Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“I’d love to, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it is. I didn’t have any students come in to work on their projects, so I was actually heading out early, but you two are welcome to it. You can leave your work on the back counter and I’ll get it fired in the kiln for you. Do you mind locking up when you’re done?”
“Not a problem,” I assured her.
“Thank you, and have fun! It was nice meeting you two,” she told Sterling and Cooper.
“It was great meeting you as well.”
Cheryl patted Sterling’s shoulder and gave me a thumbs up before making her way down the hall. I took my man’s hand once more and led him into the studio, which held several rectangle tables along the walls, and about a dozen stools, all seated in front of potter’s wheels.
“She was really nice,” Sterling said as I shut the door behind us.
“Oh yeah, Cheryl is great. She was one of the first people I met when I took the job here, and she’s always been so sweet and welcoming. She’s the one who got me into ceramics and taught me how everything worked. She teaches Pottery, Sculptural Form, and is the Arts Director for the university.”
“Busy lady,” Sterling figured.
“Definitely. And the students all love her.” I led him through the room to a cooler in the back corner. Before I opened it, I told him, “There’s an open spot under this table where Cooper can lay if that’s okay.” Our hands would be full, so I wanted to get the pooch somewhere comfortable while we worked.
“Oh, sure.” Sterling handed me Cooper’s leash, and I guided him beneath the table, where there was lots of room to lay down and stretch out. I told him he could lie down, but Cooper just stared at me until Sterling instructed, “Lay.” Then the dog sprawled out, looking pleased and ready when his companion told him, “I’ll whistle when I need you.” The respect and love between them warmed my heart.
“Okay, the first thing I’m going to do is get some water,” I told Sterling before I left him for a moment to fill a large bowl and collect a couple of sponges, which I placed on a small table by the nearest wheel. “Now we can get our clay.”
I opened the cooler, and Sterling raised his hands to feel the air coming from it. “Is it in a fridge?”
“Yep. It keeps the clay moisturized and stops mold from growing in it.” He hummed his interest while I retrieved a wire cutter. “Okay, I’m going to cut off a hunk, here. What should we make today? That will tell me how much to cut.”
“Hmm…How about a vase?”
“That sounds perfect.” I slid the wire through the soft clay, chopping off a decent sized piece before closing the cooler. “Hold out your hands.” When Sterling did as I asked, I placed the blob on his palms.
“Oh wow, that’s heavier than I thought it’d be.”
“It’s pretty dense right now, but some water weight will bake off in the kiln. Oh, I almost forgot; stay right there.” I hustled to a hook on the wall and grabbed two aprons. I tied one around my own waist before sliding the second over Sterling’s neck and securing it around his middle. “I don’t want your clothes to get messy.” Unless we got them messy the same way we did the night before; then I was totally on board.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Now, before we put this on our wheel, we need to shape it.”
“Into a vase?”
“Not yet. We just need it in a gumdrop shape; flat on the bottom and mounded on top. To do that, we just sort of slap it around.”
Sterling chuckled as we did just that, slapping and swatting at the blob until it looked like a candy treat. “Perfect. Now we’ll drop it on our wheel.” I guided Sterling to the wheel we would be using, and helped him plop it in the center. Then, I collected a stool and placed it behind his knees. “Here you go, sweetheart; there’s a seat right behind you.”
He lowered himself onto the stool and I grabbed another one, sitting and sliding in behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and took his hands. “I’ll guide you like this.”
“I think I really like pottery,” he teased, and I laughed before kissing his neck, trying to ignore the tiny moan that came from his lips. If I didn’t, there was no way I could focus on the vase.
“So, before we start shaping our piece, we need to wet the clay.” I dipped both of our hands in the bowl of warm water, and cupped them around the mound. “Now I’m going to start the wheel. It will make a little noise while it spins.”