Altering Pieces: Pottery
Diving into the world of pottery.
Written by Trinice Tan
Pottery has always fascinated me beyond ways I cannot describe. I thought it was incredible to be able to craft such beautiful pieces of art from your hands, with clay and a pottery wheel.
And yet, in some hilariously delirious way, I thought I’d be a master at pottery — a prodigy even. I was determined to prove myself, even though I was told many times that it was tough because you have to be patient and cautious.
When the opportunity to go for a two and a half hour pottery class arose, I snagged it thinking, This is my time to shine.
About Pottery
Before talking about my pottery class experience, let me give you a little insight about pottery and its history.
Pottery refers to clay-made objects that have been moulded into the potter’s desired shape, dried and then baked to maintain their form. When fired, pottery becomes ceramics.
The Palaeolithic Age
Pottery was first created in the Palaeolithic Age which was before 4000 BCE. Back then, hunters and gatherers fired rough earthenware in bonfires that were heated up to 900 degrees Celcius for short periods of time. This process created their pottery pieces, and coiled rope and basketry were used to decorate their pots.
21st Century
Today, social media has changed the ceramics community, with top trending pieces having a minimalistic style. People also use pottery to take a break from the fast-paced world to be absorbed into something creative and slower-paced.
My Shot at Pottery
I took a pottery class with The Potters Guilt. The workshop started off with the facilitators showing us a quick demonstration of what we’d be doing for the whole class before setting us to work on our own pottery wheels.
I have to say, the process of creating my pottery piece was abysmal. My facilitator made it look so easy, fixing my mess every time it got deformed. Yet, when I performed the same actions on mine, it unravelled before my very eyes. It was mortifying.
After finally finishing the process of forming one cup, I felt empowered. I felt like I’d accomplished one of the biggest things in my life, just from forming a small clay cup with my hands. It was a piece I had carefully moulded into shape myself. Patience and precision are truly essential in pottery because you need to apply a certain amount of strength to the clay, but also treat it like it’s incredibly fragile. For those with patient hands and delicate fingers, I definitely recommend you try out pottery. For those without, it’s a fun experience too.