Jarita Thomson on wed 27 aug 08
From: jaritascoiledclay@hotmail.comTo: beadiepotter@yahoo.comSubject: RE: c=
entering tool=2C clay education=2C Hand Builders-2nd class clay citizens?Da=
te: Wed=2C 27 Aug 2008 13:49:20 -0400
Kim and all=2CI'm glad to hear some support for handbuilding. I am usually =
a lurker on clayart because I get intimidated easily. (Already had the disc=
ussion on that and some very nice people showed reassurance=2C thank you.) =
Anyway=2C I have been watching this whole discussion about the centering to=
ol and all. You see=2C I am physically challenged. Not actually handicapped=
=2C but I have some noteworthy bone deformities that make life more complex=
. In many regards I have learned to do most things like other people and ma=
ny people never realize that I have deformities=2C but when it comes to the=
clay world=2C well=2C my challenges become more obvious. Over the years=2C=
I too have felt that there is a lot of expectation for potters to "advance=
" to throwing from handbuilding. I have perceived this so strongly that 2 y=
ears ago I bought a wheel. I have tried repeatedly to work this blasted thi=
ng because I feel that it is expected. I can now center about a 1 1/2 pound=
piece of clay and pull a basic cylinder that stands=2C oh about=2C 6-9 " t=
all. But I have learned this at a great expense and a great deal of pain an=
d I'm not very good at it. On the other hand=2C I can coil bottles that sta=
nd 24" tall and are graceful and elegant. I can slab-build vases=2C birdhou=
ses=2C baskets and a wide variety of other items that are all very well-mad=
e. But=2C I can't throw on the wheel. Does that make me less of a potter? I=
hope not and I am glad to hear that others prefer handbuilding and regard =
it as respectfully as wheel thrown work.Larry commented that he too has phy=
sical challenges and yet he learned and became very proficient at throwing =
on the wheel. I do not know if his problems relate to mine in any way=2C bu=
t hearing that someone overcame their challenges is also reassuring. If he =
can=2C can I? I don't remember who ( I think it was Vince? but supported by=
others) who said if you can't wedge a 5 pound ball of clay you don't need =
to be throwing on the wheel. I can't wedge a 5 pound=2C or even a 2-3 pound=
=2C ball of clay. (My arms have limited mobility and strength and my adjust=
ments that I would normally make for other activities cause intense pain in=
my back when I try to wedge. It's hard to explain.) Maybe I could learn to=
throw from a teacher who can understand my challenges and help me to figur=
e out a way around them. Too bad I don't live near Larry as he seems to be =
teaching and knows about physical challenges. But do I even need to learn? =
I guess that is mostly up to me=2C but I definitely feel pressured to learn=
. Do I give in to that pressure (or at least try while suffering a lot of p=
ain) or do I continue with my own voice and develop and strive to perfect m=
y handbuilding skills? It is reassuring to know that handbuilding is recogn=
ized as a pursuit worth striving for. Just sharing thoughts=2CJarita=20
> Date: Wed=2C 27 Aug 2008 07:43:19 -0700> From: beadiepotter@YAHOO.COM> Su=
bject: Re: centering tool=2C clay education=2C Hand Builders-2nd class clay=
citizens?> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG> > Lois=2C> I would state it even =
more strongly than that. At one NCECA I heard someone on a pannel say that =
while hand building was a great way to start anyone who went into productio=
n would have to throw. I didn't believe it then and I don't believe it now.=
I can throw perfectly well though far from perfectly. But in a life with l=
imited work time why perfect my throwing when I don't even want to throw. I=
hand build. I'm pretty good at it. Even if the silly tool under discussion=
actually worked it would interest me not at all. I am a hand building pott=
er and I am proud of it! So why don't we teach hand building to others as a=
genuine potting alternative instead of simply a stepping stone to throwing=
?> Okay=2C I feel much better now for having vented. --Kim H.>=20
Get ideas on sharing photos from people like you. Find new ways to share. G=
et Ideas Here!=20
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Lee Love on wed 27 aug 08
On Wed, Aug 27, 2008 at 12:51 PM, Jarita Thomson
wrote:
>but supported by others) who said if you can't wedge a 5 pound ball of clay
>you don't need to be throwing on the wheel. I can't wedge a 5 pound, or even a 2-3
> pound, ball of clay. (My arms have limited mobility and strength and my
>adjustments that I would normally make for other activities cause intense pain
>in my back when I try to wedge. It's hard to explain.) Maybe I could learn to
> throw from a teacher who can understand my challenges and help me to figure out
>a way around them.
YES! Jarita, two of the most famous types of Japanese pottery are
raku and shigaraki. Raku is totally pinch potted, but shigaraki is
all coil and throw, even yunomi. What that means is that you don't
need to center 2 or 3 lb of clay. Everything starts as a clay disk
on the will head, which forms the bottom of the pot. Then coils are
placed on the disk, pinched and then thinned and smoothed on the
turning wheel. It totally eliminates the need to center because you
can center the initial disk simply by cutting the perimeter with a
needle tool as the wheel spins.
So, don't let myths about centering keep you from the wheel.
I love all sorts of handbuilding, including the use of molds.
I see no conflict between hand building and wheel throwing.
Actually, I often cut up wheel thrown things and then handbuild them
to rejoin them.
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." --Rumi
Elizabeth Priddy on wed 27 aug 08
No, Jarita, it is absolutely unnecessary to learn to throw.
=A0
You are not a better potter because you can throw.
I can teach a reasonably competent monkey to throw.
=A0
I think the opposite of some.=A0 Throwing is the first thing
and then is followed by more creative hand work.=A0 All thrown things
are limited to starting out round, and then altering from round,=20
sometimes for no good reason.=A0 As in, you could have made the=20
same thing in half the time if you had just built it or used forms.
=A0
Throwing is really great for making round things fast.=A0 That is it.
=A0
Throwing is just a macho gotcha game of who got there first in terms of
who is better than who.=A0 It is limited in its range of skill.=A0 Once you=
can=20
a reasonably sized cylinder of even thickness, you aren't going to get=20
qualitatively better at it.=A0 Your skill level has buolt in limitations, a=
nd in
my thinking, that makes it an inferior art form to handwork.=A0 Hand work=
=20
is only limited by your imagination and creative use of the material.
=A0
Feel free to use any of that next time some wheel jockey makes you feel lik=
e
less of a potter because you don't ride a bike as well as s/he does.
.
Keep handbuilding.=A0 And let the other go.=A0 Sell the wheel and buy a gre=
at extruder!
Throwing is a wonderful thing but not required one bit to be an excellent p=
otter.
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
Workshops and pottery online at:
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
Natural Instincts Conference Information:
http://downtothepottershouse.com/NaturalInstincts.html
Kiln pictures and such:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7973282@N03/
--- On Wed, 8/27/08, Jarita Thomson wrote:
From: Jarita Thomson
Subject: FW: centering tool, clay education, Hand Builders-2nd class clay c=
itizens?
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 1:51 PM
From: jaritascoiledclay@hotmail.comTo: beadiepotter@yahoo.comSubject: RE:
centering tool, clay education, Hand Builders-2nd class clay citizens?Date:=
Wed,
27 Aug 2008 13:49:20 -0400
But do I even need to learn? I
guess that is mostly up to me, but I definitely feel pressured to learn. Do=
I
give in to that pressure (or at least try while suffering a lot of pain) or=
do I
continue with my own voice and develop and strive to perfect my handbuildin=
g
skills? It is reassuring to know that handbuilding is recognized as a pursu=
it
worth striving for. Just sharing thoughts,Jarita=20
=0A=0A=0A
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