a few months ago, i took a ceramics class once a week for nine weeks at a downtown art gallery, Downtown Art Center Gallery. i sat around for three hours with a bunch of bitchy old women and made by hand very tedious pots and bowls and plates. i thought we would have some wheels and we would be throwing bowls. i was disappointed when i learned that we were only going to be doing hand building.but i ended having a really great time and learned a bunch.

and best of all, i made a bunch of really cool stuff. by far my favorite is my pinch pot. one of the first assignments was to make a hollow ball and use it to test the glazes. well, i didn’t want to make something with no purpose, something i couldn’t use. so i made a hollow ball and then carved a hole in the top.

after making a few of them, i decided to carve a hole in the bottom, so i could plant something in them! and make them even more useful. i only had time to make one. here it is!

i keep it in my office by the window and the scanner. i love it.

the best part about hand building, is that i can do it at home. after the class was over, i wanted to continue making stuff, in particular, my pinch pots. so, i went out and bought 50 pounds of clay! and started in on makin’ some more.

when sue shankin, my former boss at radioandrecords, came to me and asked me to put some of my art in an art show slash barbeque, i knew exactly what i wanted to do, my pinch pots!