Sue Hintz on sat 1 feb 97
I've been taking a look at peoples bottoms--Maybe I
should clarify that, the bottoms of pots.
I have seen many very nice looking ones. I wonder
if folks are taking the time to trim every
one of these after they become leather hard.
Surely they are doing something different but
they look so good and to perfection. What do
the rest of you do to have nice looking bottoms
(of pots of coarse!)?
Sue
JULIE ATWOOD on sun 2 feb 97
Well, as for me, since I'm a handbuilder, my bottoms always look
great. ;) But many of my friends simply "trim" on the wheel, using a turning
tool or even a piece of plastic to trim excess clay away from the bottom,
then use a braided fishwire or a regular wire to cut the pot off. The
braided fishwire makes a very pretty design on the bottom, but the
regular wire or fishwire makes a very clean cut...and with the turned
bottom, it looks as if it had been trimmed. A timesaving way to "trim".
On Sat, 1 Feb 1997, Sue Hintz wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I've been taking a look at peoples bottoms--Maybe I
> should clarify that, the bottoms of pots.
> I have seen many very nice looking ones. I wonder
> if folks are taking the time to trim every
> one of these after they become leather hard.
> Surely they are doing something different but
> they look so good and to perfection. What do
> the rest of you do to have nice looking bottoms
> (of pots of coarse!)?
>
> Sue
>
Brad Sondahl on sun 2 feb 97
Sue Hintz wrote:
.. What do> the rest of you do to have nice looking bottoms
> (of pots of coarse!)?
>
>
I add thrown coil feet to all of my bowls. Trim off the waste clay to a
smooth contour, score, slip, and stick on the coil. Secure in place
with wet chamois, and flatten with rib if necessary. This yields a nice
flared foot by which the bowl can be inverted for glaze pours.
Brad Sondahl Idaho
Paulaclay@aol.com on sun 2 feb 97
Sue, the second thing a potter notices, after the image of the entire pot, is
the bottom. Don't we all pick up a pot to check the weight and the
craftsmanship? I put a lot of energy into perfecting my pots' bottoms.
Usually this means a trimmed foot with a smooth inside, either due to burnish
or a shammie. If there are any glaze drips, kiln wash remnants, or stilt
marks I always grind them off. Your name is on the bottom and you want the
impression to be one of perfection. Paula Sibrack
Erin Hayes on sun 2 feb 97
I tell my students to undercut the bottom of the wall on cylinder forms,
wait till they get leather hard, then roll them on a hard table surface.
Sometimes they choose to smooth the underside with a rubber rib, too.
Bottoms are a really undervalued aspect of pots. A bad bottom on an
otherwise great pot is such a disappointment to whoever handles it. I'll be
curious to read some of the posts on this one. I've never been a
consistently good bottom-producer myself.
Erin.
Waiting for all the "bottom" puns...
Dave and Pat Eitel on sun 2 feb 97
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I've been taking a look at peoples bottoms--Maybe I
> should clarify that, the bottoms of pots.
>I have seen many very nice looking ones. I wonder
>if folks are taking the time to trim every
>one of these after they become leather hard.
>Surely they are doing something different but
>they look so good and to perfection. What do
>the rest of you do to have nice looking bottoms
>(of pots of coarse!)?
>
>Sue
Pots should be thrown with the entire design of the pot in mind. From the
beginning, y ou need to know how the bottom will be finished. Some
pots--mugs, for example--are best designed not to have a turned foot,
whereas certain bowl forms must have a turned foot to look complete, As
much care should be taken when turning a foot as with all the other steps
of making the pot--and if that happens, the bottoms ought to look as good
as the rest.
Later...Dave
Dave Eitel
Cedar Creek Pottery
Cedarburg, WI
pots@cedarcreekpottery.com
http://www.cedarcreekpottery.com
Charles Williams on thu 6 feb 97
Sue,
I was raised being taught to "take enough pride in your work to ALWAYS
finish the bottom of the piece". I know several local and not so local
potters that do not finish the bottom of a piece, other than maybe running
their finger along the edge and tamping the bottom in somewhat to facilitate
its sitting flat. I do my trim/finish work on the bottom when soft leather
hard. I do not seek perfection, rather believe finishing the bottom implies a
certain level of professionalism. I too sometimes leave the bottom of a
handmade piece unfinished to achieve or lend to its rough character. From a
technical slant, finishing the bottom further compresses the clay and
strengthens the bottom.
Go To Pot, with a smile on your face!
C Williams AKA Mississippi Mudcat Pottery
Patsy Catsos on fri 7 feb 97
Hi all,
"Finishing the bottom of the pot" doesn't mean that a foot ring _must_ be
trimmed or added to every pot, in my opinion. I make a number of forms that
I feel foot rings would be inapropriate for--especially forms requiring extra
stability, such as "dip" bowls, cereal bowls to be used by children, even
certain coffee mugs. Also, plates and bowls with foot rings take up extra
space in the cupboard--instead of nesting tightly, there is the height of a
foot ring between each piece. In such cases, I finish the bottoms by
trimming, if necessary, the burnishing them. I am proud of my bottoms
because I feel that they are appropriate for the pot, foot ring or no. Patsy
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