I am finally over the hump with relearning how to throw a platter. Here is one day's work. I could have made more, but I ran out of bats and space to put them. They've been drying for about four days now and are ready for trimming, which is another hump to get over. Handling or flipping them is tricky because of their weight and size. Some are as wide as my arm's length.
A good days work, one hundred lbs of clay used, eight platters, and reclaim clay waiting to be wedged.
Ribbons of clay trimmings that will be dried and reused.
Trimming creates quite a bit of clay for recycling. The clay is allowed to dry then added to a bucket of water which is instantly absorbed, breaking it down into particles. The slurry, potter talk for mud, is placed on thick plaster slabs where the excess water is absorbed. Now back to being clay, it'll be wedged or de-aired and used again.
While I'm now comfortable making the platters, I'm still trying to get a feel for trimming. I've trimmed the bottoms out of a few platters, and some I cut off at an awkward angle, making them difficult to trim. I'm sharing my failures with you because it's a part of learning; it's the part that makes succeeding fun.
Five of eight platters survived trimming.