Birds!
The form is thrown on the wheel, shaped like a short, squat bowling pin.
A day later, when the form has become firmer, I coax the clay at the bottom into a tail shape, just like pulling a short handle from clay. I depress the "spine" area, and as I do so, either side seems to rise so that the bird has folded wings. Then I add a beak and eyes, and I open the beak so that the bird is singing.
little birds freshly made from porcelain clay; wheel-thrown and altered
I think I will make a flock of these. They can sing all over my studio and gallery.