The Potter's Hands

Last month I visited Cahaba Clayworks and photographed Earthborn Pottery's Nabeel working his magic at the potter's wheel.  Today another look.

Steam Heat

We visited my new best friend, potter Wade Oliver, yesterday . Today I'll show you another step in the process.  Before Wade takes the bowl off the wheel, he uses a little blow torch to dry the clay a titch so it's easier to handle.  He set this one on the table by me and ohh the steam came up and I almost had a hissy fit!  Talk about at the "decisive moment".  Thank goodness I had my act together and caught it!  The photo below shows the finished bowls before firing. 

The Hands of a Potter

(Please click to enlarge this photo)

This week we're taking a trip to visit the studio of potter Wade Oliver.  Wade works at Cahaba Clayworks with two other artists in Leeds, AL.  The day we went he was the only artist there, but we were not disappointed.   Wade was a delight to get to know and photograph.  This week I will take you through the process in photographs.

Of course,  the first step is the clay.  Wade takes big chunks of that cold,  red clay in his huge, beefy hands and slaps them into balls.  If  you enlarge the photo,  you can see his fingerprints in the clay!  After that, he puts them on his wheel and within minutes has made a series of bowls. Come back tomorrow to see the results.