Small Wares Ideas
Slowing down is what I love about pottery, but decades of cultural messages about quantity & repetition equalling expertise & accomplishment gets in my way. This translates as too many bowls and mugs.
In an effort to intentionally shift that mindset, I am focusing instead on how my hobby can enhance my living spaces with beauty, efficiency or by solving problems. That means making few of a single type of pottery, embracing the reality that it cannot become perfect if only one or a few are made. It means thinking through the details so my style, or the problem I’m solving are incorporated.
Below is a quick brainstormed list. Do you have other small decorative or functional wares you want to remember to make, or have found useful for a niche in your home?
-Trays are useful everywhere. They make cleaning easier, too: kitchen, bathroom, desk, bedside, entry, remote controls -Address plaque to fit my entry -Dispensers & bottles: soap, dish detergent, olive oil, soy sauce -Food serving and storage bowls -Spoons -Sink organizer for the usuals (brush or scrubby, dishcloth or sponge) Soap holder that drains water & is easy to clean -Small single or two serving size casseroles (one to fit to a Hot Logic) -Snack plates with dip holder & cup -Spice pots for blends made weekly -Tea herb jars for bulk leaves -Salt pig -Spoon rest -Egg holder -Indoor self-watering plant pots -Plant labels -Small succulent pots -Windowsill plant cutting propagators -Stacking totem sculpture made one piece at a time -Pill organizer -Jewelry -Knobs and drawer pulls -Small standing dry erase board -Labels w hole for twine hanger to write on w/permanent pen & clean for reuse -Wall hooks: key, hat, umbrella, purse -Wall sculptures (masks, flowers, birds, fish) Wall pockets -Coasters -Tiles -Random flats glazed, broken & turned into mosaics