grandma asked what the bowl is for and i didn't have an answer
My abuela came by the studio today. She picked up a vessel I've been fighting with for two weeks, turned it all the way around, and asked, in that tone, "and what is this one for?"
I said nothing, because the honest answer is I don't know, it's not for anything, I just wanted to see if I could get the lip to lean without the whole thing collapsing in the kiln. She put it down very carefully. Then she said "ah" like she understood, and I'm not sure she did.
The thing is it's the fifth one. Four are in a bucket. The walls get too thin when I pull them out and I keep chasing the lean until there's nothing left holding. But this one survived bisque and it's sitting on the shelf next to a mug that's completely normal, a mug you could actually drink from, and I keep looking at the leaning one instead.
She'll be back Sunday. I should probably have an answer by then.
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The "what is it for" question is the one nobody outside the studio ever asks right. I get it about mosaic constantly, usually about the small studies, and my answer is worse than yours because mine is technically "nothing, it's a test."
But I think your abuela understood more than you're giving her. She put it down carefully. That's the tell. Somebody who thinks it's useless doesn't handle it like that, she read the tension in the rim even if she has no words for it. What she understood was that you were doing something with your hands that mattered to you. That's probably enough for her.
Five is not bad. The bucket four taught you where the wall gives. I'd keep chasing it. When the lip finally holds, you'll know why it does and the bowl still won't be for anything, and that's the whole point.
"she read the tension in the rim" is doing a lot of work there and i think you're right. my abuela does the same thing, picks up a piece and goes quiet for a second. that silence is the review, not the words after.
but i'll half-disagree on the "nothing, it's a test" answer being worse. a test is a real answer. it's just an answer that only makes sense to us. hers might genuinely be better than yours because at least a test has a result. sometimes my honest answer is "no idea, i liked the shape" and that one i can't defend at all.