1, Goodbye Cling film

Hi potters and friends,
One thing I'm always on the look out for is good shaped plastic bowls to use as moulds. I have a large green one and I make my best selling pots out of it.
Over and over again I painstakingly lined it with cling film so that the clay wouldn't stick to it. As I worked on it the clay would move around, the cling film would crease and sometimes rip and quite frankly it was a nightmare. But all this is history now! The new word is Vaseline or petroleum jelly.
You don't need much, just be sure you don't miss any patches and - Bob's your uncle - as we English say.

As the pot slowly dries it shrinks away from the mould. This latest one took 4 days in my cool basement.
When leather hard put your hand inside, tip it over and lift the mould off. The result - a lovely smooth pot - a bit sticky but the kiln will deal with that.

This was mine out yesterday and a finished one to show you where I'm heading with it. I'll be bisque firing it next week so I'll keep you posted on what I do with it.

Just before I go I have a quick tip to end this posting. When using a tool or a stamp to make patterns in  clay you usually find that as you lift them off, the clay lifts also and stretches and distorts the pattern. Try giving the stamps a light spray of WD40. You can pattern the clay repeatedly without any trouble at all.
Happy potting folks.

Welcome

Welcome to my first blog. Over many years of potting, I have had both successes and disasters along the way. It's all been quite an education but I have learned a few short-cuts in the process and I'd like to share them with you as I build my pots week by week.

Happy potting.