Ned Ludd on mon 12 aug 02
Sisters and brothers in clay,
Much of the feedback on waxing the bottoms of pots would not be very
useful to a potter producing pots in more than small batches, or
singly. When you have a run of many pots to be glazed the last thing
you want to face is a laborious, icky and time consuming process,
like wiping glaze of a pot's base with a sponge or whatever - not
once or twice but time and again, all freakin' day long.
That's where wax resist excels over wet sponge and elbow grease. I
refer to traditional wax resist, not that supposedly convenient cold
stuff that promises to be as good but isn't. Too many are the times
I've brushed cold liquid wax on pot bottoms, only to discover later
that the wet glaze did not run off but clung to the dried wax coating
and I had to sponge and sponge away to get rid of the stuff... grrrr!
That's why I'm going back to hot wax.... get it right and it works like magic.
Also, hot wax is sexy. Sensual, romantic, quixotic, dashing... like
the movement of the brush it calls for.
Cold wax might as well have been made with eunuchs in mind. It is depressing.
Moral of this: many methods may work for many potters, and get
approving reports on Clayart, but when it comes to production
potters, only a few methods do - the most fluent. The thing is, those
well-aged efficient methods do tend to be the most graceful and
satisfying ones.
Production potters, don't be shy, Clayart needs to hear from you.
best
Ned
>Martin Rice asks
>
>Potters are a curious race. One method of doing something is never enough.
>We also want to save a few pence if possible by not disposing of slip and
>glaze on bottoms.
>If someone has a method which is slightly quicker than another, then we are
>liable to try it, to cut down time spent.
>
>If we always made splayed feet on our pots so we could hold them upside down
>and slip and glaze to a line near the bottom, that would solve the problem.
>
>But then we need to put a level on the bottom to make sure the line is
>parallel.
>
>Funny lot, us potters!!
>
>Martin Howard
>Webbs Cottage Pottery
>Woolpits Road, Great Saling
>BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
>01371 850 423
>martin@webbscottage.co.uk
>http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
DEBBYGrant@AOL.COM on mon 12 aug 02
Ned,
I loved your post on hot wax. It may be sexy but is also smelly but I use
it anyway. You're dead right about it being the best method for prduction.
You just have to do it right. Never plunge the pot into the wax pan. Just
let the bottom of the pot skim the wax and pull it up by capillary action and
you'll never get blubs up the side of the pot.
Best,
Debby Grant in NH
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