John Jensen on fri 11 jun 04
I wonder a lot about how much people sand their bisqueware. My own
approach is to go over each piece with my hand and eye, seeking out
little sharp places, which I lightly sand off. Carefully made pieces
will usually have few or none of these, but most pieces need a touch or
two with the sandpaper. I would certainly discourage anyone from
attempting to sand down the whole pot to achieve a smooth
finish...pointless and introduces a lot of hazardous dust. If the piece
is rough to the point of needing a whole sanding job, a person might
want to rethink their whole process.
Perhaps people get the idea about sanding from their previous experience
with painting things, where it is usually true that the more you sand
the better.
John Jensen, Mudbug Pottery
mudbug@toadhouse.com , http://www.toadhouse.com
-----Original Message-----
Behalf Of Vince Pitelka
Subject: Was "Bill van Gilder's Show," now "sanding bisqueware"
I am startled that anyone would suggest that bisqueware necessarily
needs to be sanded. Sanding kills the subtleties of handmade wares - the
marks of the potter's hands.
I suppose there are times when you might want to sand bisqueware. Is
this
something that comes from the slip-cast greenware business? At any
rate,
anyone who reads that post, please think very carefully before deciding
to
sand your greenware. If you are making and handling your wares with
practiced and deliberate movements, the marks you leave can be very
beautiful, and in that case should not be sanded off
.
Lee Love on sat 12 jun 04
John Jensen wrote:
>I wonder a lot about how much people sand their bisqueware. My own
>approach is to go over each piece with my hand and eye, seeking out
>little sharp places, which I lightly sand off. Carefully made pieces
>will usually have few or none of these, but most pieces need a touch or
>two with the sandpaper.
>
I normally don't sand, unless I find a slight chip on a rim
etc. If I find a bur or a chunk of clay stuck in the wrong place,
I use a bamboo tool to scrape the bur off or smooth it. Doesn't make
any dust.
A small bamboo tool or chopstick cut on an angle can be used to
burnish seams that appear in the green state or after the bisque, that
might show up on attached parts like handles or spouts. When dusting
bisque before glazing when I was an apprentice, one of our jobs were to
inspect for cracks, chips, burs, etc.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://journals.fotki.com/togeika/Mashiko/ Commentary On Pottery
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