Kate Johnson on wed 28 nov 01
Good morning all...
I'm getting the idea about how to send to the list and not just the one who
answers ...
...but will edit this down a bit and hope you all may have a bit of input as
well.
>
Russel Fouts had written:
> 2nd, it's probably best to start your pots over and "get it right" this
> time. All I mean is that you can learn from the breaks, explosions, etc
> and make pots that won't do that in the first place.
Oh, yes, I know. I won't plan to try too hard to "fix." It's just that I
wanted to experiment with cooking outdoors over a fire (with my little
three-legged pipkins) and it's almost
winter here, so if I have to wait till we have enough of my stuff dry enough
to fire again it'll be January!
My teacher is a wonderful man, the high school
art teacher who does an adult class once a week during the school year.
He's been just great, let me start in the summer, lets me
stay until the janitors throw me out, opens the room up for me on weekends,
lets me go any
day of the week I want to, or all of them. I'm spoiled silly, as far as
that goes.
He's also a very fine sculptor in clay...but as he puts it, not a potter,
per se. He doesn't want
to be. He makes some amazing bowls and teapots, and vases in addition to
his large sculptures, mostly as gifts or demos, but he really doesn't care
to make mugs, bottles, pipkins, jars, porringers, goblets, jugs, plates,
platters, etc., and I do.
He works almost exclusively in white earthenware and porcelain...I like
raku, red, and buff clays, sometimes black--something rougher and more
organic. That means that I'm often having to find my own way, especially
since I'm often alone there.
Those were only guesses as to what went wrong with my pipkins--he really
didn't know, except maybe not enough slip, because he's more used to
different clay bodies.
In addition to the pinch pot stuff, I do throw on the wheel. My teacher got
me started with the turn and trim method, which is considerably slower and
more exact than my efforts at straight throwing, and better for my little
arthritic fingers.
I've also been having some problems with thrown black clay pieces warping
(and sometimes red clay ones as well) --neither the white earthenware stuff
or the raku clay stuff has done so, they seem perfectly stable. We use a
Skutt electric kiln, and I've experimented with thicker pot walls, but still
get a bit of warping in bisque firing with anything other than white
earthenware or raku clay.
Neither of us have a clue why my black clay mug, made months ago and
sitting in the warm kiln room waiting to be fired should have warped...it
was certainly dry, and the walls were thick enough...
He does have me dry things with a hair dryer to about leather hard before
taking them off the wheel, so I can trim the bottom, so I'd think warping
wouldn't be a problem that way...
Any suggestions, please?
Best--
Kate
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