Throwing Bottles

I was thinking today while I was working in my studio ( on a such warm day...ahhhhhhhhh)....that maybe it would be nice to show how I try to balance myself while throwing standing up.

Today I was making bottles and since my wheel is at a certain height, sometimes its hard to for me get on top of a piece and throw taller. One of my students was asking me the other day how I steady myself while standing and I explained to her that at times I have to use bricks to stand on.

Here I am throwing a pretty narrow bottle that is about 15 or so inches high ( maybe more) and what I do is get a brick and put it under one of my feet and the other one I use to push the top of my pedal. Sometimes if the piece is really tall I just put the pedal at a certain speed and sstand on many bricks for height. I really don't like doing it this way because I like to control my peddle speed at all times.

Some people are lucky enough to have hydraulic wheels that change the height in order to make bigger pieces. If you don't have one of these types of wheel perhaps this piece of advise might help you!

This week I have more taxes to figure out and my mailing list to straighten out. I'm hoping the weather stays nice because the cold has been keeping me away from my studio and this is never a good thing.