Joyce Lee on sun 21 may 00
It's the simplest concepts in pottery that invariably hang me up.....
like wedging. Does a pugmill wedge? Well, of course it does. That's
WHAT it does. Found my Hamer's in a stack beneath Mel's and Tony
Clennell's well-clayed helpful posts about Ravenscrag, shino, Geil kilns
and reduction firing. The Hamers say that pugging "mechanizes the
handwork of wedging and kneading." That's what I thought, but have you
ever been certain of something and suddenly... it whiffs away and you're
not sure anymore? Pesonally, I believe that's a result of carrying
around too much information so that when you try to stuff in more, some
is bound to leak out. Don't follow MY lead, though ... I'm the potter
groupie who is trying to learn all I can about extruder work when some
of my most reliable gurus are having at it about handmade vs
whatever..... once again. Glad that I, in the throes of the vast
ignorance of a non-artist/struggling potter, when I'd been in pottery
for less than two years (two years ago), decided that for me it was
"heartmade" that counted, anyway. ......... oh, yes, while I'm at it...
I HAVE sold pots.... sold almost $4,000 worth in a two day sale my
second year in clay....I was so proud..... and have regretted many times
that I don't still have some of those pots. I thought they were pretty
bad, and they were, but I realize now that they were closer to being
heartmade than what I'm attempting to do now... that they were honest,
innocent and fun. AND probably sitting in thriftstores all over
California.
Joyce
In the Mojave with all those extruder dies finally together and OILED
....instructions for aircompressor on wall...and on door ... along with
signs to turn off lights/turn off swampcooler/turn off wall plugs for
drills, sander, mixer, wheels ... Pottery is such a simple concept.
Pat Southwood on wed 15 jan 03
hi,
Some personal thoughts on clay preparation.
Iandols advice seems very sensible, as a shortie myself I have been =
presented with lofty wedging benches. I usually end up standing on bags =
of new clay.
I also wonder how much of the ill effects of wedging are happenning =
because of a lack of flexibility and overall fitness? It would seem =
reasonable to asume that a body that is either sitting at a funny angle =
for ages or using the same bits of the body all the time, will feel =
the effects sooner than a body that is reasonably fit and flexible.
I do realise that it is not totally convenient for everyone to spring =
into action and I am not advocating straining anything! Neither am I a =
fitness freak, its just that at 41 my metabolism seems to have ground to =
a halt and I dont want to get any bigger.
I have to confess to doing arm and shoulder stretches before I start a =
big hand wedging job, I never used to, never gave it a thought until one =
of the instructors from the gym I go to came to one of my open studios. =
He watched me divide up about 50lb into managable lumps and start to =
wedge - and then gave me a lecture about not warming up my muscles.=20
I have done it ever since, but at least I work on my own so its not too =
embarrassing!
Best, Pat.
pat@southwood4.fsnet.co.uk
=20
iandol on thu 16 jan 03
Dear Pat Southwood,=20
You are spot on about physical preparation through warming up and =
stretching.
But these ideas are modern. My observations suggest that in the past =
when kids started as apprentices at 13 and 14 they just took on board =
what was the practice in which ever factory they worked, regardless of =
the craft. In a college or school situation where you work to a =
timetable there is insufficient time for lecture, demonstration and =
practice. Anyway, that's Phys Ed. So these vital preparative steps are =
never introduced.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis
John Kimpton Dellow on thu 16 jan 03
A good reason for wedging is to warm up the muscles before
throwing.
John Dellow "the flower pot man"
Home Page http://www.welcome.to/jkdellow
http://digitalfire.com/education/people/dellow/
Rimas VisGirda on wed 28 sep 11
Hi Vince, I don't agree with your "no need to wedge" slab building. I make =
a small humpformed dish that I've tried wire cutting the slab directly from=
a bagged pug; 99.658% of the dishes crack similar to an "s" crack on throw=
n ware that is too thick and/or too wet bottom. First time I thought it was=
an anomaly, so tried again -same deal...An art ed student did a tile proje=
ct in my younger boy's 1st grade class. She wire cut the tiles directly fro=
m a pug, the kids worked on them, they all cracked... I have a Nils Lou pne=
umatic extruder that extrudes a 9" pug; I thought would save some time and =
extruded a solid (round) pug that I then cut into 1/2 inch thick discs; the=
y all cracked... Maybe rolling slabs makes a difference, I've just gotten i=
nto the personal habit of wedging a fresh pug of clay irregardless of wheth=
er I'm throwing, coiling or slabing... -Rimas
KATHI LESUEUR on wed 28 sep 11
On Sep 28, 2011, at 9:23 AM, Rimas VisGirda wrote:
> Hi Vince, I don't agree with your "no need to wedge" slab building. I =3D
make a small humpformed dish that I've tried wire cutting the slab =3D
directly from a bagged pug; 99.658% of the dishes crack similar to an =3D
"s" crack on thrown ware that is too thick and/or too wet bottom. First =3D
time I thought it was an anomaly, so tried again -same deal...An art ed =3D
student did a tile project in my younger boy's 1st grade class. She wire =
=3D
cut the tiles directly from a pug, the kids worked on them, they all =3D
cracked... I have a Nils Lou pneumatic extruder that extrudes a 9" pug; =3D
I thought would save some time and extruded a solid (round) pug that I =3D
then cut into 1/2 inch thick discs; they all cracked... Maybe rolling =3D
slabs makes a difference, I've just gotten into the personal habit of =3D
wedging a fresh pug of clay irregardless of whether I'm throwing, =3D
coiling or slabing... -Rimas
Another good example of "know your clay". Do what it takes to get a =3D
product that makes it thrrough the whole process. I'm lucky with my clay =
=3D
but yours sounds temperamental.
KATHI LESUEUR
http://www.lesueurclaywork.com
>=3D20
Snail Scott on wed 28 sep 11
On Sep 28, 2011, at 8:23 AM, Rimas VisGirda wrote:
> ...I don't agree with your "no need to wedge" slab building. I make a =3D
small humpformed dish that I've tried wire cutting the slab directly =3D
from a bagged pug; 99.658% of the dishes crack similar to an "s" crack =3D
on thrown ware that is too thick and/or too wet bottom...
I have seen this, and I believe it is a pugmill scar.=3D20
Fresh pugged clay often shears in an s-crack through=3D20
the middle if it's not worked sufficiently. If you roll the=3D20
slab down from a greater thickness, or cut lengthwise=3D20
to the pug, it almost never happens. I wouldn't use a=3D20
totally unworked crosswise slice from pugged clay, but=3D20
it doesn't require full-on wedging to avoid the crack.=3D20
In my experience, rolling it down from about twice the=3D20
thickness is usually sufficient to re-join the sheared=3D20
particles and avoid that type of cracking.
-Snail
Rimas VisGirda on thu 29 sep 11
Yo Vince,=3D0A=3D0AI stand corrected, yes slabs that I ROLL I haven't had a=
ny p=3D
roblems with clay straight out of the bag. It's only slabs that I DON'T rol=
=3D
l that have the problem. And the cracking comes from slabs that are cut per=
=3D
pendicular to the direction of extrusion. Tim See suggested it had to do wi=
=3D
th the auger in the pugmill. I attribute it to the drag on the clay as it c=
=3D
omes out of the barrel, as in the case of (my) extruding a solid plug there=
=3D
is no auger involved... And I don't think it has to do with the clay as I'=
=3D
ve experienced the cracks with various commercial clays (terra cottas and s=
=3D
tonewares) as well as my homemade stoneware. All the clayart responses addr=
=3D
essed rolling the clay this way or that way or with a rolling pin or with a=
=3D
slab roller or beating it into submission with a mallet... But for my part=
=3D
icular need I want to preserve the texture/surface of the wire cut; I have =
=3D
a number of wires braided in different ways that leave a distinctive cut ma=
=3D
rk. Even
a smooth wire leaves a mark that I sometimes find necessary to preserve. F=
=3D
or me, the bulk/form of a piece pretty much takes care of itself and it's t=
=3D
he attention to details that completes a piece, the mark left by a wire cut=
=3D
, the burr at the end of a cut, the type of spiral on a trimmed foot or int=
=3D
erior, and how those things act in concert to give a piece purpose and I'm =
=3D
not referring to function here...=3DA0 A number of people had mentioned mal=
le=3D
ts, and that's a good solution for compressing the clay; I use a sandbag wh=
=3D
ich I learned about from a Japanese friend.=3D0A=3D0AThanks to everyone for=
the=3D
ir fine suggestions. Regards, -Rimas=3D0A=3D0A=3D0ARimas VisGirda wrote:=3D=
0AHi Vin=3D
ce, I don't agree with your "no need to wedge" slab building. I make a=3D0A=
sm=3D
all humpformed dish that I've tried wire cutting the slab directly from a=
=3D
=3D0Abagged pug; 99.658% of the dishes crack similar to an "s" crack on thr=
ow=3D
n=3D0Aware that is too thick and/or too wet bottom. First time I thought it=
w=3D
as an=3D0Aanomaly, so tried again -same deal...An art ed student did a tile=
p=3D
roject in=3D0Amy younger boy's 1st grade class. She wire cut the tiles dire=
ct=3D
ly from a=3D0Apug, the kids worked on them, they all cracked... I have a Ni=
ls=3D
Lou=3D0Apneumatic extruder that extrudes a 9" pug; I thought would save so=
me=3D
time=3D0Aand extruded a solid (round) pug that I then cut into 1/2 inch th=
ic=3D
k discs;=3D0Athey all cracked... Maybe rolling slabs makes a difference, I'=
ve=3D
just gotten=3D0Ainto the personal habit of wedging a fresh pug of clay irr=
eg=3D
ardless of=3D0Awhether I'm throwing, coiling or slabing... -Rimas=3D0A=3D0A=
Hi Rim=3D
as - =3D0AI guess it is a question of which clay you use, but I have never =
ha=3D
d such=3D0Aproblems with any claybody I have used for slab work.=3DA0 I am =
sure=3D
it does=3D0Amake a big difference that I roll so aggressively with a rolli=
ng=3D
pin.=3DA0 As=3D0Along as one does that, then there is no reason to wedge b=
agge=3D
d, deaired clay=3D0Abefore rolling slabs unless it is a particularly troubl=
es=3D
ome claybody.=3DA0 For=3D0Aa lot of people, the problem arise because they =
do n=3D
ot cross-roll, either in=3D0Athe slab roller or on a table with a rolling p=
in=3D
after the initial slab=3D0Acomes out of the slab roller.=3DA0 If there is =
a li=3D
near grain structure in the=3D0Aclay, then it is going to warp or crack.=3D=
A0 A=3D
lso, bagged clay that has been=3D0Asitting for a long time gets moisture-st=
ra=3D
tified, and dropping the bag on=3D0Athe floor on all sides remobilizes the =
cl=3D
ay and makes a big difference.=3D0A- Vince=3D0A=3D0AVince Pitelka=3D0AAppal=
achian C=3D
enter for Craft=3D0ATennessee Tech University=3D0Avpitelka@dtccom.net=3D0Ah=
ttp://=3D
iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
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