Lili Krakowski on mon 23 aug 04
Oval dishes also can be made in a couple more ways. The one discussed =
so far involves cutting out a long thin leaf shape from the center and =
squooshing the sides together, etc.
I always have had trouble--generally making the "leaf" too wide in the =
middle. A method I personally find easier involves this: When the pot is =
slightly set up, work lots of water under the pot by cutting it off with =
a thickish , twisted wire, and getting water under the pot with the =
wire. Make a straight cut down the middle of the bottom. From 12 to 6 =
as it were. Not all the way but, let us say for a 10" shape, a 3" -4" =
cut in the center. Do not hold knife vertical, but at a 45 degree slant =
to give the cut as wide surfaces as possible. Now wet the cut so that =
everything is slippery, and squoosh the two sides perpendicular to the =
cut. There will be, there should be an overlap of the cut edges. When =
the clay has set up a bit more, smooth out the overlap from the inside =
of the pot. Allow the pot to dry so it can be turned upside down, and =
finish closing and smoothing the cut from the outside. This method does =
not require adding a coil to seal the cut and so on. BE SURE to support =
the bottom on the inside when working on the outside.
Another method I have only read about: cut the sides off the bottom =
partway on opposite sides. To use the clock again--a cut from 10 down =
to 8 or maybe 11-7, and on the other side 2-4 or 1-5. Wetting the =
cut well, push in these cut sides, and when the clay has set up lute =
and attach.
Last: Draw the desired oval shape. Draw it on firm plastic, or use a =
plastic "embroidery canvas", a plastic sheet with holes in it, like =
mesh, that is used to embroider I don't know what. At Arts&Crafts =
stores. Cut your shape out. Measure the circumference and figure out =
what diameter pot would give you that circumference. Roll out slabs of =
clay, transfer the oval pattern, and cut the clay out. You now have the =
bottoms. Throw rings with the desired diameter, and when everybody is =
set up a bit, score the edges of your bottoms, slip them, set the rings =
on top and proceed from there. =20
In my VERY LIMITED experience oval dishes should be thicker than =
"normal" The bottom cannot be thin.
AS TO GRINDING: An offlist mention the other day of valve grinding =
compound used to clean stuff off the bottom of pots. The person who =
asked was rubbing it on with a cloth. NO! Get a piece of plate glass, =
put the compound on it, and then grind the bottom of your pot on the =
glass with the compound. I have found this works very well.=20
QUESTION: I do not throw with heavily grogged clay. But if I were to: =
would coating the bottom of the pots with a layer of the same clay body =
sans grog achieve a smooth bottom? Has anyone done that?=20
Lili
Veena Raghavan on mon 23 aug 04
Message text written by Clayart
>QUESTION: I do not throw with heavily grogged clay. But if I were to: =
would coating the bottom of the pots with a layer of the same clay body
sans grog achieve a smooth bottom? Has anyone done that? =
<
Hi Lili,
Yes, I have done that, when I used heavily grogged clay, then burnished t=
he
bottom, when it was leatherhard. It worked well.
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
Bruce Girrell on tue 24 aug 04
Lili Krakowski wrote:
> QUESTION: I do not throw with heavily grogged clay. But if I
> were to: would coating the bottom of the pots with a layer of
> the same clay body sans grog achieve a smooth bottom? Has anyone
> done that?
Not only the bottom but the whole pot. I recently made a pot out of a terra
cotta clay that has a heavy grog. I wanted a burnished finish so when the
pot was dry enough I coated it with a slip, made from the same clay, that
had been sieved through a 200 mesh screen. Two layers of that allowed me to
produce a pot with a mirror finish.
The process flow was like this:
Trim pot (lots of nasty trimming marks as a result of the grog)
Compress surface (on wheel) with polished rock
Apply slip
Allow slip to stiffen (overnight in plastic bag)
Compress surface (on wheel) with polished rock
Apply second coat of slip
Allow slip to stiffen (overnight in plastic bag)
Compress surface (on wheel) with polished rock
Allow to dry completely
Apply very thinly diluted slip - almost water
Burnish with polished rock
Bruce "I can see myself!" Girrell
The resulting pot was decorated with horsehair and ferric chloride. The
ferric chloride color blends beautifully with the terra cotta. The pot was
included with a number of others that we made for a special show by the
gallery that carries our work. When it didn't sell after three hours we took
it and one other pot back home with us because we liked them too much to
sell them.
And for those who are interested in the punctuation thread:
Note the difference between "...I coated it with a slip, made from the same
clay, that had been sieved through a 200 mesh screen." and "...I coated it
with a slip made from the same clay that had been sieved through a 200 mesh
screen."
Can you imagine how tough it would be to push terra cotta clay through a 200
mesh sieve?
Vince Pitelka on tue 24 aug 04
> Not only the bottom but the whole pot. I recently made a pot out of a
terra
> cotta clay that has a heavy grog. I wanted a burnished finish so when the
> pot was dry enough I coated it with a slip, made from the same clay, that
> had been sieved through a 200 mesh screen. Two layers of that allowed me
to
> produce a pot with a mirror finish.
Bruce -
This is pretty much exactly what the Pueblo potters do - brush or smear a
fine gritless slip over a pot before burnishing, in order to conceal the
rough nature of the claybody beneath.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
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