Day two consisted of more demos by Eric, this included how to open a form on the wheel for example a bowl. I have made lots of personal notes from these demonstrations including exactly what positions to hold your hands at each stage, what pressure to apply and exactly where each finger should be when pulling up a wall. Today was a real turning point for me, having had time to reflect on all the information given to us on day one, I was able to really put it into practice. I had some help 1 on 1 with Maria one of Eric’s interns, this help was invaluable. She corrected the way in which I was pulling, and helped me to achieve the stretch between my fingers; this actually works when wanting to achieve height and thin walls. From now on I must remember to pinch longer at the wheel head, slowly dig in my right knuckle, and place my fingers on my left hand inside but slightly above my knuckle. Below you can see a quick video of me trying this for the first time. With this simple re-positioning, things soon became much easier and more successful. Today we also received a demonstration on how to trim, for this we used a griffin grip (it attaches to the wheel head then with support arms holds your piece in place and exactly central) This was so much easier to use than the method i have previously been taught, which is securing the pot to the wheel head with three lumps of clay. I never realized such a thing existed, something to consider investing in for the future I think.
My success for Day 2: For the first time in my life, actually being taught how to pull up a wall!
Lauren Cattle 