Finished herons

Herons are out of the kiln and perched on #8-32 threaded zinc-coated steel legs. I have a few things to revise for the next round, but I'm happy with how these turned out. They were sponge-glazed; spray-glazing will save time when I make more, but these birds were too tippy for that. (Note to self: legs and tail need to make a stable tripod!)

In an interesting reminder that physics is always at play in pottery, the bird necks twisted clockwise during firing. Given that the wheel was spinning counter-clockwise, the frictional force utilized to narrow the necks was clockwise--meaning the necks twisted further when fired, rather than untwisting. Someone told me years ago that teapot spouts can untwist when fired, so here's proof that that's actually a myth: they twist more, not less. (I get around the issue with teapot spouts by pulling the spouts in rather than collaring them in, but heron necks are a little too long for that.)

Zigzag height

Fresh from the kiln, the tallest zigzag pot I've ever thrown: almost 14" on the wheel, 12" fired. I used stiff clay on a dry day, and through some mysterious throwing technique that I wasn't aware of at the time, the form became taller when I stretched it out, rather than the usual shorter. I used only 4.5 pounds of clay, so the finished pot feels feather light.