My First Thrown Cylinder

My First Thrown Cylinder, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

Mark the date: October 27, 2009. Not only is it my 19th wedding anniversary, it is the date I made my very first piece of thrown pottery. I was so nervous, but in a good way. It is the unknown. I like that feeling: frightened, anxious excitement.

I took the class though the local Kishwaukee Community Collage. It has excellent community classes for non-students. More people should take advantage of resources like this.

Michelle is a fantastic teacher, deliberate, yet attentive to your questions and very helpful. She seems like a person I could easily become friends with.

I'm certain this will not take over printmaking, but I am so glad I am trying it. It is so much easier than I imagined. Frequently I imagine the worst-case-scenerio. For example I have crazy thoughts like what if the clay is going around too fast and I end up flinging it across the room, hitting someone or knocking over something and breaking it! Everyone will snicker behind my back and wonder why I would be taking a class anyway. Because I'm such a visual person, I can see this scenario played out over and over in my head.

I'm taking it with my friends Connie, Elinor, Robyn, and a new friend Erica. So I really need not worry. They've all thrown before at one point or another and it was neat to sit back and watch them go! Their items are so wonderful. I said that we will all probably end up buying one another's work.

The next class is on Thursday and we will see if our pieces are dry enough to do the next step... I don't even know what that is... there goes the exciting anxious feeling again!

I love learning new things, don't you?