Trying the Throwdown Challenge Ep. 2 // oxides & design flaws

[@chrisparkin6894]

FYI on the cobalt. It's been used for 30+ years in petrol refinery to remove sulphur. If anything EVs have been a vast improvement as they have made sure the child labor has been removed from the supply chain.

[@PotterytothePeople]

thanks for the info! I had no idea 🙏

[@chrisparkin6894]

@@PotterytothePeople You're welcome. Most people don't. It's part of the misinformation campaign that oil companies are still using to try and slow the transition down. A significant number of EVs are not using cobalt in there batteries anymore. It's good to know from a pottery perspective that we are more likely to have ethically sourced cobalt now. Loving the videos

[@trainzelda1428]

Omg thank you for this... I have this argument with ostensibly environmentalist people on the left all the time who think they're too smart to be repeating oil industry lies. It's so frustrating!

[@kristinsewell1441]

Thank you for demonstrating that algebra is not useless in real life! There's a lot of science in art and vice versa.

[@tracysibole]

I'm a physics teacher. I make my students do math, obviously, all the time, and we have recently needed C=pi*d and cross multiplying and dividing both for various physics problems. All I every hear all day is how much they will never use this in real life. I very much appreciated that you actually showed your math process and your work. It warmed my heart.

[@PotterytothePeople]

I was such a math nerd in school, but I'm so thankful for it now because it really helps with making pottery!

[@jessicaneal8553]

With your yarn bowl I was saying to myself "wrap the yarn around where the join is, so you have the line where it opens be a part of the design!". Absolutely love how the end of your spool turned out, it's beautiful with the clear glaze.

[@ixchelssong]

I love that you showed us the problems you had, as well as the final design! Not everyone does this, but it makes everything more approachable. 😁

[@PotterytothePeople]

I’m glad you appreciate that! I felt a little self-conscious sharing it, but its the real process!

[@crystafalcon8968]

I think I love this more than the actual show which I also love. It's like getting a gift weeks after Christmas. ❤️

[@PotterytothePeople]

haha that is so cool and such a compliment! Thank you

[@amandahodgin9316]

OooooOooooo….pottery and math in one video! Two of my favourite things! This Canadian math teacher loves it!!!!

[@PotterytothePeople]

hahah that's awesome! I worried it would scare everyone away 😅

[@amandahodgin9316]

I really liked the colour of the finished project. Bright colours are nice, but I like calmer colours for larger pieces…. I find them easier to fit into your decor. I just finished my first 10 hour pottery course. It was so much fun. I love your channel! Keep up the good work.

[@lindenjenesse5078]

Those are two of my favorite things, too!!

[@thirty3bluelines]

I can't wait to see more in this series. I hope you get another chance to incorporate the locking mechanism in the future. It looked really cool, and it was fascinating to watch its creation. I also appreciate you sharing the mishaps along the way. The final products look great!

[@PotterytothePeople]

I hope so to. I already want to remake my first two challenges haha. maybe that will be another series after this one is over :)

[@ugajin7348]

@@PotterytothePeople ..."too".

[@allenfitz1]

You didn't hear me yelling through the screen to remake the yarn ball smaller and save the cool locking mechanism. All in all a cool video Thanks

[@PotterytothePeople]

so thats what that sound was 🤔😆

[@lunafluegel9360]

super late to the party, but just for potential future reference: i think the seam in the yarn ball would be almost invisible if you do horizontal yarn pieces along the seam! especially if you could do a slight overhang on the one above the seam. if that makes sense, hahaha :')

[@lindenjenesse5078]

I love the colors! I understand, though, when the result doesn't fit your vision, it's hard not to miss what you had wanted to see! I've had pieces that I have taken out of the kiln and thought, "Oh well. I won't use that combo again." And then someone else sees the piece and *raves* over it!

[@Cocktail.witch.newhaven]

I find you so endearing. I feel like I’m with a friend when I watch your videos and I end up learning a lot. I’m so grateful for the KZbinrs I follow!

[@felinetherapy4782]

I love this series! I think taking the time to make it the best you can is well worth it. Can't wait for the next one!

[@PotterytothePeople]

Thank you! I'm glad :)

[@noan21]

The clip of the rejected yarn ball getting smashed was very satisfying, thank you for including it. I find something cathartic in throwing a failed piece into the scrap bucket.

[@PotterytothePeople]

me too! 😆

[@leonatati]

Free Congo! Thank you for speaking about cobalt and coltan mining and the associated evils that are perpetuated by our ignorance.

[@cjcarver6290]

I truly appreciate the math lessons you incorporate into your videos. If my math teachers could have made me understand the practical applications of math it would have been so much easier.

[@hoppingwren]

This one would make Keith cry for sure - you're a winner in my books!

[@ImrazorZodd]

I know I'm way late to the party, and that I wouldn't have noticed it if I was making it, but you could have rotated the yarn ball so that the seam is between the threads that go all the way around the ball. It would be much easier to hide that way I think. But that's not so important. Your work is very nice overall, inspires me to practice more and gives me ideas, so thank you. :)

[@kappagrapes]

Oh that little angle cutter is so neat! It's simple and practical and really taking advantage of the fact that clay can be cut with a taut string! I love it.

[@marilynjackson5752]

I loved that locking mechanism! And the yarn ball is awesome.

[@carozboy]

Maybe you could have added the tiny slot on the rim of the top used to stop the yarn from coming away from the spool/ reel as a locking mechanism? Simplicity. I did like your mechanical lock you first designed for the lid of the reel. Ingenious!! On the yarn ball maybe undercut the exterior yarn to help keep the ball uniform? I’m not a glaze expert so can’t comment on the details of that. Another idea I had was to put a hole in both the yarn ball and the reel and thread real yarn through both to demonstrate the usefulness of the piece? I realise that you were wanting to store your pin cushion in the yarn ball but it could also store yarn as well. Overall 11/10 from me!!

[@Lucky_to_be_Here]

Well I absolutely LOVE your blue results. Perfect for the body of the box, so much better than primary solid blues. I would love to see a big circular label on the lid, perhaps based on a vintage thread company label? You could possibly brush on underglaze to do this , right over top of the current glaze and then re-fire. See Maiolica methods as a reference.

[@joymalek8939]

This was SO cool! I love the colors (the thread and yarn look hand-dyed to me). Thank you for always showing your full process, disappointments included. There’s so much to learn from!

[@crystafalcon8968]

I really like the subtleness of the colour. The white on the spool with the cobalt makes the spool thread look like a cool silver. At least on my screen.

[@PotterytothePeople]

nice! :)

[@ivrifamily7813]

So cute, I love these challenges and your honesty about the fails! And the words about Cobalt are so important, thanks a lot! BTW, I love the colors combo.

[@PotterytothePeople]

thanks so much! 🥰

[@SigneofHorses]

Pottery is mindblowing to me. I love the dotted clay. I understand your disappointment on the colour but I do like the subtlety of it. I miss the hole in the spool. Perhaps it would look good with it painted on, as well as a vintage label.. too much to ask? I’m a painter/illustrator so that part of the process make my hands itch :)

[@CeeJayKay]

Thank you for this cool video. I think you make very good quality videos and I enjoyed watching this. I have an idea regarding the yarn ball closure, if you have a yarn ball like that, but make the lid meet the bottom right where two pieces of yarn are side-by-side then the crack between those two pieces of yarn could be the very well disguised opening. Does that make sense? I could show a picture easier. And regarding the spool of thread, I would’ve put a hole in the middle like my spools have. But I love the blue, and it’s fun to see it on a large scale like that and it makes a great container. Also, regarding the crack on the bottom of the spool, that’s where the thread should go that keeps it from unwinding. You know what I mean? On a real spool of thread there’s a little slit down there where this crack is and that’s where you put the tail end of the thread so it doesn’t unravel from the spool.

[@beinghere1494]

Thank you so much! I have learned a great deal about the toxicity and value of cobalt and how to value it and store it. Very much appreciated 🤗

[@tunasu6690]

Hello, I have a ceramic studio in Turkey. It was an old house and I renovated it. From making my own wall tiles to installating them, to correcting the walls with gips to making my own tables from reclaimed wood I did a big part alone. I also love construction projects. You are so couregous to show your design flaws, not trying to be perfect and so beautiful as a sincere and sharing human being. Thanks for sharing. You are highly appreciated.

[@nurdan17]

Hahahahha I LOOOOOVE it!!!! Despite the little cracks and stuff, it is fully functional and super cute! 😀

[@PotterytothePeople]

i totally agree! thank you 🥰

[@morgancox3848]

I love the ideas for these, I really liked the look of the spool when you had just scratched it. Gave a look closer to thread and a good contrast to the yarn ball. Can’t wait to see the rest of the season!

[@beebopper1280]

On the yarn ball, the separation would have been less noticeable if you placed the separation between two coils, as if winding the yarn horizontally. Maybe even have one of the coils overlap the edge

[@barbarac4138]

Great job! Looking forward to week three

[@PotterytothePeople]

thank you!! 🥰

[@ensenadorjones4224]

I love the overall build. I would have wrapped paracord around the spool after it had been glazed. To give it a mixed media look. Also one could use rope so it could be a cat scratch post. This makes me want to make a drum.

[@janlewis9099]

I love the idea of a hidden yarn ball within a spool of thread. The locking idea was brilliant too, it would have worked well just for a storage box. Will you consider using this locking technique again?

[@jemmafletch6692]

I think the color looks so cute!

[@ginnymaurer2580]

I love the way you show the designing, the info about the glazes-cobalt, all the way to loafing the kiln.

[@dianemcmullen7766]

I am loving this series of yours! Actually I enjoy yours more because you are figuring things out as you go, and as you know, the tv potters have had time to work things out before they have to make it. This also is a good example of how artists can challenge themselves when they need that extra push to get out of a rut:). You are a joy to watch.

[@rudimunk7030]

I feel like Keith would have cried when seeing this.

[@SuzyHousecoat]

I appreciate that the bigger yarn ball didn’t fit inside the thread spool, but you could’ve finished it and given it to one of your students or viewers or someone you know who crochets or knits as a gift. But I guess recycling it was a good choice.

[@denisenoble4010]

love your throwdown challenges, i was, as you said, screaming at my lap top keep the locking system, make a smaller yarn balll, but you only did the ball so i wasnt shouting loud enough lol. i like the colour, blue and lilac are my favourite colours. overall i liked the spool, just a shame the locking bit needed to go x

[@ellainab]

having so much fun watching these videos!

[@mandyowen4892]

Oh this was so cool the oxide looks lush. I just love your videos 😊

[@oh-no-plz-no2299]

these are absolutely gorgeous!!!! i love the finished pieces

[@JenPolishAholic]

this is so fun! I also crochet and can think of so many fun things to put in that yarn ball like stitch markers! I love the color!

[@PotterytothePeople]

handy as heck! 🙌

[@jessicawisniewski7201]

I am just loving your work and this series! Thank you for sharing your creation process!

[@PotterytothePeople]

thanks for watching! 🥰

[@ahm9d]

Very creative, and I really like the color choice. I just wish the second box was a different shape though to take advantage of the space of the first box. But thinking about it, the first box could always be used as it is, and the second one as a decorative piece on top. Nonetheless, marvelous work! Also, if you need like on the spot consultation, maybe post a poll on Instagram with a picture of what you need an opinion on.

[@PotterytothePeople]

great idea!

[@shelbyim5vaughns]

I love how real you are this us. "This long ass slab" haha that would be going through my mind too

[@ginnymaurer2580]

Love your boxes! I’m a fiber artist and beginning hand-builder potter!

[@melimelitus4277]

Love these! Love the color. You're probably right with a little bit more cobalt there would have been more depth. But the clay is sooooo perfect and I like, that you kept the color scheme simple. I'm also a huge sucker for yarns and textile. And the math is the cherry on top (so cute illustrated)! All in all definitely a 9/10!!!

[@PotterytothePeople]

im glad you liked it! even the math part! 😂😂 love a simple color scheme 🙌

[@lynnb1226]

Great make! Love the spool, it would make a great plant stand!

[@PotterytothePeople]

thank you!!

[@rnptenafly]

17:29 C. Make a small smaller ball of yarn.

[@cjcarver6290]

Your spool would be cute with an open container, perhaps glass, on top with all your wooden spools displayed.

[@OlesiaDzhoshkun]

it turned out great! It was also informative for me. thanks a lot!

[@RavenMayfair]

I think I would have gone for a "thinner" yarn... potter and crocheted here too... and I would have "wound" the yarn as a ball and then needle sliced through rather than attempt to match the strands. ... this maybe a challenge to try... when I'm done with my current ongoing projects

[@knightclan4]

Brilliant video!

[@raygeorge4553]

I think you did really well and I love the colour of the spool and lid and inside ....looks more like wood. maybe the locking mechanism would have worked with the smaller yarn ball you made? Thank you for letting us see the whole process ...positives and negatives 😀

[@Jaggyuar]

Easily a 8.5/10 and a 10/10 on color, It looks magnificent and that DEPTH!🤤

[@laureltreepottery7457]

Such a great video Mia and the end result was just lovely.

[@PotterytothePeople]

thank you!! 🥰

[@juliejoanlanne8322]

It's great ! I love the color ! Well done 👍

[@mythcrab6047]

I'm impressed by your math :)

[@abbyetherton27]

I see that you use a lot of slabs.... do you ever make pinch pots for bowls/balls? Love the video!

[@juliaw_arts]

I love this series!! I can’t wait to see what you create next! :)

[@sophiegae]

Smaller yarn ball!!! So good though Edit: add a locking mechanism with a clay needle through the top/ side as if put there fore safekeeping 😊

[@lorihry6236]

I love your concept. Thank you for explaining about how to use the oxides and especially about Cobalt. I like how the colour turned out. I enjoy listening to your thought process and working through issues as they come up. I also think you’re on the right path to not rush them. My goal this year is to fire less ‘meh’ vessels. Put the time in and make it worth it. Great job!

[@barbaramillar9631]

They look amazing 😁 I love the pottery throw down show

[@isajanssen2481]

Love this so much

[@pmclaughlin4111]

I'm a fiber person. Knit crochet quilt embroider bead and especially sew. I would be thrilled to put those in my home

[@PotterytothePeople]

so many skills! I am trying to teach myself to sew clothes but it in a struggle for me 😂

[@patriciag.6395]

I love the color combo.

[@julianemeyer6074]

sooooo cool!!!

[@esraalfandari5321]

Please just make a smaller yarnball :) The locking mechanism rocks!

[@potteryhandmade]

I will try to learn as much as you can

[@doninis1354]

I really love that you continued 😁 Thank you for sharing even the Math, I think I got it... Your spulpott is awsome, but I think less wiped away would look more awsome. I hope you are going to do the lok system again.

[@PotterytothePeople]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the math part.I wasn't sure if I should include it or not lol! I will definitely redo a lock at some point. :)

[@sarah_pings_witherby]

Really love how these came out - such a great choice of clay and the underglaze colour with that cobalt oxide is so much more pleasing to the eye than the previous week - those underglazes can be such a b*tch to work with! Super lovely - solid 8.5 ❤❤

[@PotterytothePeople]

aww youre too kind! 🥰🥰

[@CARodby2024]

Perhaps if you had run the initial yarn coils following the opening of the ball, the opening would visually disappear better. Well done. As an aside, your kiln needs some TLC.

[@larajaku]

Ambitious project, I really like the idea behind it! Where online do y'all watch the show? I live in Austria…

[@PotterytothePeople]

I watch on channel4.com with a VPN :)

[@angelajonesdiy]

Where do you get your music from. If you use epidemic sound could you share some of the titles from this video: I love you choices 🥰

[@scone1025]

Maybe the seam on the yarn ball could have been hidden more if you had run the yarn around horizontally in that section and then done the other fun yarn angles in other sections

[@alans1816]

They look good. Your figuring it out as you go along is a very helpful thing to see. I do like the idea of a darker blue with less wiped off, but don’t know whether that would have made an uneven looking color. With regard to the yarn ball, what if the outside yarn that goes all the way around were parallel to the joining edge? Perhaps fitting into that could be what aligns the lid.

[@PotterytothePeople]

that is GENIUS! 🙌

[@skyfrostthunderrock]

i was thinking if you removed the bottom, made the yarn ball on it, and then reattached it, you'd still keep the locking mechanism and the second, inner, box.

[@deboraharmstrong3002]

I would have pierced the lid and the side of the "thread spool" and make a "needle" that goes thru the holes as a locking key.

[@rosacoppa7586]

Hi!! Thanks for sharing!! May I ask you what camera and lens do you use to shoot your ceramics for your website? Also how do make the background blurry of your ceramics photos?

[@momadhis]

Yarn box could have been like a "puzzle box". so the opening cut followed a yarn line (?)

[@skully7763]

cotton reels have a hole in them through the middle, which I use to put my threaded needle in to hold the needle. Could you make the lock with the needle as the locking mechanism poked into the hole some how?

[@kandiistarr4325]

Thank you for mentioning the awful practices used in mining cobalt. Five big tech companies won the suit against the child labor issues which is so disheartening.

[@kandiistarr4325]

child labor sadly hasn't been removed yet

[@erinhallmakes777]

got i wish i could watch the show in canada and pot along. i dont love the colour, and i wish the thead and yarn balls were different but they are both cool.

[@sonoman00ify]

To hide the line on the yarn ball ypu could have wrapped yarn along the edge of one opening then wrapped another along edge of other. Then it would look like the line between two yarns. Hindsight is 20/20

[@lucindadangles-ru5il]

underglaze and stain should have gone on pre bisque. I wouldn't have wiped any off. Did you get cobalt into your clear glaze bucket? use a coil at the edge of the yarn bowl. The top piece and the bottom piece. I would have used a wood roller and brown stain on the wooden part.

[@deactivated148]

You coulda hid the jar/lid seam on the ball of yarn between two threads around the equator! Make the other ones look like they're going underneath

[@PotterytothePeople]

genius!!!! If I ever redo the yarn ball, I will be doing this :)

[@shellylipman5465]

You win!

[@fish871]

Personally, I would just make a smaller yarn ball, so I don't have to get rid of any features.

[@Gingy50]

Make a small bobbin to go with the bigger bobbin which holds cotton not wool, ie spool to go inside the big spool with its own locking mechanism again, big and small ?

[@asta7303]

C. I would have made a smaller yarnball and carved out at least some of the yarn. Edit: This is really fun to watch and I think the result looked good. A bit sad that you had to get rid of the lockingmechanism. How about throwing blindfolded

[@PotterytothePeople]

i didnt even think about carving! cool idea!

[@marieneergaard4845]

Jag hade nog gjort garnbollen först och sedan delat den och satt kanten efteråt

[@RavenMayfair]

I have an extremely toxic non food safe glaze I have one brush and one sponge for I wash them in a used jar, dry with a paper towel with I seal in the jar and dispose of the jar and contents in a safe manner so it doesn't end up in the environment and I only use the glaze for very special pieces

[@TheEmbrio]

You could make a real yarnball holder /bowl if you have a slit the yarn can spool out of in the lid.

[@kristintourville948]

can make the yarn ball smaller, it would fit and would easily be removed with one hand

[@susyward581]

Personally, I would not have used underglaze, rather I would have used a dark green or cobalt celadon, either would have broken really well over both pieces

[@flaekjaflintstone5656]

My mom always did 2 weeks of drying

[@Finding_Arcadia]

I wonder if you could have made the yarn ball smaller by cutting off a few centimeters from the rim on each to make it fit?

[@PotterytothePeople]

that could have worked! but i think it wouldnt be round anymore… like flat? or maybe not! 🤔