mel jacobson on mon 13 sep 04
there are many ways of teaching throwing, many
ways to throw.
and, many of them are counter productive.
i have had to fix many people with bad throwing
habits. many, many/
they all said the same thing `but, i like throwing this way`.
true.
`but, it is counter productive`.
i have been teaching workshops and ask people
to center and throw for me.
i remember one gal/took her twenty minutes to center
a six pound ball of clay.
i got on the wheel and did it in 4 seconds.
used my leg. one hand.
she argued with me that her technique was fine.
all arms/hands/no bracing. some famous person
taught her to throw that way.
don't know why people spend the money on workshops
and argue.
i suppose one could play the piano with your arms between
your legs. could be done....but it would be counter productive
to good piano method.
same for the violin....you could make-up a way to play that
others have never thought of. most violin teachers would
tell you to `go to hell you stupid twit`.
there are some very sound techniques for throwing. they
almost always take into account the physics of the spinning
wheel, mass of clay and the energy of the potter.
abuse any of those laws, and you have trouble. `like on
star treck...`hey scottie, canna change the laws of physics``.
when you use your largest muscles, legs for example, brace
and use the entire body...fatigue is never an issue. it you try
and throw with arms unbraced against the body, have the wheel
going backwards, push on the wrong side...you can still throw, but
you will have to take a nap after each pot.
bad habits can occur with all craft. there are also tons of folks that
teach that do not have a clue what they are doing. but, it is often
best to make hard and fast rules.....and beat folks up than change
the way one teaches, or get the right information.
there is so much to be learned from others...the japanese for example.
apprentices learn one way...only one way. no discussion, no
arguments. when you learn that way...all becomes very easy in
a few months. all is second nature, and you do not waste time or
more important...`energy`. when you throw for ten hours...well
you learn to do `right`. if you do not.....you are pooped after two hours.
the old time jug potters could stand at a wheel making jugs or
crocks all day. they were paid a dime a piece. twenty pounds each.
they never breathed hard. never got tired. but, the technique for
throwing was not learned at some junior college, from a painting
instructor. (who was forced to teach clay.) that was all apprentice/
master systems. they worked.
if any part of your body hurts, is bleeding, worn through...well you
are doing it wrong. yes, i know, don't ever tell anyone they are
doing it wrong.....oh, my god, pc. let them do it wrong for their
entire life...never correct. bs. their feelings might get hurt.
good teaching is still about knowing the entire picture. physics/energy/
mass/spinning wheel. and how does one do it without getting tired.
there is a way.
and, it is the correct way.
if you want to argue/save it/throw all day with me/same pots/
same numbers...then we will discuss it. but i want one hundred
pots lined up on your wheel/shelves. all the same.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
John Rodgers on mon 13 sep 04
mel jacobson wrote:
> there are many ways of teaching throwing, many
> ways to throw.
>
> and, many of them are counter productive.
> ******
> she argued with me that her technique was fine.
> all arms/hands/no bracing. some famous person
> taught her to throw that way.
> don't know why people spend the money on workshops
> and argue.
> **********
In my shop in Alaska we would be visited all summer by tourists from the
Lower 48. They were always welcome, but sometimes could be trying.
We were a production shop, and had to get our product out in large
numbers and we had to use the most efficient means possible to be
profitable. So, we cleaned our porcelain by first chasing the seams in
the dried greenware stage, and we also washed and smoothed the seams
with a sponge and water. We often got ladies coming through who had
taken a few ceramics classes somewhere and had been told you can't wash
porcelain. It had to be fired to bisque and sanded smooth. More than
once visiting ladies stood horrified as they watched us clean hundreds
of pieces with sponge and water. Often we were told ...... even
"instructed" that we could not clean with water and spone but absolutely
"must" clean by sanding bisque or we would have a disaster in the
kiln.What a crock.
It is weird how people will either get an idea in their head or get
erroneous or faulty instruction and simply can't or won't accept
something new.
I had a student who had taken a few lessons on the wheel before coming
to me, and I would like to hit his previous instructor on the head with
a wooden mallet. This poor man was tucking his elbows in between his
knees, and with his palms turned up, using the insides of his forarms to
try to center a ball of clay on the wheel. It was beating him to death.
I was astounded!! With one session of practicing, I got him off that
crazy business and he was centering quite well.
Efficiency. That is the name of the game.
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
Ivor and Olive Lewis on tue 14 sep 04
Dear Friends,
Once more Mel Jacobson gives us a broad brush view.
Such a perfect world it would be if we all could have had the benefit
of a Japanese apprenticeship in the style Mel learned his craft. Or
would it ???
He tells us <<....good teaching is still about knowing the entire
picture. physics/energy/
mass/spinning wheel.....>>
True, good teaching is about awareness and learning. But it is also
about "Putting "It" across". When you get down to the nitty gritty and
apply your learning of the Science of Physics to the events which we
call "centring" in the styles which are invariable illustrated in text
books and demonstrated by many teachers, of attacking the clay where
it meets the wheelhead then you find out that this consumes most
energy, offers the least Mechanical Advantage.
I have never met Mel nor have I seen videos of him in action. Mel is
not telling us if he throwing his three hundred bowls a day from three
hundred one pound balls of clay. But to do what he tells us he is
doing it seems to me that to be efficient he must throw "From the
Hump". When it comes to "Physics" "...throwing from the Hump..." is
the way to use the least amount of energy, to exert the smallest
effort against the least rotational resistance and to do the greatest
volume of work in the shortest possible time, to get the greatest
Mechanical Advantage.
Those who don't believe me, do please draw the pictures and do the
sums.
Best regards to all,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
S. Australia.
Cl Litman on thu 16 sep 04
Does anyone else recall one NCECA demo session (long ago) where someone
in the audience was INSISTING to the presenter that you CAN NOT join
slabs as firm as he was or they will come apart? We were all quite
amused. I can understand someone saying that they were taught that it
can't be done but to insist to someone who's obviously been quite
successful for long enough to be asked to present....
Cheryl Litman - Somerset, NJ
cheryllitman@juno.com
>Often we were told ...... even "instructed" that we could not clean
with water and sponge but
> absolutely "must" clean by sanding bisque or we would have a disaster
in the
> kiln.What a crock.
>
> It is weird how people will either get an idea in their head or get
> erroneous or faulty instruction and simply can't or won't accept
> something new.
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> Chelsea, AL
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