Pottery superlatives

Here's the bunch that I pulled out of the kiln this weekend. I've already given away a few pieces, but this is a pretty good representation of the group. At least you get to see the massive variety in glaze patterns that arose from this set. I like most of them, but the pitcher on the right turned out weird, winning the pottery superlative for "least improvement." But the other ones are positive, I promise.

This is Doc's new food bowl. It gets the prize for "most functional." It's low to the ground, which means that when he gets tickled by the pouncing bug, this bowl is less likely to break. But he's already broken three, so the odds aren't exactly in our favor.

This one wins "most illusory." The words that come to mind when I look at it are "military scanner" and "Vanilla Sky" and "21st century camouflage." I don't understand that pattern at all, and maybe I never will.

"Most alright." Okay, I guess that one's not totally positive. I like the shape and I love the glaze (especially the dark brown with speckles), but the imprint didn't show up well (shoulda known better) and they shrunk a TON. I wanted them to hold 16 ounces and they're down to 14. Now that I can calculate a shrinkage ratio with this clay, I'll get it next time.

"Best dressed." This is a stellar glaze job, in my humble opinion. And I can say that because Nate did it. It's also the perfect size for my salad heavy post-Thanksgiving detox. Alright alright, this was my only salad since Thanksgiving. But it will also be good for the heaps of mashed potatoes and gravy that seem to be my current staple.

<3,
Nicole