Dupre Mr Marcy M on fri 6 dec 02
Greetings all Mudslingers!
Best wishes for Happy Holidays, hot fires, smooth clay, touchable glazes,
and Blue Ribbon shows!
It has been many years since I last pulled a handle from a lump, and I'm
having some troubles. I currently make my handles by extruding them and
attaching carefully. My wife recently acquired a mug with a gorgeous
handle, presumably pulled, and re-kindled my interest in knowing how to do
that.
Could anyone recommend a video or a book with explicit instructions on
pulling good handles? I know this a basic skill, wish I remembered more
from 30+ years ago. But, c'est la vie...
Any and all help is appreciated.
Centered and steady,
Tig
Springfield, VA, where we have power, water, and lotsa snow to push around!
Dannon Rhudy on fri 6 dec 02
Tig said:
> It has been many years since I last pulled a handle from a lump,
.........> Could anyone recommend a video or a book with explicit
instructions......
There are some general purpose videos that deal with handles.
But what you really need is practice. So: take some plastic
clay (short clay will just drive you nuts!!), wedge or pound
into a ball. Now, roll it out so that the piece of clay becomes
more-or-less carrot shaped. Get a small -maybe gallon size-
container of water. Put the water on the table near you, put
the fat end of the clay in one hand, wet the other hand and
pull gently and smoothly on the "tail" of the clay. Wet your
hand frequently to reduce friction. Be sure that the "tail"
fits all the way in to the web of your hand between thumb
and forefinger and rotate the clay each pull or two so that
you don't get one thick/one thin side.
You will note that the clay thins and lengthens
as you pull. Cut it off at the thick end when you think
it is long enough. Lots of odd things will happen when you first start,
but persist. If you pull 50 a day for a few days (won't take
long) you'll be making good handles by the end of a week.
Most beginning clay texts show some pictures of how to hold
the clay. But you can work it out without. The only trick is
persistence, patience, and not trying to use the first few you
pull. Lots of freedom in knowing in advance that
this is PRACTICE.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
Mary White on fri 6 dec 02
I can pull a reasonable mug handle, tapered from top to bottom, but
I have trouble pulling an untapered handle, even just a short one
for, say, the sides of a casserole dish. No matter what I do they
come out thicker at one end than the other even though the ends are
only 3 inches apart. Is there a trick to this?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mary
on the wet west coast of British Columbia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Tig said:
>
>> It has been many years since I last pulled a handle from a lump,
>.........> Could anyone recommend a video or a book with explicit
>instructions......
>
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
--
Jeremy McLeod on fri 6 dec 02
Mary White wrote:
> No matter what I do they come out thicker at one end than the other even though
> the ends are
> only 3 inches apart. Is there a trick to this?
This sounds like a job for an extruder?
Jeremy McLeod
Jennifer F Boyer on fri 6 dec 02
Pull one about 18 or more inches long and cut it into sections.
Don't use the thin and thick ends. The middle should be uniform,
and as you get better at it the iniform part will get longer....
Jennifer
Mary White wrote:
>
> I can pull a reasonable mug handle, tapered from top to bottom, but
> I have trouble pulling an untapered handle, even just a short one
> for, say, the sides of a casserole dish. No matter what I do they
> come out thicker at one end than the other even though the ends are
> only 3 inches apart. Is there a trick to this?
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Mary
> on the wet west coast of British Columbia
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> >Tig said:
> >
> >> It has been many years since I last pulled a handle from a lump,
> >.........> Could anyone recommend a video or a book with explicit
> >instructions......
> >
> >
> >______________________________________________________________________________
> >Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> >You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> >settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> >Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> >melpots@pclink.com.
>
> --
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
--
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jennifer Boyer mailto:jboyer@adelphia.net
Thistle Hill Pottery Montpelier VT USA
http://www.thistlehillpottery.com/
Never pass on an email warning without checking out these sites
for web hoaxes and junk:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/
http://snopes.com
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
vince pitelka on fri 6 dec 02
> No matter what I do they come out thicker at one end than the other even
> though the ends are only 3 inches apart. Is there a trick to this?
Mary -
I may have missed the original post, because I do not see the problem.
Unless you are putting horizontal side handles on a covered jar or
casserole, you do not WANT them to be even in thickness. You want them to be
tapered, both in thickness and in width. They look far better. It is fine
when people use the extruder to make handles for applications where an even
thickness is appropriate, or to make blanks which are then pulled to
introduce that taper, but when extruded handles are applied to mugs and
pitchers without that taper they look pretty awful. It is not hard to make
tapered handles that just sing. They look better, they feel better, they
are stronger.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
vince pitelka on fri 6 dec 02
> I can pull a reasonable mug handle, tapered from top to bottom, but
> I have trouble pulling an untapered handle, even just a short one
> for, say, the sides of a casserole dish. No matter what I do they
> come out thicker at one end than the other even though the ends are
> only 3 inches apart. Is there a trick to this?
Mary -
Somehow I missed this first message until now. I think the secret to
pulling uniform-thickness handles for the sides of covered jars and
casseroles is to pull them LONG, with very smooth, even movements.
Initially pull them round, with your thumb and fingers circling the clay,
and use plenty of water. It is natural to want to leave the handle thicker
at the top to support the clay hanging below, but you just have to force
yourself to pull very evenly. We get so used to pulling in such a way that
our hand closes as we pull, in order to get a tapered handle. You have to
persuade yourself to not do that. Instead, hold your hand in a fixed
position as you pull the handle. If you do this consciously, you will be
able to pull a long handle with an even thickness. Once you have a long
round "rod," you can use your thumb to flatten it slightly and create a
groove down the center, or you can pull it between your thumb and the base
of your hand to create a flattened oval cross section.
Good luck -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Gail Dapogny on sat 7 dec 02
Along these same lines, if you have neglected yet again to put away some
clay to age, what do you all think is the best way to fast-age some clay (
or IS there a way to fast-age clay?) -- say , in a day or two. Since I
have always avoided making mugs (bowls are so much more satisfying!), how
about some tips on applying the handle. That's the part I always mess up.
Thanks.
---Gail
Gail Dapogny
1154 Olden Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3005
(734) 665-9816
gdapogny@umich.edu
http://www.silverhawk.com/ex99/dapogny (single historical photo - no longer
registered with Silverhawk)
Martin Howard on sat 7 dec 02
Back into Clayart, after beating prostate cancer in only about two months
(or so I think - must wait for more tests next month to be sure - see
www.webbscottage.co.uk/prostatecancer.htm for further details if interested)
I was taught how to pull handles over 20 years ago, so I've had a good lot
of practice. It is a question of feel and practice until it comes as a
natural process.
Watch someone who is proficient at it.
You will see they do not take a large lump of clay. 800 gram is sufficient,
or your arm will tire.
The clay is twisted through 180 degrees at each time pull down.
The new handle is broken off someway down from the main lot of clay.
That way the handles are more or less the same cross section all the way
down, with just a slight thickening towards to the top.
I throw a good handle IMHO, but I still put off the day of putting handles
onto pots! That needs a really calm frame of mind:-)
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
Updated 6th July 2002
Ned Ludd on sat 7 dec 02
Gail wrote
>Along these same lines, if you have neglected yet again to put away some
>clay to age, what do you all think is the best way to fast-age some clay (
>or IS there a way to fast-age clay?) -- say , in a day or two.
Pee in it. It's MIRACLE water. Look what it just did for our Martin
Howard!
Not to be confused with Lana's Magic Water - an entirely different tincture.
>Since I
>have always avoided making mugs (bowls are so much more satisfying!), how
>about some tips on applying the handle. That's the part I always mess up.
>Thanks.
>---Gail
Instead of trying to understand verbal instructions, which are a
really poor way of conveying many pot making skills, why not do
yourself a favor and take a workshop with a potter who is excellent
at pulled handles. This would mean a functional-oriented potter,
mind! You want a guy or woman whose pulled more handles than you've
had hot dinners. Try a teacher like Svend Bayer, next time he's due
in the USA giving demos, etc. I witnessed him strut his stuff way
back when, in a session at my art school. It was awesome. After that,
I could never be satisfied with mediocrity. Eyes-on and hands-on
learning easily beats trying to fathom the loamy yet mystic art via
computer screen.
best,
Ned
in Butte County, CA, with a batch of mugs to handle today
Martin Rice on sat 7 dec 02
I asked about mug handles here on Clayart several months ago. I got lots
of really good advice. I can now easily pull the handles from the
carrot-shaped piece of clay I start with. But now, I find that I have
another problem. How to get them on without really messing them up?
At first I cut the piece to length and then tried to form a kind of s-shape
and left it on its side to dry a bit. That was a mess when I picked it up
and handled it.
A couple of weeks ago a potter happened to be passing through the jungle (I
know that sounds strange, but that's what happened) and someone told her
about me. The jungle being a very informal place, she and her husband
stopped by to chat a bit. I told her about the trouble I was having with
getting the handles on my mugs without getting them all out of shape and
finger-marked. She showed me something really neat: She started with a small
carrot, enough to pull one handle. Then, after it was the right thickness,
she hung the fat end (after cutting it off some) on the edge of a table and
lo and behold, there was a really lovely upper curve.
Unfortunately, I didn't have any mugs around that were "ready to be
handled," so she "attached" a couple to some plastic bats and showed me how
she pressed them in place.
After she left, I immediately began throwing a few mugs and when they were
dry enough I tried her method. I pulled the handles well enough, I think,
got the nice curve from hanging them on the table edge. Let them dry there
for about 20 minutes (what she had recommended) and then, I messed them all
up again when I tried to attach them to the mugs. The mugs were leather-hard
or almost, which she had recommended, and the handles were, as I said, dried
about 20 minutes.
Does anyone have any tips for attaching handles?
The good news is that I don't seem to be having any trouble with getting the
handles to stick with scoring and slipping. Needless to say, I simply had to
bisque some mugs with the ugly, deformed handles and glaze them over the
past couple of months and then use them every day for my morning (and
afternoon and evening) coffee. Not a single handle has broken or dropped
off.
Thanks,
Martin
Laguans de Baru, Costa Rica
http://www.rice-family.org
Martin Howard on sat 7 dec 02
Ned rightly suggests for our Martin Howard! >
Urine is/was also used for Mochaware. Why? Because it is slightly acidic.
Spit is similar, so tobacco juice spat out into wet slip caused the effect.
To see a list of the ingredients of urine have a look at my web site after
this weekend. Just add /golden_fountain.htm after www.webbscottage.co.uk
but wait until Sunday evening:-)
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
Being updated Sunday 8th December 2002.
Janet Kaiser on sat 7 dec 02
Are you really hand-on-heart pulling evenly? If so it sounds to me like you
are pulling too hard, too fast, too dry? And possibly being a little mean
with the amount of clay? Always start out with much more than you think you
are going to need until you become really proficient...
Practice makes perfect! So if you make a pot and pull a handle, then don't
try again for hours/days/weeks, set some time aside, pug a whole load of
nice plastic clay and spend a few hours practicing your technique.
Concentrate on the FEEL before taking any notice of the way it looks.
You'll be surprised how quickly it becomes second nature and the huge
variety of profiles you can make too!
If you don't have the time or inclination to practice, you could try
extruding... Shame to spoil a pot by adding a poor handle. Or as TC would
say, "there's a nice pot on that handle".
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser - who was taught to pull a mean handle by Mick Casson! Love
him!
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
Subject: Making Handles
From: Mary White
Time: 12:13 Date: 06/12/02
>I can pull a reasonable mug handle, tapered from top to bottom, but
>I have trouble pulling an untapered handle, even just a short one
>for, say, the sides of a casserole dish. No matter what I do they
>come out thicker at one end than the other even though the ends are
>only 3 inches apart. Is there a trick to this?
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Mary
>on the wet west coast of British Columbia
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*** Here endeth Mary White's mail ***
******************* FROM ********************
The Chapel of Art / Capel Celfyddyd
8 Marine Crescent, Criccieth LL52 0EA, Wales, UK
Tel: ++44 (01766) 523570 URL: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
Ron Roy on sun 8 dec 02
Hi gail,
I have found the best clay to add to new clay is the left overs in your
splash pan - I wrap it up and leave it on my wedging board till I need it -
storing it wet keeps it viable for a long time but not forever.
You can think of old clay as a starter - like in sourdough - add it to new
clay - keep warm for a day or so and there will be a significant change -
wedge it again and leave it for another day and it will get better still -
those bacteria need a little oxygen to do their stuff.
Just adding some vinegar will do it fast but use it up cause it is gonna
smell pretty bad very soon. I never use slip anymore - just straight
vinegar - no scoring - works best for porcelain - just push two rounded
surfaces together while they still have a little vinegar on them - trick is
to not trap any air.
RR
>Along these same lines, if you have neglected yet again to put away some
>clay to age, what do you all think is the best way to fast-age some clay (
>or IS there a way to fast-age clay?) -- say , in a day or two. Since I
>have always avoided making mugs (bowls are so much more satisfying!), how
>about some tips on applying the handle. That's the part I always mess up.
>Thanks.
>---Gail
>
>Gail Dapogny
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Martin Howard on sun 8 dec 02
A tip I use, instead of putting the handles on the edge of the table, is to
hang them first on a sloping board with a raised edge. The board was a book
display shelf, turned upside down.
When then are a little drier, in the UK climate that is after 2 hours or so,
I put them on large section rounded cardboard rolls, the sort of thing that
is inside a roll of carpet. That gives a nice curve to the handles, so there
is little extra bending when the handles is put to the pot. I can keep
handles like that, but inside a damp box, for weeks and still use them at
the end.
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
Updated 6th July 2002
Richard White on fri 20 apr 07
You may be thinking of Tony Clennell's DVD video "Get a Handle On It." His
website is http://www.sourcherrypottery.com/
dw
Donald Croxton on fri 20 apr 07
Hi, I have been lurking on this sight for years and finally have a question
of my own. I have a studio in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Recently some one on
this clayart sight mentioned a book or video by a man about techniques for
making handles. I made note at the time and searched the web and was not able to
find anything. I have lost my note and would like to know if anyone
remembers the posting, the author's name, and how I can get the book/video. Thank
you for all the info I have gained just by reading other people's postings. It
has been a great source in setting up my own studio.
Donald K. Croxton
croxdon@aol.com
************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
William & Susan Schran User on sat 21 apr 07
On 4/20/07 5:10 PM, "Donald Croxton" wrote:
> Hi, I have been lurking on this sight for years and finally have a question
> of my own. I have a studio in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Recently some one on
> this clayart sight mentioned a book or video by a man about techniques for
> making handles.
Video by Tony Clennel, "Get A Handle On It"
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com/ , then click on link #4.
Got the DVD for my students, I learned some things also.
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Helen Bates on sat 21 apr 07
Hi,
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/Books/videotapes.htm
http://www.potteryvideos.com/series_form.shtml
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com/
have videos for sale about making handles...
Helen
--
Helen Bates
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Clayarters' URLs: http://amsterlaw.com/clayart/
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