Posted in pottery classes, pottery classes in Massachusetts, tagged ceramic classes, Lucy Fagella pottery classes, pottery classes, pottery classes at Lucia Pottery, Pottery Classes in Masachusetts on March 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Yes Spring is in the air! I can’t believe a new set of ten week classes is beginning at the end of March. So, if you’re looking to try your hand at the potter’s wheel I still have a few openings!
Check out my website for the details.
http://luciapottery.com/classes.php
Posted in classes, pottery classes, pottery classes in Massachusetts, tagged classes with lucy fagella, pottery classes, pottery classes at Lucia Pottery, Pottery Classes in Masachusetts on December 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The new 10 week session begins January 11th 2012!
I posted the new classes barely two weeks ago… a little late, but I’ve been a little pre-occupied with holiday sales. There are three openings left for Wednesday nights… Tuesday and Thursdays are filled.
Posted in ceramics, making bats for potters wheel, pottery classes, pottery studio, tile bat system, tagged ceramics, maintaining pottery bats, making bats for pottery, physical demands of being potter on September 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It’s that bittersweet end of summer in New England. The nights are getting cooler, the kids begin school tomorrow, and my fall pottery classes begin next week. I am trying to get back into full work mode after vacation at the beach last week. I’m having a hard time of it though, since I had a little mishap at the beach while playing football with my two teenage sons. Seems the younger of the two, Andrew, doesn’t know his own strength… quite innocently he rammed into my chest… the result for me is one cracked rib. My lesson… never play football with teenage boys.
So I’m letting this week go, with hopes that I will be able to throw pots next week… little pots. This week I’m slowly finishing my bats for the studio. All the new ones were made before vacation, with repairs to the old ones. These past two days I set them all out in the yard for polyurethane. I am so happy I accomplished something that really needed to get done. I’m hoping tomorrow to be able to start photographing new work for Etsy… another not so physical task that desperately needs to be done!
Posted in pottery classes, pottery classes in Massachusetts, pottery students, teaching ceramics, tagged pottery classes, Pottery Classes in Masachusetts, teaching pottery on May 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It’s a few short weeks before my summer classes begin. Check my brand new website for the details! www.luciapottery.com
Posted in making lids of the hump, potter's hands, pottery classes, work in process, tagged making lids of the hump, pottery classes, teaching pottery on April 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
So, my students are telling me that cutting the lid off the hump, without going through the bottom of the lid, or cutting it un-even, is easier said than done. Well I have to admit… this was hard for me too when I was learning. The secret is to REALLY define the bottom with the back of your nail or a tool, keep the wire tight as can be, and keep your eye focused on one side of the wire at that defined line.
Posted in Big Girl Pottery Class, lidded container, pottery classes, pottery students, Throwing off the hump, tagged Big Girl Pottery Class, making lids of the hump, pottery classes, Throwing off the hump on April 6, 2010 | 2 Comments »
One of the harder things for students to learn is throwing a lid off the hump. For you non potter’s out there, this means, throwing a small lid, cup, or bowl off a larger piece of clay. This works very well because you can thrown many repetitive pieces without having to wedge each piece individually. Below I am teaching, “Big Girl Pottery Class” how to throw a lid with a flange.
The below photo I am using back of my fingernail to create a straight line to place the wire tool. The cut comes out even if you keep your eye on one side of the line.
Posted in ceramic mugs, making handle for mugs, pottery classes, Pottery in use, pottery students, tagged ceramic mugs, functional pottery, pottery classes, pottery in process, pulling handles on February 12, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Big Girl Pottery class (AKA advanced wheel throwing) learned all about mug handles last night. Their assignment was to make practice mugs and put a bunch of handles on them until they get it right! Handles are one of those things that pottery students just don’t want to spend much time on. They will spend hours and hours perfecting forms on the wheel, but then it comes to making and attaching handles they give it an hour, and say ok what’s next!
The pics below show the five different types of handles on one mug. The one or two finger handle, and the three or four finger. The fatty handle, the skinny, and the dog bone. Each student checked out the comfort levels of each one. We all agree it’s a personal thing; it really depends on the size of your hand. When I first made mugs they were always on the smaller side, with a one or two finger handle, because that’s what I prefer. Customers were always asking for bigger mugs so I started making them, and happy I did. It opened up a whole new mug form to me, and I began to like four finger mugs!
My cupboard is filled with many mugs from other potters (you can see a Molly Cantor chicken mug, on front table, and a Lindsay Rodgers mug on the back table).
This one is my favorite, with a fatty handle that I made… it usually holds Earl Grey tea on the mornings I don’t have Chai in a Mark Shapiro four finger mug!
Posted in pottery classes, Pottery Happenings, tagged pottery classes, studio events on February 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve updated my class and events pages… check them out to see what’s new!
Posted in pottery classes, pottery students, Student Pottery, teaching ceramics, tagged pottery classes, Pottery Student's Pots, teaching on January 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
On Thursday nights my teaching methods change a bit. Instead of focusing on the basics of wheel throwing with beginner students, I focus more on how to help a student execute their ideas. First off , they are all required to have a sketchbook… to draw their ideas, or to write their ideas. To write what glazes they used, immediately, so as not to forget when that pot comes out of the kiln, and it’s gorgeous, and you want to be able to duplicate it! We talk about form and function. How do you make a spout fit the form of the teapot, look good, and actually work! I get questions that I love to answer, like, “ how do I make this bowl look softer”. We get into complexities of glazing… talking about whether or not that particular glaze is distracting from the form or enhancing the form. And then there is the ever challenging technical aspect of throwing, that all advanced students want to accomplish… making a 12″ cylinder with 4 lbs of clay.
Gayle's Bowl
Two Mugs by Gayle
Soy Ewer by Dawn F.
Pitcher by Dawn F.
Posted in Ceramic Teapots, pottery classes, pottery students, tagged ceramic art, pottery classes, Pottery Student's Pots on January 15, 2010 | 3 Comments »
The winter session is in full swing. So I thought I show off some more of my students great work! The two student potters featured here are a mother and daughter duo who took classes with me from the time Elizabeth was 13 till she was 18. She just went off to college this past fall. She and her mom Selena just stopped by for a visit today, and I took some photo’s of their work. The salad bowls have been a daily mainstay in their kitchen for the past two years. And the whimsical teapots were made by Elizabeth when she was 16… and yes she is going to college for fine art and environmental studies.
Elizabeth's elephant teapot
Grandma's Tea by Elizabeth
Peapod Trays, by Elizabeth
Salad bowl, by Selena
Selena's Serving Bowl
