I have definitely accidentally splashed clay and slip over the sides while on the pottery wheel, but this bowl was the first time I launched an object.

Because my bowl was not fully secured to the wheel, when I put my tool onto the piece and pressed on the foot pedal, my piece rattled around the wheel before getting wedged between the wheel and the splash pan. (See this step-by-step tutorial from SLO Maker Space on trimming for a good picture of how to secure your piece to the wheel).

At this point, I was very precious about each piece, so wanted to salvage it.

So I matched the notch in the rim with an identical cut on the other side, and I made all the slices on the side into decorations. Then I glazed in white then green, a color combination I knew made nice breaks on carved lines.

It’s ok! I managed to save it and learn a thing or two about getting those pots securely fastened. Also, from this point on, I always hold my left hand on the piece when I slowly turn on the wheel.