martin howard on mon 7 feb 00
Do British potters know of courses for repetition throwing and learning the
tricks of semi-commercial production?
I had a name and address of someone in Devon or Cornwall, but have misplaced
it. He accepts potters, one at a time, to throw with him for a week. His
pottery is in the middle of a small town and he puts his guests up at a
nearby Bed and Breakfast.
Who is he? Can anyone help.
I have also been advised that such a course is not really helpful, because
after the first two days the mind shuts off accepting further imprinting of
information. Any further ideas on that, friends?
Of course, I can do all this in my own pottery, but having someone else,
perhaps holding a metaphysical whip, would be an aid towards further
accuracy, methodology and economy of time and effort. Still thinking.
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road
Great Saling
BRAINTREE
Essex CM7 5DZ
01371 850 423
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
www.webbscottage.co.uk Should be ready for 2000 :-) or 2001
Stephen Mills on wed 9 feb 00
Martin,
For me the watchphrase was "Keep it simple". I began my production life
on a treadle wheel, and found that stopping it every time to take pots
off wasted a lot of time and energy; so I modified my shapes to enable
me to keep kicking in a steady rhythm and take them off without
stopping. I carried this idea of economy of time and effort through into
the rest of my production techniques and found that it produced some
great bonuses, for example; decreasing the throwing time on a piece
increased the "directness" of my making and gave the pots a fresher and
livelier look without sacrificing quality. Pulling handles directly from
the pot has the same plus as well. So it became a habit to constantly
review how I made, glazed, and decorated pieces to see if I could
simplify the process further.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , martin howard writes
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Do British potters know of courses for repetition throwing and learning the
>tricks of semi-commercial production?
>
>I had a name and address of someone in Devon or Cornwall, but have misplaced
>it. He accepts potters, one at a time, to throw with him for a week. His
>pottery is in the middle of a small town and he puts his guests up at a
>nearby Bed and Breakfast.
>
>Who is he? Can anyone help.
>
>I have also been advised that such a course is not really helpful, because
>after the first two days the mind shuts off accepting further imprinting of
>information. Any further ideas on that, friends?
>
>Of course, I can do all this in my own pottery, but having someone else,
>perhaps holding a metaphysical whip, would be an aid towards further
>accuracy, methodology and economy of time and effort. Still thinking.
>
>Martin Howard
>Webb's Cottage Pottery
>Woolpits Road
>Great Saling
>BRAINTREE
>Essex CM7 5DZ
>01371 850 423
>martin@webbscottage.co.uk
>www.webbscottage.co.uk Should be ready for 2000 :-) or 2001
>
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
home e-mail: stevemills@mudslinger.demon.co.uk
work e-mail: stevemills@bathpotters.demon.co.uk
own website: http://www.mudslinger.demon.co.uk
BPS website: http://www.bathpotters.demon.co.uk
Tel: **44 (0)1225 311699
Fax: **44 (0)870 0526466
martin howard on wed 5 apr 00
Several of you thought that a week's course of repetition throwing would be
a waste of money, as I could just sit at home and do it. Wrong dear friends.
The week spent at The Wren Pottery, Tavistock, Devon, with Tim Farmer was a
complete eye opener.
There was no fancy stuff. Just solid throwing to size, learning simple,
effective ways of producing saleable ware in a reasonable time and therefore
at an acceptable price. #95 for the week's tuition and finishing of 12 of
your best. There are good B&Bs near by and plenty of evening food and
drinking locations in this attractive town.
Tim is a production potter, for other local more visible potteries around
Dartmoor, but he sells about half his produce from the pottery shop. That is
off the Village Arcade behind Brook Street, which has some of the more
flourishing shops in this very quaint market town. It's rented
accommodation, a little run down, but serviceable.
Visitors to the shop look through the window at us two, Tim the teacher and
me the student. Usually, back home, it is me that is the teacher. The change
is good for one's ego :-)
Throwing in 20s, a board at a time, instead of just in single figures feels
good. It's a little difficult for the first few days, wondering if my back
(and backside) will last through to 5 p.m., let alone to the end of the
week. But it did and felt all the stronger for the experience. Now I can do
the same at home. My retirement hobby can become a business. But I will
still stay below the IR threshold.
So, if you want to follow suite, 'phone Tim on 01822 616896 (9 to 5). He
only takes one student at a time, for the whole week. So you get personal
tuition.
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road
Great Saling
BRAINTREE
Essex CM7 5DZ
01371 850 423
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
www.webbscottage.co.uk Should be ready for 2000 :-) or 2001
Kim Marie on tue 2 may 00
-------------------
I've gotten some great ideas for pots while in the rhythm of the 47th mug or
bowl=21
Kim Marie
info=40kimmariefinepottery.com
www.kimmariefinepottery.com
iandol on thu 2 aug 01
Although I appreciate the concept implied by what Ron Roy says in his =
posting,=20
>And - most important of all - start with a form that has some life to =
it.<
especially in terms of the emotional charge which comes from contact =
with lively works I think "Life", as used here is a rather subjective =
metaphor. Much like pots that "Sing", possibly they are allegorical. =
Yes, I know when you see one or pick one up you get the idea. But it =
seems almost impossible to predict which forms will convey that =
emotional charge which gives the user vitality. It seems equally =
difficult to convey what is intended through literal descriptions. =
Though there does seem to be a consensus that wet forms convey it better =
than green forms and often a glaze will conceal it.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia.
iandol on fri 3 aug 01
Dear Wesley Rolley,
You say is there.>
Now I can appreciate what you are talking about here. And I am sure if I =
sat down at either organ with the music J.S.B composed I could do the =
same (Yes, I do have some on paper). I might even do the same with the =
Buxheimer Manuscript. But two things stop me dead in my tracks. The =
first is that I do not know all of the scales and the second is that I =
am inept at reading music.
So I ask you. What does it take to "...do it right..." be it in clay or =
in sound?
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Ron Roy on sun 5 aug 01
Yes - I appreciate what Ivor is saying here - "live" can be seen as
subjective but...
There are universal criteria for form and - although hard to talk about -
can be divided between live and dead with stages in between. We recognize
certain aspects of form and can usually see the difference.
If we garden we can see when a plant is in trouble mainly by the turgidity
- we can certainly see when it is dead.
When we look at pots we can differentiate along those lines. The universal
part comes when we realize others can appreciate those differences as well.
I must add - this is not a superficial quality that can be hidden - it has
to do with form and volume - inside space. Crucial considerations when
container making.
RR - hoping others can help explaint this concept - it is so important.
>Although I appreciate the concept implied by what Ron Roy says in his posting,
>
>>And - most important of all - start with a form that has some life to it.<
>
>especially in terms of the emotional charge which comes from contact with
>lively works I think "Life", as used here is a rather subjective metaphor.
>Much like pots that "Sing", possibly they are allegorical. Yes, I know
>when you see one or pick one up you get the idea. But it seems almost
>impossible to predict which forms will convey that emotional charge which
>gives the user vitality. It seems equally difficult to convey what is
>intended through literal descriptions. Though there does seem to be a
>consensus that wet forms convey it better than green forms and often a
>glaze will conceal it.
Ron Roy
RR# 4
15084 Little Lake Rd..
Brighton,
Ontario, Canada
KOK 1H0
Residence 613-475-9544
Studio 613-475-3715
Fax 613-475-3513
Steve Irvine on tue 15 nov 05
Recently while throwing some coffee mugs I was thinking about repetition throwing and the effect
it can have on the development of a particular form. I've never thought of myself as a production
potter, but I have made basically the same mug shape for awhile. I tried to figure out how many of
them I've thrown, and adding together some conservative estimates, I came up with the number
15,000. As I said, I'm not really a production potter, and this isn't a big number from that
perspective, but it's still a fair amount of one thing.
A mix of repetition throwing, in with the one of a kind work I do, has been a useful approach for
me to find subtleties in the form and surface. The forms continue to evolve and improve in small
ways in larger time frames; the growth is still there. I like the current mug much better than the
one made a couple of decades ago.
There is a kind of pleasurable competence that develops after a certain point. I really can't say
where they fit in the "tight vs loose" question -- the mug just sort of happens when my hands
touch the clay, but somehow it isn't just a mindless routine. A certain rightness about the form, on
an instinctive level has to be felt each time before the pot is lifted off the wheel.
Steve
http://www.steveirvine.com
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