 |
|
The
Studio
|
Well that’s what the course was
called.
Amanda and I spent 5 days in Certaldo (Chianti region, Tuscany), where
we did a course in throwing pots.
Actually there was quite a lot of throwing involved, mostly our
disastrous attempts at making bowls and cylinders into the massive pile of clay
to be recycled
 |
|
Wedging ...
|
 |
|
and kneading
|
Pietro Maddelana was our maestro/comedian/potter
extraordinaire for the duration, and kept us busy spinning the wheel for 7
hours a day! He made it look sooooo easy, pushing and pulling, centering the
clay, then within 3 minutes, (minus the story telling, he does know how to make
a short story long), he’s produced an amazing piece of pottery!!
 |
|
Morning
tea with the team
|
 |
|
Maestro
and the masterpiece
|
 |
|
The
scrap heap!
|
OMG! You’ve no idea how hard it is to move that clay! I
discovered muscles I didn’t know existed! Who would have thought you needed
your hip to make a bowl? Thankfully there was our 3 course Italian feast for lunch each day to discuss our successes and failures (more the latter) and
generally chit chat about clay. We were a small mixed bunch of Italians,
Germans, Italian/Germans, Swiss, Americans and of course we two Australians –
actually that sounds like a lot of people but there were only 8 of us!
 |
|
From
this …
|
 |
|
to this!
|
 |
|
I made
this …
|
 |
|
And this
… dadah!
|
 |
|
…. and
this!
|
Then just when I felt I was getting into the groove;
spinning, pushing, pulling, centering, (this is all before I even attempt to
make anything), it was time to say goodbye and head home
Needless to say we had a great time, met some fantastic people
(fellow clay enthusiasts) but sadly had nothing to show for our efforts except
sore muscles and few extra kilos from all the wonderful food and wine - Chianti of course.
 |
|
Nothing
to show but dirty boots!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment