Martin Rice on wed 12 jun 02
Hi, All:
I've been hesitating about asking this question because it seems so =
general to me and I thought that it might not be possible to answer it =
by telling rather than showing, but then I was reviewing several answers =
I've received to previous questions and given the level of expertese out =
there and the great answers I've received in the past, I thought I'd =
give it a try.
My throwing is definitely improving. I'm much more comfortable at my new =
electric wheel now. I can make some decent plates and bowls and what I'd =
call "vessels," that is various container shapes that seem pleasing to =
the eye. But I'm still unable to throw a good cylinder of the type I'm =
trying to do. All the cylinder shapes I throw are almost always about as =
wide as they are high. And this seems to be the case whether I use 400 =
grams or 1 or 2 kilos. In other words, I just can't seem, for example, =
to make a mug shape, even something like 4" high and 3" in diameter. I =
have no trouble centering at all, and my opening seems fine with a good =
donut shape before raising.
Any tips that you might be able to give me would be, as always, greatly =
appreciated.
By the way, I've found some new clay here at another pottery that =
someone told me about. It, too, is a red earthenware, but the shop that =
manufactures it really makes it pure -- unlike the stuff I have been =
using. No grit and pieces of "stuff" in it and much more smooth and =
slippery that the other clay. The pottery owner told me that he adds 3% =
bentonite to it. And, it's pre-wedged!The interesting cultural thing is =
that the pottery owner tells me that he has two or three guys working =
there who do nothing but wedge -- 3000 KILOS! per week. That's what life =
is like in a place where wages are low. Though he did say that he would =
eventually get a pug mill -- though who knows how long he's been saying =
that?
Thanks so much,
Martin
Martin
Lagunas de Bar=FA, Costa Rica
www.rice-family.org
Where the rainy season now going on is so very beautiful and where the =
house has toucans calling and flying around the grounds most of the day =
now.
Richard Mahaffey on wed 12 jun 02
Martin,
I remember when I could not throw a very tall cylinder no matter how
much clay I added. I could add 5 pounds and it would only be a couple
of inches higher.
I also had trouble with a ring a clay tearing off on the outside at the
same point on every cylinder. Well I asked Ken Stevens who was my
advisor and he told me that I was trying to pinch the clay instead of
lifting it. He explained that I need to make sure that my outside hand
(Fingers or knuckle or sponge) was lower than the inside hand. He also
said that my outside hand (or fingers or knuckle or sponge) and inside
hand needed to be farther apart when the wall was thicker like at the
first or second pass in throwing.
I teach my students to start the inside hand moving up while the outside
hand is at the bottom and then when they think the distance is right the
outside hand begins to move as well. As they get toward the top the
outside hand is allowed to catch up to the inside hand. i also
recommend that they make sure that the cylinder is either straight or
tapering in slightly between each pull. So, they collar the cylinder
in after a pull every so often.
I hope this helps.
Rick
Russel Fouts on fri 14 jun 02
Martin
>All the cylinder shapes I throw are almost always about as wide as they are high. And this seems to be the case whether I use 400 grams or 1 or 2 kilos. In other words, I just can't seem, for example, to make a mug shape, even something like 4" high and 3" in diameter. I have no trouble centering at all, and my opening seems fine with a good donut shape before raising. <
Several things you can try.
- Start with a "donut" with a narrower base
- As you pull the pot up, pull it in. In otherwords, pull it up as a
cone rather than a cylinder. Don't make it a cylinder until the last
pull.
- And here's a case of "don't not try it just because you think it's
'wrong'". John Colbeck showed me this. I was throwing spherical shapes
but wanted the bottoms to be much narrower. When I was throwing my
cone/cylinder, I though "what if I "collared-in" right from the bottom,
compressed the bottom and did it again until I got the base the width I
wanted it". I asked him about how to throw with a narrower bottom and he
showed me exactly what I was thinking.
Pull up the cylinder, collar it in right from the bottom, dry and
compress the bottom, pull it up again, collar in again right from the
bottom, dry and compress the bottom, do it until you get the size base
you want, trim the uneven edge if you want (I don't) and expand your
cylinder.
Russel
-----------------------------
--
Russel Fouts
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Email: Russel.Fouts@Skynet.be
Patty Potter on fri 14 jun 02
Martin,
Russel=92s advice is about the same thing I was going to suggest. I=92m not =
an
experienced potter and I=92ve been having the same kind of trouble. My
teacher is helping me work out the problem more or less like Russel
explained.
Narrowing your cilinder/cone makes the wall thicker and helps you pull up.
Also, if the cilinder got a bit off-centre this re-centres it. Besides,
collaring in the base makes a kind of =BFledge? that helps you pull up exces=
s
clay if you encounter the problem (I do) that the bottom of your cilinder
is much thicker than the top.
The only way to master the throwing technique is regular practice, I guess.
Last Saturday I got a bit anxious that I still can=92t throw the pieces I
like. Then I thought heck, I=92ve only been throwing for four months, and
only once a week at that (I work as a secretary the rest of the time). Did
a little arithmetic... about 16 classes. Not that bad, considering. Thank
God for arithmetic. We just keep on trying, asking, seeking help,
practising. That=92s the road to success.
One more thing. You mentioned you found that clay that was great because it
was pre-wedged. I believe you've got to do some wedging yourself all the
same. My teacher tells me, and I=92ve read it somewhere too, that you should=
always wedge your clay before throwing, even if you=92re using some clay you=
wedged the day before. Seems it helps arrange the clay particles.
Pat
______________________________
On Fri, 14 Jun 2002 07:52:40 +0200, Russel Fouts
wrote:
>Martin
>
>>All the cylinder shapes I throw are almost always about as wide as they
are high. And this seems to be the case whether I use 400 grams or 1 or 2
kilos. In other words, I just can't seem, for example, to make a mug shape,
even something like 4" high and 3" in diameter. I have no trouble centering
at all, and my opening seems fine with a good donut shape before raising. <
>
>Several things you can try.
>
>- Start with a "donut" with a narrower base
>
>- As you pull the pot up, pull it in. In otherwords, pull it up as a
>cone rather than a cylinder. Don't make it a cylinder until the last
>pull.
>
>- And here's a case of "don't not try it just because you think it's
>'wrong'". John Colbeck showed me this. I was throwing spherical shapes
>but wanted the bottoms to be much narrower. When I was throwing my
>cone/cylinder, I though "what if I "collared-in" right from the bottom,
>compressed the bottom and did it again until I got the base the width I
>wanted it". I asked him about how to throw with a narrower bottom and he
>showed me exactly what I was thinking.
>
>Pull up the cylinder, collar it in right from the bottom, dry and
>compress the bottom, pull it up again, collar in again right from the
>bottom, dry and compress the bottom, do it until you get the size base
>you want, trim the uneven edge if you want (I don't) and expand your
>cylinder.
>
>Russel
>
>------------------------------
>
>
>--
>
> Russel Fouts
> Brussels, Belgium
> Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
> Email: Russel.Fouts@Skynet.be
>
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