Sarah huffed out a breath in frustration and wondered if she should have taken Jareth up on his offer.
They’d walked out beyond the densely packed buildings of the goblin city to where the structures were larger and more well spaced. Some, like the tanneries and dyers, were on the outskirts due to their less than pleasant odours. Others like potteries, glassmakers, brickmakers, smiths and foundries, due to the heat of their ovens, kilns and forges.
Jareth and Rook had business to conduct with the metalworkers and they had been more than happy for her company, but after a brief glance at the hard packed dirt floor and wall of roiling heat that washed over her, she had passed on their invite in favour of a visit to a pottery studio.
Looking at the neatly concertinaed folds of the clay on the wheel in front of her, Sarah mused that at least this time she had managed to get the start of a cylindrical shape formed before it had gotten away from her. She side eyed the series of elegant vases that Bishop had crafted and set aside to dry while she was creating clay origami or redistributing the substance around the studio.
“You make this look so easy.” Sarah shook her head in wonder as Bishop cut another identical vase from his wheel.
“This is the work of long practice.” Bishop brought another tray of vases over to the bench beside Sarah. He cleaned her wheel off and centred one of them for her. “These have been bisque fired and dipped in white glaze.” He pointed Sarah towards a bench with a large number of sealed containers. “Those are coloured glazes, enjoy yourself.”
Sarah selected her supplies and settled down to paint neat rings around each vase. By the time she was finished, she was shocked to discover that hours had passed. “That was unexpectedly meditative.” She looked over all the vases she’d decorated, frowning at the indistinct pastel colours and hoped they would turn out as she’d envisioned. Each of the containers had a small glazed disc attached to indicate the fired colour, but the glazes when applied mostly looked like muted pastels, many bearing no resemblance to their final colours.
Sarah carefully made sure that all the containers were resealed and her tools had been thoroughly cleaned. “What happens now?” While she'd been working, Bishop had completed another two trays of vases.
“Once my work has dried, it will be bisque fired, but yours will be done in a separate firing.” Bishop set the last tray of his work on a drying rack. “I don’t know which firing will happen first, that that’s up to the pottery. The big kiln is where they fire all the building materials. The smaller kiln is for household items and work like this. The timing will probably be based on what they can fill the kiln with first.”
Sarah looked over her work again. “I can’t wait to see the results.”
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ninetydegrees
Alternative
2023-02-14 09:05 (UTC)Drabble:
Sarah huffed out a breath in frustration and wondered if she should have taken Jareth up on his offer.
They’d walked out beyond the densely packed buildings of the goblin city to where the structures were larger and more well spaced. Some, like the tanneries and dyers, were on the outskirts due to their less than pleasant odours. Others like potteries, glassmakers, brickmakers, smiths and foundries, due to the heat of their ovens, kilns and forges.
Jareth and Rook had business to conduct with the metalworkers and they had been more than happy for her company, but after a brief glance at the hard packed dirt floor and wall of roiling heat that washed over her, she had passed on their invite in favour of a visit to a pottery studio.
Looking at the neatly concertinaed folds of the clay on the wheel in front of her, Sarah mused that at least this time she had managed to get the start of a cylindrical shape formed before it had gotten away from her. She side eyed the series of elegant vases that Bishop had crafted and set aside to dry while she was creating clay origami or redistributing the substance around the studio.
“You make this look so easy.” Sarah shook her head in wonder as Bishop cut another identical vase from his wheel.
“This is the work of long practice.” Bishop brought another tray of vases over to the bench beside Sarah. He cleaned her wheel off and centred one of them for her. “These have been bisque fired and dipped in white glaze.” He pointed Sarah towards a bench with a large number of sealed containers. “Those are coloured glazes, enjoy yourself.”
Sarah selected her supplies and settled down to paint neat rings around each vase. By the time she was finished, she was shocked to discover that hours had passed. “That was unexpectedly meditative.” She looked over all the vases she’d decorated, frowning at the indistinct pastel colours and hoped they would turn out as she’d envisioned. Each of the containers had a small glazed disc attached to indicate the fired colour, but the glazes when applied mostly looked like muted pastels, many bearing no resemblance to their final colours.
Sarah carefully made sure that all the containers were resealed and her tools had been thoroughly cleaned. “What happens now?” While she'd been working, Bishop had completed another two trays of vases.
“Once my work has dried, it will be bisque fired, but yours will be done in a separate firing.” Bishop set the last tray of his work on a drying rack. “I don’t know which firing will happen first, that that’s up to the pottery. The big kiln is where they fire all the building materials. The smaller kiln is for household items and work like this. The timing will probably be based on what they can fill the kiln with first.”
Sarah looked over her work again. “I can’t wait to see the results.”