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recycling trimmings

updated sat 22 nov 03

 

Joyce Lee on mon 17 nov 03


A claybud said:
"I trim more slowly, and I gather up the trimmings and keep them to =
reclaim.
That also keeps them from being smashed into the walls and cement floor =
to
"enhance the atmoshprere."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
---

I, too, of course, recycle my trimmings either by
running through the pugmill or dampening and
hand-wedging. Very ordinary sort of task.

However, I had a mentee for two years, Dorie,
who is an Artist to her Soul but had never
worked in clay. Dorie has great reverence for
her materials ..... every little bit of trimming is
treated as a Special Gift from the Gods; I kid
you not. She saved minute bits left over from
her handbuilding....... didn't scrape them up
as I would, but patted them gently or blew on
them until she positioned them for transfer to
a Perfect Place to be saved until inspiration
hit. Inspiration ALWAYS did hit and, indeed,
the iotas of Spare Clay changed the look and
feel of many a lovely hand-built plate or=20
shallow bowl or became part of a masterpiece
of a collage. =20

Sometimes folks came by
to help me unload or just hang out or to see
what we were doing this week. They'd start to
brush away the teeny bits I'd fired for Dorie .......
which often lived one more life
on her exquisite, completely original
handmade cards ...... well, they just might
come close to getting their hands smacked
as Dorie rushed to rescue her "treasures."
(Dorie is a mother of five...... smacking hands
comes naturally to her when treasures are
threatened. Otherwise, she is the Loveliest of
the Lovely.... a true Gentle Soul.)

Joyce=20
In the Mojave where the Cactus Lady is moving,
selling her business, and bringing me a truckload
of stuff from her greenhouses tomorrow .......
free or better
than wholesale wholesale prices. NOW I can
have that arrangement of Golden Barrels ......
they gleam so in the sunshine....... one of my
Newer Loves which I'd expected to spend a
few seasons collecting....... doling out the
money as it comes in...... slowly. She'll
deliver something like 40 tomorrow!!!!!! Some
are very small....... none are huge...... but
they will contribute magnificently to my
Feelings of Good Will and Happiness which
is often achieved by simply looking at items
of beauty and/or interest.... as I'm sure is the
same with you...

Dorie Mickelson on tue 18 nov 03


Well, I both laughed and gasped when I first started reading this post,
as my name is Dorie, and with horror and amusement I thought one of my
early clay teachers was on this list talking about me, but NO, it is
some other Dorie who plays with clay and lives somewhere else in the
world. I have actually met only one other woman named Dorie who spelled
her name 'Dorie', and she was not in clay so this was just too funny!
Anyway, I live in Michigan, do not have any children (well, I do have
cat children but no human children), do not do much handbuilding (mostly
wheelwork), do not smack other people's hands, and do not reverently
save my trimmings, but I am a clay artist and like to think myself a
gentle soul so perhaps the other Dorie and I have something in common
after all .

Dorie, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it is cool and drizzly, still
recovering from the 30th Ann Arbor Winter Art Fair this past weekend,
where I had a great looking booth if I do say so myself (due in part to
all of the great suggestions from Clayarters) and where I sold a bunch
of stuff and had a lot of fun!

************************************************************************
*************************

From: Joyce Lee

Subject: Recycling Trimmings

A claybud said:

"I trim more slowly, and I gather up the trimmings and keep them to =
reclaim. That also keeps them from being smashed into the walls and
cement floor = to "enhance the atmoshprere."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-=

---

I, too, of course, recycle my trimmings either by running through the
pugmill or dampening and hand-wedging. Very ordinary sort of task.
However, I had a mentee for two years, Dorie, who is an Artist to her
Soul but had never worked in clay. Dorie has great reverence for her
materials ..... every little bit of trimming is treated as a Special
Gift from the Gods; I kid you not. She saved minute bits left over from
her handbuilding....... didn't scrape them up as I would, but patted
them gently or blew on them until she positioned them for transfer to a
Perfect Place to be saved until inspiration hit. Inspiration ALWAYS did
hit and, indeed, the iotas of Spare Clay changed the look and feel of
many a lovely hand-built plate or shallow bowl or became part of a
masterpiece of a collage. Sometimes folks came by to help me unload or
just hang out or to see what we were doing this week. They'd start to
brush away the teeny bits I'd fired for Dorie ....... which often lived
one more life on her exquisite, completely original handmade cards
...... well, they just might come close to getting their hands smacked
as Dorie rushed to rescue her "treasures." (Dorie is a mother of
five...... smacking hands comes naturally to her when treasures are
threatened. Otherwise, she is the Loveliest of the Lovely.... a true
Gentle Soul.)

Joyce

In the Mojave where the Cactus Lady is moving, selling her business, and
bringing me a truckload of stuff from her greenhouses tomorrow .......
free or better than wholesale wholesale prices. NOW I can have that
arrangement of Golden Barrels ...... they gleam so in the
sunshine....... one of my Newer Loves which I'd expected to spend a few
seasons collecting....... doling out the money as it comes in......
slowly. She'll deliver something like 40 tomorrow!!!!!! Some are very
small....... none are huge...... but they will contribute magnificently
to my Feelings of Good Will and Happiness which is often achieved by
simply looking at items of beauty and/or interest.... as I'm sure is the
same with you...

LJ GOMBAR on fri 21 nov 03


Hi!
As I am behind on Clayart digest by 3 days... This may have already come
up. I don't know if this idea is "recycled" (pardon the pun) but I use
a claybox as a trimmings catcher. I cut one box down one side... I
spread it out so it wraps loosly around the wheelhead and tape the
bottom part of the folds of the box so they are at 120 or so degree
angles... I use duct tape, on both sides... And it takes care of the
sides and back of the wheel. I also use more ductape on the top flaps,
taping the inner 3 flaps together so they all stand up. I use another
box and cut it down the same way, but take away half of each "end" of
each side of the box, and "trim off the top flaps except for about 2
inches. This allows me to access the work from the front, yet catch
most trimmings. My first cardboard trim catcher was more elaborate, I
added a bit of ductape around the inner bottom edges, as if to form an
inner lip under the wheelhead, and to "hold" the front portion of the
other box in... But I have run out of duct tape and so I just used a
smidge of clear tape to hold the 2nd box flaps away from the wheel head.
When done trimming, I carefully unassemble the 2 parts, last on, first
off, and the box naturally guides the trimmings into the bucket at the
angles... Or in the corners.
Hope this helps...
LJ