Thursday, September 10, 2015

Parker the Potter

Parker has taken pottery class off and on for years. Recently, he got back into taking a class through the park district. We needed some bowls since we are down to just a couple store bought bowls after breaking the rest over the years. Parker agreed to use some of his time in class to make some new bowls for us. He has been so fortunate to have some zany, inspirational teachers and some serious teachers who focus more on technique than the artist side. Both have really helped Parker's pottery grow and have kept his interest. Our neighbor, Anthony, found a potter's wheel in his basement when he moved in so he gave it to us, but we don't have the space set up and the materials yet, but it is coming along. I love functional art!
One of the first bowls Parker made for food use. This brown and red bowl went well with chili.

This is one of my favorite bowls he made. There are blues and dark brows mixed together and just the right size for a serving of Earth Balance vegan mac and cheese

We don't eat boxed mac and cheese often, but with new ones coming out, we had to try them. I make some additions to the sauce and always add some veggies. This one is Josie's favorite boxed mac and cheese.
The same bowl with Daiya Deluxe White Cheddar Style veggie mac and cheese. This one comes with my favorite additions of peas and carrots right there in the box, but I add more anyway. This one is Parker's choice for mac and cheese. 
The brown bowl on the left is huge compared to the others.
This bad boy can hold four cups of food. In this picture it is roasted red and sweet potatoes.
These bowls are more Josie sized. She likes small bowls, small utensils, but she still manages to eat a lot.
This bowl is one of the reasons I love his male pottery instructor. His female (more serious) instructor told him he could start over, but his male instructor (zany) said to go ahead and paint it and send it to the kiln. This makes me happy every time I look at it and is perfect to hold my used tea bags. The colors just completely speak to me.

After taking pictures of some of Parker's newest pots, I decided to take pictures of some old favorites which are being used all around the house. This is just a fraction of the pottery we have around. Dema and Josie also took a class or two and I didn't even get into their work for this post.
Key bowl.
Colored pens and scissor bowl.
Paint brush and colored pencil bowl.
Tea bowl.
Paint brush bowl on the left and one of my favorite bowls on the right. I love the metallic look to this bowl and need something different to store in it. Right now it has a pencil sharpener and Nerf bullets.
This one is another piece he could have junked because it was off center, but I'm glad he saved it. Perfect for writing utensils.
Our neighbor, Margie, brings cut flowers to the kids after an acting performance. For Josie's role in Cinderella, Margie brought her a flower that would last longer.
The white cup with the blue stripe is cappuccino sized and my finger doesn't fit in the handle, but it was a great attempt. The blue one holds my phone charger.
This one is red, brown, with some blue undertones. I can't wait to figure out how to use it in our home. 
Luckily, Parker doesn't mind what uses I decide for his work.
We used to loose the guitar pics, but now they all have a place.
Parker made these when he was about Josie's age and I love them, but we don't need paper weights. I use them as coasters for our glasses. We don't own a dishwasher and with a family of five using more than one glass a day gets pretty wasteful. I dug up these coasters so we have a place to put our cup or glass all day and it really cut down on our dishes!
This was Parker's first attempt at a mug. I love the big handle, but the mug itself is too small for me so I use it to hold paperclips.
Toothbrush holder that is easy to clean. 
Penny pot.
Parker does some special Magic the Gathering cards with beads for counters (I don't completely understand it) and these older pots of is are perfect to hold the different beads.

One of his classes years ago had him making tiles and they decorate his room.
He was still in his paint everything red period at this point.  He has really come a long way from this work.
This was just a sample of the pottery Parker's made and he would like to pursue his hobby more seriously and possibly make items to sell in the future. I'm just glad he has a creative outlet that he enjoys and adults who entertain and inspire him.

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