Dear Sarah

Dear Sarah,

I've been thinking about you, often.
It's been 7 years since I last saw you in person.
You've never taught me how to wheel-throw, hand-build or how to pull mug handles, but what you DID teach me was . . . priceless.

My son, Dennis and I were in our second year of wheel-throwing, and our fourth pottery studio when we decided to take Judi Harwood's six week, intermediate wheel-throwing class at The Village Potters in Asheville, NC. Judi is a great teacher, and we'll never forget wheel-throwing, blindfolded. This was an important test of "trusting" the "feel" of wheel-thrown clay. We also took her raku class, which was a lot of fun and very educational; learning about different alternative firing techniques. 
Each six week class consisted of several hours of extra "practice" time in the studio. It was during one of these practice times, I spoke with a woman who was wheel-throwing. I believe she said she was taking Sarah's advanced class, and was being taught how to wheel-throw pottery WITHOUT using water.
I'll repeat that.
She said she was being taught by Sarah how to wheel-throw WITHOUT using WATER.
At one and a half years into making pottery on the wheel, I could not conceive of throwing pottery without water. As a matter of fact, I'd leave class full of clay sludge all over my clothes from using, probably, too much water.
I just NEVER forgot what she said, and have often tried to imagine this process ever since, not attempting it.

When it was time to purchase some clay for class, Julia Mann was kind enough to personally bring us to the clay warehouse, to show us the Laguna clays we could choose from. When Julia opened the first door to the warehouse, there was Sarah Wells Rolland across the room, wheel-throwing a very large piece of pottery. She was seated in front of a brick wall. The scene of the large pot, the brick wall and the lighting was almost dreamlike to me. Her potter's wheel was rotating slowly, as she guided the potter's rib up and down the side of the pot (slowly as well), as if compressing, ever so slightly to produce an exact shape and smoothness.
I'd NEVER seen a potter utilize a slow rotating wheel; always fast.
This dreamlike scene has never left my memory.
It was if I'd entered a secret place where only members of an immense expertise were allowed. As if I snuck out of bed to watch T.V. from the hallway, when I was supposed to be sleeping!
I managed a "Hello", hoping she would respond in kind.
It was to my amazement that not only did she respond in kind - she was also very kind!
Imagine that - she was NICE!
In my mind, I had actually met my very first Super Hero Potter.

Sarah came to mind once again after a recent purchase of Sio-2's turquoise blue LAGOON Porcelain.
My rim kept flopping over.
Could it be?
Was it possible?
Yep! Too much water.
O.K. Sarah Wells Rolland. It was time to put your class; the class I never took, to the test!
Throwing WITHOUT water.
Another lump of Lagoon porcelain clay, wedged and sitting on the wheel head.
Water was used to cone up and back down, and also to center, as the wheel was rotating my usual out-of-control fast speed.
Time to pull up the sides - NO WATER used.
SLOW the wheel down!
My wheel was rotating so slow - it had to speed up to stop!
I can't believe it!
I'm wheel-throwing without a drop of water. I actually had to wipe my hands because they were full of DRIED porcelain clay bits. Originally I thought my dry fingers would pull, or drag the clay, forcing it to jerk around, without the use of water -

BUT NO!

Didn't happen.
The wheel was rotating very slowly, and the sides were definitely lifting up, and the rim was sturdy and strong, and . . . UPRIGHT.

Oh! Come on!
Eight years into wheel-throwing, and you are JUST NOW experimenting with WATERLESS wheel-throwing?

Yes!
The pot you see in the main photo is a bowl just wheel-thrown yesterday and trimmed today.
It is only 1-1/2 ponds of clay, and was wheel-thrown without the use of water, after the initial centering.
The sides came up FAST, and the bowl is a decent size for 1-1/2 pounds of clay! That surprised me the most. The rim is nice and round, and the walls of the bowl did not require a lot of trimming, as they were fairly thin - for me, that is.

Since meeting my first super hero potter, Sarah Wells Rolland, 7 years ago, I've researched POTTERS and POTTERY, preferring contemporary pottery to antique pottery, but also the unknown potters of ancient civilizations that created beautiful works WITHOUT the aid of a potter's wheel.

Sarah,
We need our Super Hero potters to inspire us and gently push us, even in unexpected ways.
To keep us going, so we don't give up in the early stages.
How many failures does it take to create a success?
As many as it takes.
A courageous, extremely gifted, generous with her knowledge; an exemplary human being - that is Sarah Wells Rolland.
I wish you and The Village Potters, continued blessings and success.

Thank you and Best Regards,
Teresa Tromp