The Duds

This looks like a perfectly good bowl, but I know it's a dud. Why? Two reasons. The first is that it should be a deep red color but the glaze is too thin. I should have dipped it twice. The second reason:

Yep, it has a crack in the center of the bowl. That won't do. A cracked bowl is not safe to use because it's so hard to clean. So what can I do with this dud?

I put it out in my back garden, along the Wall of Fame. It will gather water when it rains which may provide drink or a bath for the local birds. When winter comes, the water will turn to ice and probably crack the bowl open. Next spring, if it's in pieces, I'll throw it away. But for now, I like looking at it on the garden wall.

Here are a couple of last year's duds:

Don't these lidded jars look lovely? I thought so, too, until I tried to take their lids off. The lids were permanently glazed to the jars. What's the use of a jar when the lid won't come off? So out they went into the garden. They're waterproof with their glued-on lids, so they've survived the winter and will probably last several years.

Duds are a necessary part of the learning process, and I have plenty of duds, so I must be learning a lot. At least, I hope so.