terra cotta blues in hyacinth

The grape hyacinths are blooming.  My little lawn is mossy,  The wheel and the potter are rusting (or do I mean rusty?)  Need to play around with some clay.  Pinch pot time. Terra Cotta blues are gone.....

I find that a small mister is all I need when coil building. I work with a damp washcloth, too.  Wiping my hands with a damp towel returns a little moisture to my fingers and keeps the rim from cracking as much.  When the hands are dry it can dry out the clay, especially when pinching the rim.

My old  rice paddle has a long history of dishing out rice and traveled with me from household to household. It is now dedicated to spanking pots into shape. The first pot it helped shape was this one:

Ginkgo Leaves Vessel  (little bigger than a basketball) made in 2000, smoke-fired in a trash can

Making the simple coiled pots were time consuming, but wonderfully satisfying.  I haven't done any large ones for some time and I think I will start one this week. First I need to 
f 0 cuS on finishing some pinch pot cups.