52 Form Project- Week 8

The 52 Form Project 

What is it?

My 52 Form Project is devised to help me stretch my creative muscles, explore new forms, or finally get to making forms I have been wanting to try for a long time. I am planning to make a new or modified form for every week of this year.

How can you help?

Your input on the forms, their shape, decoration, appeal, and function would be greatly appreciated. Some forms, if they seem like they may do well in the market, may become a part of my regular production.

Week 8

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out for last week's form. I wanted to wait because I was able to tuck a few of this form into the recent kiln firing. I was very excited about their results and waited to post and share!

Last week's form was a double bowl, made by basically squishing two wet bowls together. I made them with about 1 1/4 pound balls of clay (for each bowl). The first step was the make a few bowls and put them on a dry bat or board (as seen above).

Wet the bat

Slide the second bowl into the first bowl

Then I  put a little water on the bat in front of the other bowl, threw a second bowl, and slid the two together. Because the walls are wet, they make a good adherence to one another. Simon Leach also has a good video on the basics of putting a double bowl together with this video:

Leach puts a strap handle over the top of the piece, but I went for a different approach.

Bowls together with pulled wall

Pulled walls like a pitcher lip

Much like pulling a spout or lip for a pitcher, I grasped the wall between the two bowls and pulled upward to make a little arch. The wide rim on the bowls helped add some clay to the wall and made this process a little more possible.

Feather cut out

Smooth edges with fingers

Rather than waiting for the bowls to set up, I cut a feather shape into the wall between the bowls, and then smoothed it out, making a little handle.

Squeezing the sides to level the bowls

On  few of the sets the walls dipped in at the juncture, and I found squeezing the sides of the bowls put them back into basic level with one another.

Where that didn't work out to my liking, I fluted the edge, also like turning a pitcher lip over, and created a decorative edge on the bowls.

Row of bowls

Smaller double bowls or the double-dipper condiment dish!

I am rather fond of this form, and have also tried it out with my little condiment dishes to make double-dipper condiment dishes! Here are some photos of the finished pieces from the kiln firing:

I stamped the front side of the bowls with "Liberty Stoneware"