Gary C. Hatcher on tue 14 jan 03
Ned,
Good explanation of the English method of wedging.
That is exactly what we did in the studios Daphne and I worked at in England
as neither had pugmills.
Although that method does not stress the wrists and elbows as much as spiral
wedging, it does stress the shoulders and lower back. I would still put it
in the category of spiral wedging in that it wears on your body and you are
limited in how much can be wedged at a time.
It depends on how much clay you use and how much time you want to spend
preparing clay and how much you want to spend making pots....or watching
Ohpra.
Then there is the other aspect of a philosophical/aesthetic nature. When I
was an apprentice, the rational given me for all the clay crunching and
mixing I was asked to do was that it provided time to reflect on making pots
and assisted in developing respect for the material....I respect clay but I
bought my first pugmill as soon as I could afford it.
Another thought to consider concerns nostalgia. Asian, European and Early,
American potters mixed and wedged clay by labor intensive methods because
they had no choice, not because it was a better way to do it. Today we are
faced with a smorgasbord of choices that in the end become
philosophical/aesthetic choices, not choices made out of necessity. I again
say that there is no intrinsic value added to the material simply by how it
is handled. In the end the piece must sink or swim on its own. No body
really cares if you did it the hard way or the easy way.
More on Cardew, Harry Davis and cocktail parties later.
gary
Gary C. Hatcher
e-mail: gchfire@pobox.com
home/studio: 1-903-857-2271
university office: 1-903-566-7296
http://www.pinemills.com
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