So, I wanted a bunch of small wabi-sabi tea cups. I wanted to make a bunch for examples of glaze combinations. I did the math and figured I need nearly a hundred, and thats if i don’t worry about all combinations on all three different clay bodies. That might be a few more than I want to make. I started with a dozen. To make them i threw them “off the hump”. That was interesting,

I started with a couple 4 lb. billets. Throwing was fairly simple. Cutting off was a bit more interesting. The best method i found involved a foot of string tied to a wooden handle. Using a large needle tool, I created a small groove where I wanted to cut the piece off. Then, laying the free end of the strong in the groove, I start the wheel at a moderate speed. The string draws itself around the groove and cuts off the piece, and with a gentle bump from the right hand the piece slides off onto the left hand. It’s a little tricky to avoid deforming the piece when catching it, but it is possible. So using this approach, I ended up with a dozen tea cups, and a nice little bowl.