Amaya Blackstone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
special_rabbit) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2021-11-02 04:01 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2021-11-02 04:01 am
Entry tags:
Shop Class; Tuesday, First Period [11/02].
"Morning, everyone," Amaya nodded to the class, offering a small smile. "Hope neither of you were effected too bad by this year's Halloween shenanigans, and that you're fully back to normal and ready to go with more exciting shop class lessons! So far, we've been working a lot with the same two materials: metal and wood. But we're actually going to switch that up today . It's gonna be fun and it's going to be messy, too, so I hope you don't have any big plans after this! Personally, I'm not much of a potter, but if we've got the potter's wheels available to us, why not put 'em to good use?"
"Making a pot or a bowl or whatever you decide to make might seem easy at first," Amaya grinned as she went and grabbed some of the clay she'd brought in for them to work with, "but you'll probably find that it can be a little tricky to get the clay to do what you want it to do. Today, we'll be doing a method called throwing, and I'd like you to try and make a cylinder first and foremost, and, if you have some time when we're done, you can play around with some other shapes if you'd like. We're going to go ahead and grab a ball of clay and center it on the wheel; keeping it centered's gonna be important, too, so take a moment, wet your hands a bit, and use your hands to form a nice smooth mound. Now, if you're working with a larger lump of clay, you don't need to go as fast as if you've got a smaller one, so try to figure out the best speed for what you're working with. As you work on your centering, lock your elbow in close as you lean your body in, and use your outside hand to sort of push and pull the clay into position. You'll feel the clay changing shape, getting taller, then you'll work on pushing it back into position. This may take a while to really get it before we start opening it, or else you'll have uneven sides when we get to opening it.
"Before we do that, though, keep in mind how wide your base is. The wider the base, the easier it'll be to have a taller pot. Once you've got it as wide as you'd like, you're going to start opening the pot, and you do that by pressing your fingers into the clay, like this. Add a little more water once you hit the fresh clay inside, and use the heel of your hand to press in the shape of your base. As we build the walls, we're going to keep our hands crooked, lock the outside hand, and lift on the left side. See? If your hands start feeling a little dry, go for more water, and then..."
Just like that, she made the sides of the pot rise up, making a small cylinder. "Now, we want to take a second to compress the bottom of the pot on the inside," she instructed, demonstrating as she went, "which is just pressing down the bottom of the inside, making sure there's a clear corner between the bottom and the wall, use your fingers or a sponge to get this done. Now our base is looking a little wider, you see? So we're going to push that base in now to get that cylinder, holding your outside hand at the bottom of the pot with the inside hand guiding, gently pressing in, to make a little shelf, and once that shelf is there, you can start lifting your hands slowly to raise your wall taller. You really should just be paying attention to that outside hand; the inside one will naturally follow as you get higher, and once you've reached the top, apply some pressure to create the rim. And just going back, repeating the steps, until you've reached the height you'd like. You want to pull quickly, but pay attention to make sure you get every part of the pot as you pull up. You can then use this little guy called a rib to slowly move up the side of the pot to smooth it out a little if you like, too. And that's about it!
"Any questions? Don't worry about making mistakes. With clay, it's hard to really see how it goes by just watching, so try to figure out what you do wrong and how to correct it, or ask for help if you need any. Now go get some clay! And probably some smocks, especially if you like your clothes. Honestly, if this doesn't get a little messy, you're probably doing it wrong!"
"Making a pot or a bowl or whatever you decide to make might seem easy at first," Amaya grinned as she went and grabbed some of the clay she'd brought in for them to work with, "but you'll probably find that it can be a little tricky to get the clay to do what you want it to do. Today, we'll be doing a method called throwing, and I'd like you to try and make a cylinder first and foremost, and, if you have some time when we're done, you can play around with some other shapes if you'd like. We're going to go ahead and grab a ball of clay and center it on the wheel; keeping it centered's gonna be important, too, so take a moment, wet your hands a bit, and use your hands to form a nice smooth mound. Now, if you're working with a larger lump of clay, you don't need to go as fast as if you've got a smaller one, so try to figure out the best speed for what you're working with. As you work on your centering, lock your elbow in close as you lean your body in, and use your outside hand to sort of push and pull the clay into position. You'll feel the clay changing shape, getting taller, then you'll work on pushing it back into position. This may take a while to really get it before we start opening it, or else you'll have uneven sides when we get to opening it.
"Before we do that, though, keep in mind how wide your base is. The wider the base, the easier it'll be to have a taller pot. Once you've got it as wide as you'd like, you're going to start opening the pot, and you do that by pressing your fingers into the clay, like this. Add a little more water once you hit the fresh clay inside, and use the heel of your hand to press in the shape of your base. As we build the walls, we're going to keep our hands crooked, lock the outside hand, and lift on the left side. See? If your hands start feeling a little dry, go for more water, and then..."
Just like that, she made the sides of the pot rise up, making a small cylinder. "Now, we want to take a second to compress the bottom of the pot on the inside," she instructed, demonstrating as she went, "which is just pressing down the bottom of the inside, making sure there's a clear corner between the bottom and the wall, use your fingers or a sponge to get this done. Now our base is looking a little wider, you see? So we're going to push that base in now to get that cylinder, holding your outside hand at the bottom of the pot with the inside hand guiding, gently pressing in, to make a little shelf, and once that shelf is there, you can start lifting your hands slowly to raise your wall taller. You really should just be paying attention to that outside hand; the inside one will naturally follow as you get higher, and once you've reached the top, apply some pressure to create the rim. And just going back, repeating the steps, until you've reached the height you'd like. You want to pull quickly, but pay attention to make sure you get every part of the pot as you pull up. You can then use this little guy called a rib to slowly move up the side of the pot to smooth it out a little if you like, too. And that's about it!
"Any questions? Don't worry about making mistakes. With clay, it's hard to really see how it goes by just watching, so try to figure out what you do wrong and how to correct it, or ask for help if you need any. Now go get some clay! And probably some smocks, especially if you like your clothes. Honestly, if this doesn't get a little messy, you're probably doing it wrong!"
Sign In - Shop Class, 11/02.
Re: Sign In - Shop Class, 11/02.
Listen to the Lecture - Shop Class, 11/02.
Class Activity: Pottery - Shop Class, 11/02.
You won't even be kicked out for Ghosting, as Amaya doesn't even know what that is!
Talk to Amaya - Shop Class, 11/02.
She might start feeling a little nervous if anyone in a long green cap waltzes in, though, for reasons she can't quite explain.
OOC - Shop Class, 11/02.