Vince Pitelka on sat 1 nov 03
I certainly have nothing against polymer clay, as long as people realize
they are working with plastic. That is fine, and it is remarkable stuff.
But I like to see people accomplish similar things with porcelain.
The polymer clay websites are wonderful resources. Those people are
obsessed, and they do an incredible amount of experimentation in order to
come up with ways to outdo other polymer clay artists. By perusing these
websites I have learned quite a few great techniques applicable to real
colored clay work. One of the most exciting is the technique for creating
clayloaves piece of clay that makes an even transition from light to dark or
from one color to another. I can't explain it here, but you can find it at
the polymer clay websites. I have been doing colored clay work seriously
for almost twenty years, and that was a technique that had eluded me. It
was a good discovery.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Barbara Kobler on sat 1 nov 03
Hi Wayne,
Boy how I agree with you. I had my mind blown by really studying one of the ploymer clay books in Borders. Wow, I said. Some of these are really neat to apply to our clays. (Note the proprietary "our"). I've been having a ball applying the polymer clay people's techniques to potter's clays. I have purchased two of their books for our clay studio and have been teaching many of the techniques in our studio.
Specifically: The precise line lend using backgammon points of several different color clays is fabulouso. The gradual blending of two different clays is great on southwestrn style squat high shoulder pots.
Some people are using the cane technique for faces and landscape scenes out of colored clays to inlay into a pot. Also big (8")canes are quite ineresting for pots and wall hangings. Etc. etc.
It's really worth a look at one of these books the next time you're at Borders or B&N. Hope you all have fun.
Barbara Kobler http://www.claywoman.net
wayneinkeywest on sun 2 nov 03
Vince:
You can also find that technique illustrated in Chris Campbell's
most excellent article in this month's ClayTimes. Amazing!
Wayne Seidl
> I certainly have nothing against polymer clay, as long as people realize
> they are working with plastic. That is fine, and it is remarkable stuff.
> But I like to see people accomplish similar things with porcelain.
>
> The polymer clay websites are wonderful resources. Those people are
> obsessed, and they do an incredible amount of experimentation in order to
> come up with ways to outdo other polymer clay artists. By perusing these
> websites I have learned quite a few great techniques applicable to real
> colored clay work. One of the most exciting is the technique for creating
> clayloaves piece of clay that makes an even transition from light to dark
or
> from one color to another. I can't explain it here, but you can find it
at
> the polymer clay websites. I have been doing colored clay work seriously
> for almost twenty years, and that was a technique that had eluded me. It
> was a good discovery.
> - Vince
ccpottery@BELLSOUTH.NET on sun 2 nov 03
Thanks for the compliment Wayne on my colored clay article in this month's Clay Times.
I absolutely love working with colored porcelain and find the techniques of the polymer
clay artists to be easily translated to our clay. The problems arise for us in the drying and
firing of the raw clay. I have been working for ten years on these issues with some
success.
For years I have been bugging Vince to run a colored clay workshop nearby ... I wanted
to pick his brain because he is much more methodical than I and has a more analytical
technical brain. I was hoping to watch, listen and learn.
Imagine my delight when Vince mentions a desire to know more about working with
loaves like the polymer clay people ... could I have a trading card here?? Huh?
Chris Campbell - in North Carolina - is that sound I hear Vince banging his head against
his desk??
"Pottery by Potters"
Chris Campbell Pottery, llc
9417 Koupela Drive
Raleigh, NC 27615
1-800-652-1008
FAX : 919-676-2062
E Mail : chris@ccpottery.com
Wholesale : www.wholesalecrafts.com
Coming soon!! www.ccpottery.com
Gail Phillips on sun 2 nov 03
And in Glenn Nelson's book, "Ceramics", 4th ed., which is on eBay right =
now
at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3D3561532914&category=3D=
1124,
ends tomorrow.
- Gail Phillips
Vince:
You can also find that technique illustrated in Chris Campbell's
most excellent article in this month's ClayTimes. Amazing!
Wayne Seidl
> I certainly have nothing against polymer clay, as long as people =
realize
> they are working with plastic. That is fine, and it is remarkable =
stuff.
> But I like to see people accomplish similar things with porcelain.
>
> The polymer clay websites are wonderful resources. Those people are
> obsessed, and they do an incredible amount of experimentation in order =
to
> come up with ways to outdo other polymer clay artists. By perusing =
these
> websites I have learned quite a few great techniques applicable to =
real
> colored clay work. One of the most exciting is the technique for =
creating
> clayloaves piece of clay that makes an even transition from light to =
dark
or
> from one color to another. I can't explain it here, but you can find =
it
at
> the polymer clay websites. I have been doing colored clay work =
seriously
> for almost twenty years, and that was a technique that had eluded me. =
It
> was a good discovery.
> - Vince
_________________________________________________________________________=
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Vince Pitelka on sun 2 nov 03
Chirs Campbell wrote:
"For years I have been bugging Vince to run a colored clay workshop nearby
... I wanted to pick his brain because he is much more methodical than I and
has a more analytical technical brain. I was hoping to watch, listen and
learn.
Imagine my delight when Vince mentions a desire to know more about working
with loaves like the polymer clay people ... could I have a trading card
here??"
Chris -
I am not doing a workshop at Lisa Skeen's next May, but we were talking
about scheduling a colored clay workshop for May 2005. I'll have to see how
many students she can accommodate. If she can do it, maybe you and I ought
to teach a colored clay workshop together. That way we could trade all our
techniques while we are teaching them to everyone else! What could be
better than that?
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Susan Setley on sun 2 nov 03
In a message dated 11/2/03 9:12:27 PM, vpitelka@DTCCOM.NET writes:
<< Chris -
I am not doing a workshop at Lisa Skeen's next May, but we were talking
about scheduling a colored clay workshop for May 2005. I'll have to see how
many students she can accommodate. If she can do it, maybe you and I ought
to teach a colored clay workshop together. That way we could trade all our
techniques while we are teaching them to everyone else! What could be
better than that?
- Vince >>
If ALL of us got to come. :)
iandol on mon 3 nov 03
Dear Vince Pitelka,
Many of these techniques have ancient precedents.
Used by Glass blowers and Candy makers.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Chris Schafale on mon 3 nov 03
Or maybe Triangle Potters Guild should get Vince and
Chris C. to do a workshop together right here in
Raleigh. If we get to work on it, we might be able to
have it at the NC State Crafts Center, or at Pullen or
Sertoma Arts Center. TPG is very proud of Chris
Campbell, our "famous writer" member, and we'd be
most happy to have Vince in our midst as well. Vince,
would you come for just a weekend or would it have to
be a whole week? Chris, what do you think? Talk to
you more about this on Tuesday, if you're at the
meeting.
Chris (the other one in NC) Schafale
On 2 Nov 2003 at 21:06, Vince Pitelka wrote:
Chirs Campbell wrote:
"For years I have been bugging Vince to run a colored
clay workshop nearby
... I wanted to pick his brain because he is much more
methodical than I and
has a more analytical technical brain. I was hoping to
watch, listen and
learn.
Imagine my delight when Vince mentions a desire to
know more about working
with loaves like the polymer clay people ... could I have
a trading card
here??"
Chris -
I am not doing a workshop at Lisa Skeen's next May,
but we were talking
about scheduling a colored clay workshop for May
2005. I'll have to see how
many students she can accommodate. If she can do it,
maybe you and I ought
to teach a colored clay workshop together. That way
we could trade all our
techniques while we are teaching them to everyone
else! What could be
better than that?
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
____________________________________________
__________________________________
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.
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, USA
(south of Raleigh)
candle@intrex.net
http://www.lightonecandle.com
Vince Pitelka on tue 4 nov 03
Ivor wrote:
"Many of these techniques have ancient precedents. Used by Glass blowers and
Candy makers."
Yes, Ivor, that's where many of us got the idea for this work. Back in the
mid 80s in grad school I had never heard of or seen any colored clay work
when one of the clay faculty at UMass Amherst suggested that it might be
appropriate for the kind of imagery I was trying to develop. But I have an
old friend named Dick Marquis who is a glassblower, and he was one of the
primary glass artists responsible for the infusion of Venetian glass
techniques into American art glass back in the 1960s and 70s. One of Dick's
specialties is murrini, and I have watched him make patterned glass loaves
many times. So I decided to try to do the same thing in clay. It worked
pretty well. I also discovered the work of Jane Peiser, and that inspired
me to push colored clay pattern much farther.
There is a "small world" aspect to this story. Several years after
developing my process of making patterned colored clay loaves, I was
visiting Dick Marquis, and I brought him a small colored clay piece. He was
very pleased to have provided some of my inspiration. I told him that I had
also been influenced by Jane Peiser's work. He laughed, and told me that
Jane's husband Mark Peiser is a glassblower, and that Jane had originally
been inspired to develop her colored clay patterned loaves as a result
seeing Mark doing murrini glass techniques he had learned from Dick. So it
appears that Jane Peiser and I were both inspired by Dick Marquis. I have
not had a chance to ask Jane for her perspective on this.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
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