Rod, Marian, and Holly Morris on sun 13 aug 00
While I'm scounging around in the studio looking, let me share this with
you. I use popsicle sticks for fettling knives with the kids. I sharpen them
to a nice bevel on a grinding wheel, or by sanding the ends. They are cheap,
with the bevel, they work almost as well as the metal ones, and best of all,
the kids can't hurt anyone with them and they don't like to steal them.
Also, the dollar store is a phenomenal resource for pottery tools. They just
don't call them pottery tools there. I got eighteen sponges for a dollar
there, plus rolling pins a buck a piece, etc.
Fishline tied to dead pencils is what I use for cutting wires in my studio.
They don't fray and stab your finger, but they do break, so you have to know
how to tie a knot to fix them.
And... I have gotten ten yards at a time of canvas for individual desk bats
for free from the reject and scrap bin of our local sailmaking shop.
Plaster is $14 for 50 pounds if you buy it from a good paint supply. Pour
that stuff into recycled containers for an awesome supply of hump molds.
Ribs of all kinds can be cut from plastic lids of Cool
Whip, etc. Hope you get lots of stuff to get started, and hope these tips
help.
Thanks for that tip at the end of your post!
Marian in Michigan
Folks,
I have a new job! I am the 1/2 time art teacher at an inner-city type
school and have been working a week already - school goes back early in
Forsyth County.
I have a really humongous budget of $3.00 per kid for the entire year. Can
you stand it? I can't. It's making me nuts. I assigned an "art kit" for
each kid to bring - (total cost <$4) but many of them can't even afford
THAT!
Here's the plea: We have clay (earthenware) but no tools. Not even a
sponge, if you can believe it. YOU have tools that you're not using - come
on, ya know you do! I do. Lurking in the bottom of your tool box are
wooden clay knives you bought but never use, an old wooden rib whose corner
is worn down, or, you bought new tools but never got around to throwing out
the old ones. I'm asking you to send those puppies to me. Just think - YOU
get more room in the toolbox, and WE get to make stuff with clay. What a
deal!
Here's my address:
Lisa Skeen
8406 Hudson James Road
Summerfield, NC 27358
Thanks in advance!!!
L. P. Skeen www.living-tree.net
Living Tree Pottery & Handmade Soaps
Summerfield, NC
"Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill
and a laxative on the same night." -- unknown
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
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Joanne L. Van Bezooyen on sun 13 aug 00
If your school has a PTA or Enrichment Foundation, go to their meeting with a list of the supplies you need vs. the budget you are allowed and ask them for money to purchase these items. Better yet.....take an order form filled out already and tallied up..
These organizations raise money for just such occasions.
Joanne in Tucson, AZ
"L. P. Skeen" wrote:
> Folks,
>
> I have a new job! I am the 1/2 time art teacher at an inner-city type school and have been working a week already - school goes back early in Forsyth County.
>
> I have a really humongous budget of $3.00 per kid for the entire year. Can you stand it? I can't. It's making me nuts. I assigned an "art kit" for each kid to bring - (total cost <$4) but many of them can't even afford THAT!
>
> Here's the plea: We have clay (earthenware) but no tools. Not even a sponge, if you can believe it. YOU have tools that you're not using - come on, ya know you do! I do. Lurking in the bottom of your tool box are wooden clay knives you bought but never use, an old wooden rib whose corner is worn down, or, you bought new tools but never got around to throwing out the old ones. I'm asking you to send those puppies to me. Just think - YOU get more room in the toolbox, and WE get to make stuff with clay. What a deal!
>
> Here's my address:
>
> Lisa Skeen
> 8406 Hudson James Road
> Summerfield, NC 27358
>
> Thanks in advance!!!
>
> L. P. Skeen www.living-tree.net
> Living Tree Pottery & Handmade Soaps
> Summerfield, NC
> "Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill
> and a laxative on the same night." -- unknown
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
L. P. Skeen on sun 13 aug 00
Folks,
I have a new job! I am the 1/2 time art teacher at an inner-city type =
school and have been working a week already - school goes back early in =
Forsyth County.
I have a really humongous budget of $3.00 per kid for the entire year. =
Can you stand it? I can't. It's making me nuts. I assigned an "art =
kit" for each kid to bring - (total cost <$4) but many of them can't =
even afford THAT!
Here's the plea: We have clay (earthenware) but no tools. Not even a =
sponge, if you can believe it. YOU have tools that you're not using - =
come on, ya know you do! I do. Lurking in the bottom of your tool =
box are wooden clay knives you bought but never use, an old wooden rib =
whose corner is worn down, or, you bought new tools but never got around =
to throwing out the old ones. I'm asking you to send those puppies to =
me. Just think - YOU get more room in the toolbox, and WE get to make =
stuff with clay. What a deal!
Here's my address:
Lisa Skeen
8406 Hudson James Road
Summerfield, NC 27358
Thanks in advance!!! =20
L. P. Skeen www.living-tree.net
Living Tree Pottery & Handmade Soaps
Summerfield, NC
"Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill=20
and a laxative on the same night." -- unknown
Paul Taylor on mon 14 aug 00
Dear lisa.
The only tools I have that I did not make myself or customize from
trash is a metal Kidney. I use it to fettle hard clay. I do realize that
this is my philosophy of self reliance - to those that love me, and penny
pinching cheap-sckate - to those that don't.
Like most cheapskates I am a little penny wise and a pound foolish. I
scrounge the metal to make turning tools then I bend them in a leg-vice
worth a least three hundred dollars the grind then on a fifty dollar
grinding wheel. All this is done in a workshop that ties up enough capitol
to run the art budget of your school. Now since I do other things with this
workshop and equipment I can confuse matters enough to prevent any real
cost benefit analyses that may upset the wonderful illusion, which I am
tempted in my arrogance to pass on to you -"you too can make your own
tools".
However there are things that I use in my teaching that are cheap and
work well and I feel you could easily scrounge.
For making tiles you need flat surface two pieces of cloth a rolling pin
( a thick broom handle cut up) and a telephone or old credit card. I will
only add that frequent turning of the tile from one clothe to the other
prevents the tile warping and helps with the rolling. Cloths made with
organic materials will eventually rot but not in your lifetime if you look
after them.
I was under the impression from Hollywood, my reliable source on American
inner city life, that all American students carry Knives. Other wise the
plastic ones from the cafeteria will do. Customized on a course surface then
rubbed over with fine sand paper.
Do you have Clingfilm in America? it converts anything with out an
undercut into a one piece mold. It takes a little more time for the tile
pressed into it or teased over it to dry, but it is a lot more accessible
than plaster. Homework: to find somthing at home to use as a mold.
I do have some wooden dish molds made up. They were made using more
expensive equipment, by a man who has dedicated his life to self sufficiency
in leu of acquiring social skills.
Wiers are made from fishing line either 25 pounds plus breaking strain for
a single 10 to 15 for a twisted. Cheap bamboo is best bought from a garden
center. The stuff vandalized from the municipal flower beds is of inferior
Quality . You will have to invest in a hacksaw to do this.
I am shocked to see that you have only so little to spend per student. I
suppose this is for sound economic reasons. If you educate inner city
children you would have no more drugs and violent crime, which could damage
the film industry.
I hasten to add that Ireland, just recently, has its own film industry -
similarly supported.
-- Regards Paul Taylor.
Westport Pottery, Liscarney, County Mayo. Ireland.
http://www.anu.ie/westportpottery/
Ps A little note to all. Please paragraph your posts and put a blank line
in between the paragraphs. I have great difficulty reading large blocks of
type from a screen.
> From: "L. P. Skeen"
> Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List
> Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 11:35:43 -0400
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: A plea for tools
>
> Folks,
>
> I have a new job! I am the 1/2 time art teacher at an inner-city type school
> and have been working a week already - school goes back early in Forsyth
> County.
>
> Here's my address:
>
> Lisa Skeen
> 8406 Hudson James Road
> Summerfield, NC 27358
>
> Thanks in advance!!!
>
> L. P. Skeen www.living-tree.net
> Living Tree Pottery & Handmade Soaps
> Summerfield, NC
> "Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill
> and a laxative on the same night." -- unknown
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
GURUSHAKTI@AOL.COM on mon 14 aug 00
I also remembered --- at large home development building sites there are
always those thick, formica counter tops pieces that they cut out to make
space for sinks in kitchens and bathrooms. These make great individual work
boards for the kids. You can staple burlap or canvas on them or re-cut them
and use them as bats. Also, plastic coated metal fishing line can be made
into cutting wire. You can use use thread spools for the ends or pieces of
doweling or tinker toys, or washers.
Bamboo slices shaped on a grinder make the best tools for cutting in at the
base of pots and also make good ribs.
Hobby stores sell brass and steel tubing and sheeting. The tubing can be cut
and used to make holes as can an old awl out of their dad or mom's tool
chest. You can buy the stainless steel sheeting in all thicknesses and cut
out your own ribs. On second thought, I'd probably keep the metal ribs away
from the kids! :-(
Kitchen scrapers make for scraping flour off the counter or dough board are
great for scraping bats, as are the metal scrapers that wallpaper hangers
use. As I mentioned earlier, lot of these things can be picked up cheaply at
flea markets and thrift stores and garage sales.
Warm regards,
June (racking her brain at 8am)
Diane Mead on mon 14 aug 00
Hi folks:
On the scrounged tool front,
there is a core group here in
Georgia (yes I perpetuate
a stereotype of the rural
part of the state...)
who picks up road kill
or shears (kindly) personal
pets to make glazing brushes.
They make wonderful brushes
(esp fox hair--hard to find)
and many books on home-made brushes
abound.
We have also known potters
who made brushes of human hair.
Need to be selective of the
relative coarseness, but
some are great!
diane in rural Ga.
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
Gayle Bair on mon 14 aug 00
Oh Paul, Paul, Paul!
You had me laughing for a record time!!!!
You paint a quite hilarious picture of the USA.
Sadly it is pretty accurate.
Snip>
I was under the impression from Hollywood,
my reliable source on American inner city life,
that all American students carry Knives.
Snip> The stuff vandalized from the municipal
flower beds is of inferior Quality .
Snip>I am shocked to see that you have only so
little to spend per student. I
suppose this is for sound economic reasons.
If you educate inner city
children you would have no more drugs and
violent crime, which could damage
the film industry.
Snip>I hasten to add that Ireland, just
recently, has its own film industry -
similarly supported.
I must add that this past weekend I saw
"Angela's Ashes" and if I weren't laughing
so hard I could throw some volleys back at you!
However I think your country has been oppressed enough.
Plus your film industry will do it better than I.
Still Laughing,
Gayle Bair-who used to teach in one of the poorest
areas of Philadelphia PA
Home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall,
some beautiful graffiti and abject poverty
Nanci Bishof on tue 15 aug 00
Your right, your budget is grand. I've got 230 students with a budget of
$300. It can be done. Printers are great sources for paper. Wal Mart, some
groceries and various other businesses will give you gift certificates to use
in their stores. Those $20 certificates add up. Home Depot provides paint
stirrers that can be used as thickness guides for rolling out clay. I buy
wooden closet poles and Home Depot cuts them to 18" lengths for rolling pins.
Plastic spoons, forks & knives work great as tools. We do the Empty Bowls
project every year. They provide clay & glazes. I bought 2 oz mini containers
to use for the glazes. The kids don't waste as much that way & if it spills
its not as great a tragedy. Projects are stored on the foam trays that meats
& fruits are packaged in and then wrapped in plastic grocery bags to control
drying. Those are "free" as recyclable. The kids names are written on 2"
masking tape along with their class time (period 1, 3 , etc.) It works. Not
every project has to get fired. They can be a technique developing project.
They love making clay stamps where the texture on a pot can be its
decoration. Coloring slips with a clear glaze is pretty cheap. Old
credit/insurance id cards can be used as ribs. I did break down & buy a spray
bottle for each work table. We recycle all clay not fired in 5 gal used paint
or drywall compound buckets. The kids learn to knead and wedge. A bag of
terra-cotta can make an awful lot of gingerbread men with holes in their
heads that can be sold as holiday ornaments to raise funds. We have over 50%
of our kids on free or reduced lunch. I price them at $.25 to $.50 each. I
donate the clay & glaze on that one. It lets the kids buy a gift really cheap
and raises money for the program. They're great kids and they're worth it. I
guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't need a lot of expensive tools
to make it work. We're spoiled in our own studios. The kids don't know any
better and are just happy to be playing in the mud.
nanci
M.S. Flood on mon 21 aug 00
I teach a scool class with no budget as a volunteer, and one tool I made that is
great is a variation on a sigraffio tool that Kemper makes. I take a wooden
chopstick (purchased in lots of 20 or so for $1.00 from the bargain store) and
Using duct tape I attach a hairpin to the end to make the little wire loop. These
are great for carving, and work as well as the Kemper tools. My students used them
to carve leather hard clay with great results. I made about 30 of these tools in
less than one hour. Not one was broken.
Hope this helps.
Bridget McDermott Flood
fireworks studio
St. Louis, MO
Gayle Bair wrote:
> Oh Paul, Paul, Paul!
> You had me laughing for a record time!!!!
> You paint a quite hilarious picture of the USA.
> Sadly it is pretty accurate.
>
> Snip>
> I was under the impression from Hollywood,
> my reliable source on American inner city life,
> that all American students carry Knives.
>
> Snip> The stuff vandalized from the municipal
> flower beds is of inferior Quality .
>
> Snip>I am shocked to see that you have only so
> little to spend per student. I
> suppose this is for sound economic reasons.
> If you educate inner city
> children you would have no more drugs and
> violent crime, which could damage
> the film industry.
>
> Snip>I hasten to add that Ireland, just
> recently, has its own film industry -
> similarly supported.
>
> I must add that this past weekend I saw
> "Angela's Ashes" and if I weren't laughing
> so hard I could throw some volleys back at you!
> However I think your country has been oppressed enough.
> Plus your film industry will do it better than I.
>
> Still Laughing,
> Gayle Bair-who used to teach in one of the poorest
> areas of Philadelphia PA
> Home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall,
> some beautiful graffiti and abject poverty
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Sue Wheeler on wed 23 aug 00
I teach ceramics in a magnet arts school. One tool
that I have my students make to use as a modeling tool
is made from a wooden craft stick. I just have
them cut one end to a diagonal edge, then sand the
edge
giving it a blade like appearance. The original
opposite rounded end is also good for some jobs. This
is very simple, quick, inexpensive and used more than
any of the purchased tools.They also make their own
cutting wires using thin gage floral wire with craft
sticks or pull tabs tied to the ends.
Sue Wheeler
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