Earl Krueger on tue 25 may 04
On Tuesday, May 25, 2004, at 17:30 US/Pacific, Lili Krakowski wrote:
> Get a book on pottery. I love Tony Birks's The Complete Potter's
> Guide.
I would like to second this opinion. I don't see this book
mentioned much on Clayart but it is my "old standby".
Whenever I get stuck on how to do something or for an
idea I dig it out. Plenty of pictures of many styles of work
and enough text to give you some real understanding.
ISBN 0-8212-2495-6
And I get nothing from this recommendation other than
a warm fuzzy that maybe I turned an aspiring potter
onto something good.
Earl K...
Bothell, WA, USA
Lili Krakowski on tue 25 may 04
I have built a number of wheels, some temporary. The point to remember =
is that the shaft must be strong enough so that the wheel is not a =
strain on it, and that the weight of the flywheel must be on the =
outside. Besides the bricks bolted on, one can use--and this I HAVE =
NEVER DONE, but it sounds right--cans filled with shot, or with sand. =
Line the cans up at the outer rim of the plywood disk that will become =
the TOP of your sandwich. Plywood is fine, but in a pinch the wooden =
disks from a spool of cable of the type TV cable companies use work. =
Trace the outside of your cans with a good marker. Remove cans. You =
now have a disk with equally spaced circles on it. Drill a hole in the =
middle of each circle. Now attach the cans to the bottom disk and mount =
that on your shaft. As Steve said plumbers fittings work. Next put the =
top piece on and attach bolt the 2 disks together, making sure the =
holes correspond to the placement of the cans. Next fill the cans with =
shot or sand, and seal with cork, or whatever you have. When the =
flywheel must be moved the top piece is unbolted and lifted and the cans =
emptied. AS I SAID I HAVE NOT DONE THIS, AND SO CAN ONLY INTUIT THAT IT =
WILL WORK, AS DESCRIBED WHEREVER I READ IT.
Large metal flywheels can be had a junk yards: problem is they are hard =
to move.
TAMMY: Do you mean porcelain clay, like a mixed body in dry form that =
can be hydrated and used? Or do you mean the white clay--kaolin, China =
clay-- that is the clay that gives porcelain its whiteness? If you mean =
white clay etc then it can be bought: there are several kinds, =
EPK--Edgar Plastic Kaolin being the most common, I think. Of course =
Snail is right that you can mix your own clay body. Remember Lucie Rie =
mixed hers in 5 gallon buckets. BUT AT THIS POINT I would urge you to =
just buy something ready made. From some of your earlier pots I think =
you have a lot of other stuff to learn first.
NEOPHYTE: Yes, you can learn to be a potter on your own. Find yourself =
a good space to work in. Well lit, comfie, easy to clean. Buy yourself =
a box of a pleasant clay. I would suggest a buff rather than a red or =
white. White gets boring, and red tends to stain everything. Remember: =
Red Iron Oxide stains, Black does not--no idea why.
Get a book on pottery. I love Tony Birks's The Complete Potter's Guide. =
It costs $22.50 which is something, but you might find it 2nd hand on =
the Internet, and then Birks had a book called The Potter's Companion =
which this "replaces". That earlier book ought to be much cheaper on =
the Internet.
You can start being a potter by making tiles, handbuilding, sculpting, =
coiling. Remember the wheel is relatively a modern invention compared =
to the age of the craft itself. What you want now is to get the feel of =
clay, learn to use it, learn to make it speak for you.
I agree that you could find someone to observe--a college, a potter, a =
recreational center. I expect that if you post your location someone =
one Clayart itself will be able to advise you whom to look up.
And one can even teach oneself to throw. After watching a potter at =
work, I did. Admittedly I was not great, but it got me started. This =
was just after the wheel itself had been invented!!!!
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