Roll yer owns

I arrived here with work made in Canada and I was scheduled for a critique first week here. This is a time for 8 other grad students, two profs and the ceramic technologist to let ya know what they think. Well, for sure it was a helluva lot of information to mull over, edit and take what ya have coming. It stopped me dead in my tracks for about a week as I laid awake thinking about my next work and what I needed to take from my peers. They are all well meaning and truly want your work to grow.
I needed work on the forms. I started working on the forms and using the slab roller for my slabs. The slab roller turned out to be my worst enemy. For years I have wanted Sheila to buy a slab roller and get more prolific. She has always declined and said she liked her hand rolled slabs better. She ought to know she does the hand building and I am new to this method.
What I found was the slab roller put a memory into the slab that caused them to twist and almost inhale. Slabs that I put volume into would somehow the next day look like they had sucked into flat slabs again.
I mentioned this to John and he said what took you so long to figure that out. I am now building a pile of clay, piling a bunch of 1/2 sticks and cutting it with a harp that John has lent me. The vases I am making are about 30" tall and I am into bondage to keep them from leaning over in the drying. I'm back to enjoying clay again.