Making Plates and Platters in Pottery

Today I got a chance to throw some clay on the wheel that I made into a plate. This is different from my other projects which usually turn into a small bowl of some sort. I worked on a skill that my intermediate teacher showed us last year.

I practiced on flattening out my mushroom clay into a plate. I actually did 2 last week with some terra cotta clay that I forgot to photograph once my hands were clean. I remembered to take a picture today of the stoneware clay that I used.

One of the plates has a center that is too high, (on the brown bat) but the second plate came out right. Both will have to be cleaned up on the wheel once they become leather hard and then they will look more like a traditional plate.

I plan to make a larger one next week which will look more like a platter. I also plan to embellish the platter with other designs around the edges.

I am having fun creating pottery on the wheel. I can see my skills improving the more that I work with clay. I hope to get better at using glazes as well. Glazes can make the difference in the appearance of a simple plate or bowl.

Enjoy your evening.