From Dream to Disaster

[@rachelkerns86]

I really like the contrast of the round bottom to the stepped inside. It really reminds me of a Colosseum and I love it.

[@0yodelingpickle526]

The one is called the colosseum. The building is called an amphitheatre.

[@rachelkerns86]

@@0yodelingpickle526 didn’t know I was in a class and you’re the teacher 🤣 sorry THE colosseum

[@0yodelingpickle526]

@rachelkerns86 and that attitude is why youre uneducated af

[@saraa3418]

A jewelry maker once told me that there is always one mistake in any work and it keeps your soul from staying with the piece. Typically, this imperfection is something only the maker notices.

[@OGSumo]

Huh, I kinda like the idea that if something were truly perfect then we would never leave it and/or we’d be finished. Lovely way of framing things. Thanks for sharing

[@MultiJordan2005]

I am fairly sure that started with either knitting or crocheting, most likely knitting from my memory, with small stitching errors. That's because there's a rich folklore surrounding textile crafts and the idea of the yarn representing something about life.

[@abydosianchulac2]

@@saraa3418 That makes me feel better with the 9+ errors in this table I just made my sister

[@saraa3418]

@MultiJordan2005 if you really want to get into that folkloric origin, the jewelry maker was native American and this was at a powwow I just don't remember what tribe they were from. The powwow was thrown by the Blackfeet, but they were artisans from a visiting tribe. I've heard similar things from rug weavers in Iran. I think it's a very human thing to value the presence of hand.

[@MultiJordan2005]

@saraa3418 oh cool! That's super neat. Thank you for sharing that with me, sincerely

[@danielt4449]

even with that small crack it is a very cool piece. I know that just knowing its there is enough to be annoying though. glad to see the finished product. also nice to see your little supervisor working hard.

[@briancullen9171]

That shape could easily be the coolest dog food bowl ever made. and it might be heavy enough for my dog not to push it all over the kitchen floor. I LOVE IT!

[@malydok]

Not very practical to clean though, heh.

[@rnptenafly]

@@malydokdishwasher

[@6TDOW66]

Easy to chip a tooth

[@rafeverao4105]

That's the exact sort of thing he does NOT want his pottery to be used for lmao

[@Con3033]

@@rafeverao4105why? I always find beautiful bowls for my pets. It’s not an insult like some might think lol. My mum did as well, we’ve always used nice pottery pieces (particularly water bowls) for our animals 😅

[@Mayeko]

Brilliant as always! I did want to let you know that there is a tool you can get for recreating the stepped pattern without just using your working memory! It's called a contour gauge and is basically a series of lightweight pins held together by a bar that allows them to slide freely or lock into place, you can use it to measure the inner contour of the steps then use it as a physical or visual reference to create the inverse. Carpenters, builders, designers and restorers of all stripes use them in their work to replicate say, the exact curve of a hubcap, shape of a table leg or the dimensions of trim around a door for flooring installation.

[@mo_oment]

I would say I preferred the rounder bowl bottom simply due to the contrast. The stepped underside to match is a technical marvel but I felt the angularity became overwhelming. Just my two cents. Beautiful works and the steps hold the glaze beautifully

[@tibbarelbisivni]

Since you’ve shared a wealth of knowledge on the internet, I’d like to pass along a trimming trick that might help with your stepped vessels (and others reading this). I came across it online but unfortunately, I can't recall the source. Here's the method: Before placing the vessel on the wheel, stick a push pin through the bottom of the bowl from the inside. As you trim, remove thin layers and go slowly until you feel a slight "tick" from the pin (this will be small, yet distinct). When you feel the pin, you’ve trimmed enough. If you cut the pin to length, it achieves the desired thickness. You can smooth over the hole on the inside if you want, though glazing will often seal it just fine. Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge, time, patience, and calm demeanor. Sending good vibes from Los Angeles, California!

[@dawn5227]

The curved bottom variation is actually my favourite. The contrast between both sides just adds another dimension of interest, im glad that one survived, even the tiniest highline crack that appeared didnt take anything away from the beauty of this piece.

[@whynotanyting]

8:24 Your dog waltzing in frame was great timing

[@ace.of.space.]

I'm not alone in enjoying the contrast of the round underside and stepped top it seems, so I'm happy to see it survived the longest! really a gorgeous form, and I look forward to further iterations

[@jakicatancabelic9436]

The round bottom is my favorite. The bowls look stern in their simplicity.

[@CoMiWi]

I love the way the light catches on the steps, and traveled around the piece in unison as you held it. It feels like a piece that could benefit from a display that allows you to capture that effect.

[@maxmolloy]

Thanks

[@ENero-ld9ph]

the soft jazz on the background is pretty fitting, considering how chill your videos generally are i wasnt really Seeing it on these designs, until i saw the glazed, finished look. it came out really nice

[@ragnkja]

I agree, Thursdays are good filming days. I hope the musicians next door don’t mind providing the accompaniment.

[@normalaaaaaaaaa]

I am digging the green glaze. The way it pooled at the bottom of each step is a satisfying contrast/kind of shadow. Also really like both the curved and angular bottoms 👍 nice work

[@carolyncarlson6410]

Music with pottery brings memories of university art school, work study in costuming helped pay my way & being in the building always felt so special

[@glennburrow4364]

If you approached the trimming and shaping more like a wood turner or metal machinist, you could achieve more consistent wall thicknesses between the steps on the top and bottom. Specifically, I mean that you could work from a drawing and measure the location and depths of your steps more precisely.

[@z99ywiec]

I had a wood turner friend who spent months trying to turn stepped bowls like this.He was never able to quite get them right. Good luck with your efforts

[@BB-xe6rh]

This is so cool tho Florian. Ty for sharing, this content makes me happy on a week that has made me big sad. The final survivor is awesome, even w a lil crack.

[@farzaan1752]

The shape reminds me of a spiral which would probably be more difficult to manage but would look lovely spinning on the wheel!

[@thiagotiberio838]

You need a set of stepped cardboard templates, one per side, cut so that they don’t interfere but instead, leave the wall of even thickness you’re looking for.

[@ioscaleb]

My thought exactly. Draw the cross section that you want, cut it out, and use the negative space pieces as templates for each side.

[@everydazetuesday]

there is something so satisfying about trimming. watching that process brought peacefulness to my mind. ❤

[@clairekurdelak2913]

Recently became aware of you and your work. Your videos and your pottery are of outstanding quality! And I just took a look at your shop and I’m amazed. It is really encouraging to see that you are able to sell all your work and make your living on your own terms as an artist! I guess it’s not likely I’ll be able to own one of your pieces but I certainly wish you the best!

[@IrinaGreenman]

I love the combination effect of the different shapes next to each other. The shapes are cool individually, but I think they really shine brightest as a collected display. That also reinforces them as art objects rather than pieces for utility.

[@nickcaruso]

I think it's very nice. Don't give up on this (these) idea(s).

[@felicitycrowe6971]

Lovely! I like the contrast of the round underside with the stepped upper side! Can’t wait to see more of these and in other glazes

[@nichadaye1007]

This is a beautiful piece. I like the different steps you did and the green color is nice. I hope you figure out to make it better.

[@ayemessdee]

Even without the technical advantages, I prefer the rounded botton on an aesthetic level - it's an interesting counterpoint to the very hard, angular top. I also liked the one with the taller, narrower shape - it would certainly be interesting to see various different shapes/proportions of this type of vessel.

[@nickthorp1624]

that would make the ultimate, one size fits all, candle holder!

[@LordBarbox]

An idea to consider: get a Contour Gauge and use it to take a physical snapshot of what the top surface looks like after trimming, then refer to it when trimming the bottom

[@abydosianchulac2]

I was surprised you didn't carry on the second and third cracked pieces anyway; I think I'd have been too curious to see how the glaze reacted with the different interior shapes and step sizes. But then again, breaking them looked so cathartic.

[@MultiJordan2005]

Florian really seems to care deeply about being able to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Carrying on a doomed pot when he could recycle it doesn't really match what I've come to understand of him.

[@daamile]

This could be a silly idea, but have you tried using a small led light inside the bowl as you shape it? Maybe it's bright enough to show the interior steps, and help you shape the curved underside.

[@Con3033]

I love the object! The finished product was beautiful. I couldn’t help but notice you have a dog and I thought wow that object would also be a beautiful water bowl for the pup or for a kitty. It could play a gorgeous role! It would look really nice with water in it. I don’t mean any offence by referencing using it for pets. It is a piece of art!

[@TheBency]

I was unsure about the piece at first but it turned out awesome. The glaze is super nice on it and I love it

[@ChuckUnderFire]

I’m sure it’s sacrilege to say so. But I love functional art. This would make an amazing bowl and mug set. Seems like it would be so fun to eat from and also a perfect way to know when it’s time to get more coffee or tea.

[@Apoque]

I was quite fond of the vessel with the central hole that cracked in drying. If you plan on making another batch with two-parts you could turn it into a very striking vase.

[@sigurd3809]

Because the steps are in theory equal, the bottom should not be rounded, but instead linear to make the clay thickness more even, and to redigert the clay thickness in the middle part where it cracked on the rounded bottom

[@xbaczewska4197]

Oh sorry for you regarding the frustration. But you did the right thing by destroying the also-rans. That is courageous. The learning and experimentation is far more important! So good of you to share the process!

[@GymGirl88]

So pretty!! I love the glaze pools. Honestly I'd love to see it full of water. Or filling it with dry beans/ rice and pouring them out. Just for the look of it honestly

[@paulauksztulewicz7381]

Well done, regardless! As we say in The Guitar Orchestra... "Make better mistakes!"

[@sharonpeek7728]

What a fabulous idea and design. I know you will be able to perfect this

[@user-cz6eo3ez2k]

Another great video Florian!!! Always inspirational!

[@SmithCaro]

I really love that pooling on the steps, so pretty ... 😊

[@arcticchihuahua6513]

I love watching you work the clay.

[@afdevery]

Like that very much. Almost an electrical insulator vibe - part of something high voltage. It seems specialised / utilitarian yet attractive.

[@sleepib]

I think the indentation in the wall is from shrinkage in the thicker section where the bottom isn't hollowed out, rather than anything to do with trimming.

[@Michael-xr5yx]

Beautiful. Love that glaze.

[@VeretenoVids]

Very interesting! Sort of like an inverted ziggurat. I know this isn't what you had in mind at all, but I can't help but wondering how much fun it would be to bounce rubber balls around in there.

[@AlanW]

The stepped peice is brilliant. Love how the glaze interacts with the shape. The crack wouldn't bother me at all, but I would like the side not to have the indentation.

[@milknhoney3368]

That crack can stay! It's perfect in my eyes.

[@alexandraframe6493]

I really like it? The step look really nice, the curved underside is nice. I like the one that had a hole in the middle it just looked interesting. Keep up the experiments, can’t wait to see more.

[@leesilverstein4033]

Keep playing with the steps in your experiments they create some mesmerizing angles after glazing. I think you’re onto something here.

[@alexandermcclure6185]

I'm sad that the last pot didn't make it 😢 It was my favorite, too. But alas, the party was short-lived. Oh well, at least you now have some experience so you can avoid such issues!

[@Alex_0Z]

the wider ones with the hole in the middle reminds me of the oculus in the parthenon

[@Reynsoon]

They say of the acropolis where the parthenon is...

[@Morbazan125]

Ooooo that sanding pottery sound makes my bones go cold😂

[@matthaiosdoesart1234]

very nice paper weight, would be a good new member of my horde of desk ornaments 💀

[@silviacosta9164]

I think the shape is very interesting and the glaze looks beautiful in the different planes. I like the contrast of the angular circles with the rounded bottom. I wouldnt care about the little imperfections, that is in part what makes your work an art, and make your pieces so far more covetable than more regular serial ones that look all the same.😊

[@jamessurnamepending1239]

I cant wait to see larger versions! could be really interesting. maybe you could try doing a line of one glaze a line of another, to demonstrate how the two interact when flowing and pooling down the vessel

[@josephlau8476]

Very beautiful pottery.

[@rhubarb3point14]

Absolutely love your channel! Very cool project. Could you possibly throw them as a baseless closed form bowl instead? Like you would an actual ceramic dog bowl. That said, throwing in 2 parts does sound like the easiest solution. 😂

[@axby1922]

2:20 looks like delicious chocolate cake. Love your work, but that made me hungry! The curved bottom I think might dictate their use. Doing the steps makes them reversible without a change in style. But being able to repeat the design without risking the strength could also be useful depending your plans.

[@BenjaminDeLillo]

I feel like you could create a template out of cardstock or something that has the stairstep on the top and bottom edges, that way you wouldn't have to eyeball making the steps match.

[@scoobsmcdoo3471]

Machinist here- You'd do yourself a lot of favors by getting a pair of calipers and drafting a blueprint of your piece, or taking a recording of the depths and diameters of each step, then using that to plan and carve out opposing shoulders on the bottom. Watching wood or metal turning process videos might be helpful.

[@sava-smth]

"let's just hope it survives drying and firing with no cracks" foreshadowing is a literary device...

[@SlashCampable]

those would make some amazing ash trays.

[@zweigackroyd7301]

This looks like a classic example of a slip-cast piece, which might make more sense in the production.

[@Garnizzle]

Beuatiful work

[@Nei-n1k]

Beautiful

[@CyrusSpringfellow]

These stepped bowls are so pretty ❤

[@IncessantPorcelain]

favorite part to watch: waxing

[@mikepeters8132]

I love it. 😮 You could make the steps slightly sloped to create a well at the base of the riser fornthenstep above in which more glaze could pool.

[@harriesadam]

Surprised that I haven’t seen any other suggestions of the sort, but have you considered/tried drying & bisque firing upside down? There is a lot of clay “hanging” from the rim, which I think caused the first crack, and will cause tension in the clay as it dries. Most “normal” bowls have the clay in compression as they dry, and flipping these stepped bowls would put the clay into compression.

[@Kuchen.]

wanted to see the whole process for these, for a very long time

[@sharonpeek7728]

It would be really cool to have a wooden gizmo that holds this up on its side and be rolling around with the ability to tip gently backwards for forward with a pretty marble or bell that will roam over all of the ledges!

[@sharonpeek7728]

and forward not for forward

[@amfq]

more jazz session footage i beg, such a perfect pairing

[@cdwoodwerks6464]

Even with the crack it is still beautiful. I know a lot of your work uses sharp edges but when you do the steps I think it might look interesting if you added a slope inward to them, or even dish them slightly so the glaze kind of pools in the middle of the steps. I think it could add a potentially unique contrast.

[@sween187]

Beautiful piece, 👍👍

[@whynotanyting]

Maybe try drawing and cutting out a profile template (perhaps from wood?) that you can use to measure your trimming against? Seems quite challenging to do otherwise.

[@mikemast411]

Always love your videos, the processes and the narrations are always on point. I'm not the biggest fan of this sculptural idea though, maybe it's because it's not fully realized yet- I'm sure once you refine the technique, or change the scale of the sculpture, or whatever genius idea pops into your head will surely bring it into fruition. I am curious to see what you try next.

[@KR-ys1io]

Shout out Florian

[@KPSince1953]

Could the cracks be caused by tension from the heavy centre pulling down as it dries? Even if the centre and the outer rim are coplanar at the start of the drying process, if the middle shrinks quicker than the sides, the centre will lift and cause it to be hanging under tension. Maybe try drying them upside down?

[@misterscottintheway]

This seems like a good idea. Upside down it will be an arch which is an extremely stable structure

[@kevintrigg3707]

very interesting! to combat the difficulty in getting the stepped underside to the correct shape have you considered measuring the depth of each ledge to give you a better idea of where they cut off?

[@chrzzzzz]

Embrace what our hand-building brethren know to be true: make two components and join them. You admitted in the vid you're considering it

[@bz6175]

That looks so beautiful 😂😂😂 that this little crack doen't matter. You will only see it because you know that it's there.

[@Serpywerpy]

Eating tomato soup from this would be sublime.

[@boartank]

8:25 a dog bowl?

[@takimi_nada]

or ashtray?

[@gavinbolton9551]

@@takimi_nada I’m definitely thinking ashtray

[@ericaanderheggen5035]

I am a beginner . This is amazing

[@TealCheetah]

I dont know what it is, but I like it.

[@AudenimLock]

0:11 My jaw dropped 😅 was not prepared

[@MarchHare55]

I preferred the rounded bottom. It's unexpected, given the top.

[@kyleeames8229]

Up next: I really want my sculptural pots to be PERFECT, so I made a CNC potters wheel!

[@alextopfer1068]

that's an interesting shape, i'm tempted to try one out of wood

[@robblincoln2152]

Very nice!

[@haroldsmith45302]

I find this series to be unexpectedly interesting. You take care to not waste liquid glaze and I see you carefully recover spillage for filtering and re-use. Is glaze a costly substance? Could the tiny crack have been avoided by slower heating in the furnace?

[@Jellooze]

Feels like you should be able to create a stepped pattern in the same material as the high gauge you have. the one with the soft tip. Either that or with a scissor cut out the negative stepped patter in a piece of stiff paper.

[@chrisparkin6894]

Slip casting this type of shape would be so much easier 😊

[@TazPessle]

Once you've cut the stepped inside you could draw the cross-section to create a template for the underside contours. Not suggesting you do this for all of them, but maybe a few while you get used to the new shape with difficult access.

[@Kraaketaer]

These look really cool, too bad about the breakage. An idea for matching the steps on both sides: could this be done by making some sort of template or profile tracing of the upper steps on cardboard or similar, so that you have a reference you can use without flipping the pot? No doubt this would require some practice to get right, and it might not be quite your style of working, but it seems like it could work

[@GabrielLima87]

Cool dog food bowl

[@denisenoble4010]

I liked the step pots, the round base I think is Mt favourite, the only way to make steps on both sides would involve lots of measuring, so that they line up dramatically but do you really want to make something so perfect?. Set of large ,medium and small would be good to look at and to be really stunning if that sat into each other, it would look amazing, if you did that, you would need a very long holiday to relax every bit of you and then what would you make, maybe just stick to a small medium and large, with either round or stepped underside, so that you don't burn out any further artistic expression, that would be a great shame. Thankyou as always for sharing your knowledge, your how to and the final pieces glazed in their finery 😊