Lili Krakowski on thu 19 aug 04
I wear wide brimmed hats, felt fedoras between Labor and Memorial Day, =
straw ones between Memorial and Labor. =20
You do not place a wide brimmed hat on its brim, but on its crown. =
Because the weight of the crown will deform the brim, and the brims are =
not designed with any support system.
Ditto wide rimmed plates. The plate has to be designed to support the =
rim whether it is right side up or upside down.=20
There are several approaches. When you pull up, before you flatten the =
brim , leave an extra thickening of clay where the rim will be turned. =
This extra clay will support the rim quite nicely.
Throw your plates relatively thick, thinning out the part that will be =
your rim. Trim the excess clay off the plate part, just BELOW where the =
rim starts, giving yourself that extra support, vide supra.
When you throw plates have some wax paper circles to put inside to slow =
drying. Then throw as you do, place precut wax paper disk in, let the =
rim dry a bit more than the body of plate before you invert for =
trimming.
I have never had luck with pushing the rim down after it has set up. I =
tend to get cracks at the rim. I see no reason, nor have I seen =
examples, of thrown plates with perfectly flat horizontal rims. About =
15 degree upward angle seems to be the norm.
As to flame throwers: Yikes! Mebbe that man who throws plates the =
size of tractor tires needs such, but for an 18" plate?
AS TO TALENT: Frans Wildenhain used to say: " Everyone has talent, no =
one wants to work." The American folk saying is; " The harder I =
work, the luckier I get." My blend of the two: "The harder I work the =
more talented I get." =20
I agree with a doctor friend who said that talent is nothing more than a =
particular neurological (if that is correct word) and brain =
development. Some people's nerves and brains are better developed in =
this area or that. Or why talent runs in families. It is genetic in =
good part. It now is known that the brain gets patterned by repeated =
doings, or why we get better at things, and why certain activities that =
once took us a lot of thought and energy now are almost reflexes. As in =
the Olympics. Those gymnasts don't think Ok Left leg here, right arm =
there.....they just do it automatically after years of practice.
Most people have talent for something. If their interest is stimulated =
and they pursue that talent and work like beavers at it, the talent =
will manifest itself as good work. And if on top of being talented they =
are intelligent they can move on to great work. But just to have the =
neural pattern, or the right traffic signs between the two halves of the =
brain, or a $2000 potter's wheel, and the costliest kiln.........Duh =
writ large. "Do I have talent?" "Dunno. Let me see you work!"
As a PS: An aunt of mine was a Lieder singer. One day we were talking =
about the foremost Lieder singer of the day, and my aunt said that this =
woman was so fabulous because she was highlyn intelligent. She had a =
fabulous voice, and great talent. She also worked very hard. BUT on =
top of that she had great intelligence which she applied to her work, to =
interpreting the music and texts and so on.
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