Rob Van Rens on thu 10 jun 04
Bill is not a member of the list - in fact, he's had a computer for less
than a year. I've been forwarding him the various messages re: his show,
and he asked me to post this response.
Rob Van Rens
Frederick Clay Art Center
5400 Yukon Ct, Unit 500
Frederick, MD 21758
(301) 371-0310
www.frederickclayartcenter.com
Here is Bill's post. his words are unedited, although I ahve removed excess
headers, text of original messages, etc.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Van Gilder"
To: "Rob Van Rens"
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 7:28 PM
Subject: RE: Fw: Bill van Gilder's Show!
>
> (Melissa...I speak to bill vG almost daily...my company supplies his
> Frederick Pottery School and his studio w/ materials + supplies...and
> because he's not a Clayart subscriber I passed along your Clayart
> comments, wondering if he wanted to reply. I got
> this response from him today..
>
> The reason I don't cover the pot's w/ plastic as they dry is: I need them
> to dry in a resonable time as I run a pro-
> duction shop here and , though I work in a rather large space, I really
> don't have the racking and storage space to stack pots and wait on
> them to dry slowly. I use clays, both commercial mixes and my own mixes,
> that WILL dry without cracking...as long as the pot's
> are uniformly and well made... solid handle attachment's, even
> cross-sections, assembled in a timely order,etc.. I use clays
> that will pass these test's...other-wise, I look for different commercial
> bodies or adjust the body recipies I'm mixing here
> in the studio. Plus...covering pots with plastic is a hassle. The
> plastic sticks to the wet clay, damaging the rim's...and you have store
> all that plastic sheeting somewhere! I'd rather not.
>
> About the kiln shelf at the top of a pack...never done it...probobly
never
> will! The way kiln's are built today, incoming
> cold air shouldn't be an issue, or problem. I suppose if your kiln has
> ALOT of wear + tear at the rim/brickwork this
> might be an issue. In that case I would line the top rim of the open kiln
> with very thin,narrow strip's of fiber...something to seal the
> rim-to-lid joint. Or maybe, if the kiln lid is crumbling a bit...pieces
> falling into + onto the pots below... a shelf could protect
> them somewhat. But if this was the case, repeatedly, I'd be looking for a
> new kiln, or at least a lid.
>
> As for sanding the rim's of pots...I avoid it like the plague. The dust is
> dangerous...the time it would take to sand a kiln load of
> pots would be prohibitive..and as the bisque stage of a pots' life is the
> least attractive and most boring (my opinion), the less time I have deal
> with bisqueware, the better! Again, I choose clay bodies that are
smooth
> enough to not require sanding...often finishing the wet rims of the
> pots with a strip of clay-bag plastic (or chamois - which I avoid, as
they
> get lost in the wheel-slip too easily) ...generally prep'ing
> the pots at the throwing and wet-finishing stages for glazing...without
> using sand paper. The clays I use do have some sand,
> or sometimes up to 5% fine grog, in the mix. Just enough aggregate to cut
> down on the shrinkage and stop warpage. Using the
> strip of plastic on the rims pushes the surface sand/grog back into the
> pot...so no sanding. Using thick, fat glazes helps, too.
>
> Hope these reasoning's make sense...and glad you like the DIY Pottery
> programs. Know that there was ALOT more clay
> info taped...some of which I was hoping to see on air...but they can only
> fit so much into a 20 min. broadcast! It's very much
> their call. I've now been asked for another list of pottery subject's
> ... aimed at the "new", part-time and student potter...their
> direction. We'll see what happens next.
>
> all the best,
> Bill vG.
> Bill Van Gilder
> vangilderpottery@earthlink.net
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