fellow hobbyist. And when I don't have a way to press a clover, I pull a Penny and eat it myself! I'll do a special clover post for you soon.

Luck be with you! (you don't need it though)

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I am a full-time studio potter, sculptor, and dog walker, married to superhawt Missus Tastycake.