Day 363: Christmas Morning All Over Again

Before Christmas you may recall that I had completed my ceramics class and that we were allowed to select two pieces to be ready before Christmas. Maybe I didn't share that part. But anyway, I selected my two pieces and then found out that I wouldn't actually get mine back until after Christmas because they were not going to be ready to pick up until the Sunday before Christmas and we would be in Gothenburg by then. So I would have to wait until today to get my two pieces back, with the rest of my pieces being finished later after the beginning of the year.

When you take ceramics classes you eventually get used to waiting a rather long time to get your final product back so I was pretty cool about it all. I asked my husband if he wanted to walk over with me to pick up my pieces and he said yes so after a late breakfast we headed over. I knew from speaking to my teach on the phone yesterday that I, in fact, had more that two pieces to pick up. She said that a few of my other pieces were also ready so I was pretty excited.

As we walked over my husband asked me if I was nervous about my pieces. "No, not really," I said. He asked if I was excited, to which I replied the same. I explained that I had become accustomed to the waiting and that I knew from the experience I've had with ceramics to not hold high expectations. You never know how something is going to turn out until the final glaze firing. Any number of things can go wrong, from puddling glaze, to cracks in the pot, to sliding glaze, which leaves a raw surface where the glaze should have adhered. You think you created the absolute perfect bowl, only to be shattered when it comes back with a big crack after the first firing. You make a set of mugs that all turn out exactly like you wanted them to and then after the glaze firing one of them basically melted onto the kiln and had to be destroyed to pry it loose. You just never know.

So imagine my surprise when we arrived to the studio and I found that nearly every one of my fourteen pieces were ready. And not just that but most of them turned out quite beautifully. It was like Christmas morning all over again. My teacher had even displayed one of my pieces for her current class to view as an example of a certain glazing technique. You could say that I was pretty satisfied as my husband and I packed up my wares to leave. And as we walked out of the studio I held my head a little bit higher.

My favorites... three tiny houses. 

A small shallow bowl and a tiny bowl/cup that is an awkward size but the glaze turned out nicely.

This is the one my teacher displayed. Hard to see it completely but I wiped the glaze off of the lip of the candlestick part, leaving raw clay visible. It gave the piece a nice effect.

Two red candlestick holders. I am particularly pleased with these although the finish of the glaze turned out differently on one of them, in addition to the glaze sliding on one side of the same one. 

P. S. One commenter on yesterday's post asked how I would be celebrating the completion of my one year Finding Happy project. There have been a few ideas circulating but one way that I for sure plan to celebrate is by holding a final Happy Package Giveaway. All comments made on my blog on my final day, Day 366 (December 31st), whether here on my actual blog or through my Facebook feed, will be entered into a random drawing for the final Happy Package Giveaway. Coming to my project completion is pretty exciting on many levels, and as always, I am looking forward to sending the winner a package of happy-inducing gifts and goodies. I have been collecting for and preparing for this prize for a while now and I can say with complete confidence that it will definitely be the best giveaway yet. So don't miss out!