Jeff Tsai on fri 14 jun 02
I think it was a ceramics monthly letter that said something to the effect:
"I can't believe people are so (hmmm, let's just say, unconcerned with how
they use their time. I think the author used more critical nouns and words)
that they don't all use extruders to make simple forms like cylinders,
squares, coils, etc. etc."
I definitely don't agree with the author of this letter, but she or he had a
point. Extruders are a wonderful tool if you have one, and this sounds like a
decent extruder project.
You could extrude a 1" by 6" slab and cut it at ever 6"s. If you made the
extruder die yourself out of a cutting board, you could even add a little
circle to the center and have the circle premade (Just fill in the bottom of
the piece with a little clay while it is still fairly damp).
1" is nothing that a slower firing at the outset can't handle. and making it
as a whole piece will probably give you better results...and think of the
possibilities...a 6 inch perfectly flat canvas to paint on, bending the
shape, poking more holes...ooo fun.
-jeff
Joyce Lee on sun 16 jun 02
I now have a whole folder containing suggestions for square vases. Many =
were on Clayart, but another twenty plus were sent privately. Thank =
you.
Andi's right. I do have an extruder ...... actually three ..... all =
gifts. There's the NorthStar manual .... terrific .... and somebody's =
little hand-held extruder which cost $25.00 and does the job for small =
coils etc. AND the pneumatic Bailey extruder even has the tile-making =
part, which also was a gift. (Just so you'll know that I would not =
spend my hard earned cash on the redundancy of owning three extruders, =
though building one is beyond my limited thinking capabilities.) AND I =
will get around to extruding the square vases after I complete the slab =
project. =20
In fact, I'm working daily trying out each of your suggestions. It's =
been two days and I have 70 plus squares drying at the moment .... sans =
the extrusion ones. That comes next. I'm working this way because at =
my level of potting the process continues to be more meaningful to me =
than the final product .... although my final products are improving, =
which makes me happy, too. =20
I'm making so many of the squares .... keeping in mind that strictly =
speaking a rectangle is also a square ...... because I'm trying several =
clays, textures, stamps
and whatever else pops up in my dreams.
So far, they're all contrived from slabs.
Some will have feet. None have been fired. None have been slipped nor =
glazed. That will come after the slow drying is completed. =20
That's about it. Great fun. Give it a whirl.
Joyce
In the Mojave where the mocking birds are coming into the small lattice =
fenced area which belongs to the Westie. She seems entertained by them, =
but goes on point when the doves come around. Had my scare for the week =
yesterday. Mojo was playing with what a thought was a stick .... =
finally went to investigate.... was a six inch scorpion...... alive! Not =
for long. I dispatched it to scorpion limbo and watched her closely for =
possible poisoning symptoms ...... zip. Thank goodness.
Joyce Lee on thu 4 jul 02
Well, drat, now that I've formed and decorated so many of the what =
started as square slab vases, more or less bud vases, in my mind at =
least...... and have now evolved into rectangles, straight and curved, =
some the size of small tiles, others quite large .... Helen sends us an =
url from Alfred containing one of Howard Kottler's pieces. What is it? =
A weed pot ... much like some of the pots I've been moving toward every =
day for the past couple of weeks or more! Except .... goes without =
saying...... his is better ... I think you could say "more figurative" =
(?) ...
still not sure of that definition, or even if I have the right =
descriptive word .....=20
I know that there is seldom anything new under the sun (beyond the sun, =
who knows?) ... but just once I'd like to take on a project and nurture =
it to its final destiny
BEFORE I discover that it's been done .... and far better. Drat.=20
Still, it's enriching ... and mellowing ... to experience that small =
flicker of kinship with a True Talent, and know that his hands, his =
mind, his artist's heart were likely in the same place as my own for at =
least the briefest moment of time ..=20
Joyce
In the Mojave where the rabbits, the quail, the mockingbird and the =
finches are gradually returning fulltime, in spite of the westie's =
exuberant antics .... the lizards and the squirrels, now that's another =
story ...
Michele Williams on sun 7 jul 02
"...just once I'd like to take on a project and nurture it to its final
destiny
BEFORE I discover that it's been done .... and far better. "
Joyce says something that nearly everyone who wants to submit a patent says.
DRAT!
Joyce says what we are all thinking at one time or another.
Joyce further says, "it's enriching ... and mellowing ... to experience that
small flicker of kinship with a True Talent, and know that his hands, his
mind, his artist's heart were likely in the same place as my own for at
least the briefest moment of time .. " She's saying we all have a share of
greatness.
And I like to think that when I have my hands in the clay, I'm playing with
the same stuff God used to make the world......my hands are sharing in the
stuff of greatness. Shivers of delight--playing with the stuff, making
some of the same kinds of things....
Potters are great company in the greatest of company of all time.
It just takes Joyce to bring it out into the open. Thanks for the wonderful
thought, Joyce.
Michele Williams
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