Technique: Hollow bead
Win: Mostly
Challenge:
• I used a piece I made with my extruder but it was a little thin, so it cracked slightly when I tried to stretch it to make it hollow.
• Getting the shape to be puffy on the front and flat on the back, while still meeting with clean edges.
Lessons Learned:
• Making a hollow shape with an irregular outline and curved edges is more difficult than starting with a simpler shape.
• Adding a frame around the whole shape helped make the final piece look cleaner and more intentional.
• Making a hole in the finished bead is tricky. If you press too hard, you risk cracking the piece.
Confidence Level: 6/10
Notes:
• I love the fact that I am doing something different every day. Some people follow a detailed plan, but I am simply choosing what feels interesting in the moment.
• I’m considering stopping at 50 days and then starting again from the same techniques to see whether there is improvement the second time around. Even though the path ahead is long, I can already feel small shifts. Each day my muscle memory improves a little, and I feel a bit more confident trying something I’ve never done before.
I also put small squishes of black into the cracks so it looked smoother. I rather like it – it is sort of grungy.
The back turned out to have a better pattern than the front. Typical of me and my lack of spatial awareness. HA HA HA
Here is a side view so you can see it is a little hollow bead. I know I need to focus on finishes again, but I consider this a win.
Closing Reflection:
Day 5 felt like a small engineering puzzle made of colour and clay. Hollow forms ask for patience and just the right amount of pressure, and today showed how delicate that balance can be. Even so, the experiment worked more often than it failed, and each tiny crack or adjustment added another piece to the learning curve. The rhythm of daily making is beginning to settle in now.
One day at a time, one experiment at a time, the hands are quietly learning their craft.