Custom Pottery Order

I was up at Christy's shop for lunch the other day when a call came in. It was a very sweet lady that I met briefly on the street a few weeks earlier. She had complimented my pottery as I was bringing back into the shop one afternoon. We were both in a hurry and so we just chatted a few minutes and that was it. Anyway, this time she was calling because she needed some chalices (think Anglican communion) made for a confirmation class. Eight children in her church were going through confirmation classes and would soon be admitted to the Lord's Table and full church membership.  I explained that I was flattered that she thought of me, but that I really was a beginner, I didn't make chalices, and if I did it was unlikely I could make eight that were all alike.

She wouldn't take no for an answer. She was very kind but continued to press me - pleading to at least give it a try. I told her I would think about it and call her back in an hour or so. I called back and explained everything. There were a few things she had to understand:

1) Pottery isn't woodworking. When I "make" them it might be 10-14 days before I know if they turn out ok.

2) By the time I do know if they turn out OK or not, there is no going back and fixing them by the time she needs them.

She assured me that while she thought it would be very special for them, they would be OK if I didn't deliver. In short, either I tried it or they didn't get them anyway.

So I have spent a few hours now trying to figure out how to make them. There are several ways and I have tried them all, but I think I have settled on an approach. I made a prototype yesterday. It is not very good and it is about 2 inches too small, but it did give me hope that I can pull it off. It was the shape and attachment of the stem and the bowl that concerned me, and I think I have the "how" part of it. Now, I just have to make it bigger and pull off eight (plus extras for breakage) of them that are roughly the same.