Carol Tripp on wed 6 mar 02
I taught myself alot about plates last spring when I made a dinner service
for my parents - talk about recycling. Here goes; center the clay, then
cover the bottom of your right forearm with slip or throwing water, grasp
your right hand with your left to brace it and give it more power, lean over
the clay and use your forearm to flatten it out. You must make sure to keep
the outer edge of the disk of clay at a downward slope - like \ this when
looking at 3 oclock on the disk otherwise you will end up with a slurry
filled ditch hidden in the flattened disk. It helps to flatten the disk in
stages, always bringing back that \ slope. (I think I learned the forearm
trick from Lynn Munns.) You end up with a nicely flattened disk without
needing biceps like Hercules. Then use a strong rib to compress the disk
well and make it very flat.
So how far to flatten? Well, I gave up pulling out from the center. I
flatten until the disk is a good cm thick so I can trim a foot ring later,
clean up the outer edge and then push the outer edge back towards the center
as much as I need to and then pull up the edge of the dish and shape it as
desired. How much clay you push back determines what your plate's edge
looks like - so it all depends. Experiment with small amounts of clay to
find the finished thickness you want to flatten to, and try pushing
different amounts inward to see how much you need for your particular
design. And if you want to make plates of the same size, weigh your clay,
keep notes and use a ruler.
I hope all this is clear. Works for me. I hope it helps.
Best regards,
Carol
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Patrick Rowe on wed 6 mar 02
I realize that there are many different ways to make a plate but here's
mine. Some "potters" might think of this method as cheating. But it has
served me very well for more than 6 years and made more plates than I care
to think about. I learned this mainly from watching others and trial and
error as an itinerant production potter in Seagrove, NC. For a dinner plate
(fires out at about 10") I use 3lbs. Salad plate (8 1/2") uses 2lbs.
-Center
-I mash the clay out with my hands to about 6-8".
-Then I use a large rib (6" wide) and flatten the disk on out. I use a 12"
bat and flatten almost to the edge.
-Compress, compress, compress, pushing the clay back towards the center. My
rule is 7 times. I don't think you can compress too much.
-Next, I push the edge straight up about 1 1/2".
-Compress the lip.
-Pull up and flatten the rim. The rim will draw up as the plate dries.
Take this into account when determining how much to flatten it.
-Put the plates on the lowest shelf of your drying rack and allow to dry
slowly.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Carol Tripp
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 10:15 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Trouble with plates-here's some help
I taught myself alot about plates last spring when I made a dinner service
for my parents - talk about recycling. Here goes; center the clay, then
cover the bottom of your right forearm with slip or throwing water, grasp
your right hand with your left to brace it and give it more power, lean over
the clay and use your forearm to flatten it out. You must make sure to keep
the outer edge of the disk of clay at a downward slope - like \ this when
looking at 3 oclock on the disk otherwise you will end up with a slurry
filled ditch hidden in the flattened disk. It helps to flatten the disk in
stages, always bringing back that \ slope. (I think I learned the forearm
trick from Lynn Munns.) You end up with a nicely flattened disk without
needing biceps like Hercules. Then use a strong rib to compress the disk
well and make it very flat.
So how far to flatten? Well, I gave up pulling out from the center. I
flatten until the disk is a good cm thick so I can trim a foot ring later,
clean up the outer edge and then push the outer edge back towards the center
as much as I need to and then pull up the edge of the dish and shape it as
desired. How much clay you push back determines what your plate's edge
looks like - so it all depends. Experiment with small amounts of clay to
find the finished thickness you want to flatten to, and try pushing
different amounts inward to see how much you need for your particular
design. And if you want to make plates of the same size, weigh your clay,
keep notes and use a ruler.
I hope all this is clear. Works for me. I hope it helps.
Best regards,
Carol
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
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