Ivor and Olive Lewis on fri 21 oct 05
Dear Lester Haworth,=20
You say "I do not knead my clay, I wedge it! Kneading is for bread =
bakers who want to
introduce air into dough.
Wedging is for potters who want to remove air from their clay. Also if =
your
technique is good"
This may be an issue of the confusions of the English Language.
But My understanding is that Wedging is a process of dividing a billet =
of clay into two pieces, raising one in the air and slamming half of it =
down on the other. This is repeated several times. Kneading is to take a =
portion of such a billet when this Wedging action has been repeated =
twenty or so time and manipulating with ones hands against the bench in =
either a fashion called "Ram's Head" (Occidental origin) or =
"Chrysanthemum" (Oriental origin), also know as "Spiral" Kneading. =
These, as you may know, are illustrated in "the Illustrated Dictionary =
of Practical Pottery" by Robert Fournier.
Frank Hamer also draws a distinction between the two processes.
As some Clayarters know, spiral kneading twice, reversing the axis of =
orientation and rotation between each session, creates subtle changes in =
a mass of clay making it possible to throw higher, wider, deeper =
thinner pots. For some reason the mechanical strength is improved.
However, in the end the objective is to achieve a clay body that is =
uniform in texture, uniform in colour unless dictated otherwise, uniform =
in yield point, free from foreign bodies, free from voids, has =
sufficient mechanical strength to support itself and yet be responsive =
enough to allow rapid, precise throwing.
Ah, Yes, Bread Dough. The purpose of kneading is to fractionate and =
evenly distribute the bubbles of Carbon Dioxide generated during the =
fermentation process. This is the secret of getting a good "Crumb =
Texture". I say that based on my employment with "Fletcher's Bakery" and =
"Newbould's Bakery" at Hillsborough in Sheffield, England.
Enjoy you weekend.
Best regards.
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
S. Australia.
Lester Haworth on thu 27 oct 05
Ivor,
Call it kneading, wedging, whatever. As long as the end result is the
same...right?
Let's all help each other to get the air out.
Take care,
Les H.
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Ivor and
Olive Lewis
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 12:44 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: S-cracks...is clay actually compressed? Oh yah
Dear Lester Haworth,
You say "I do not knead my clay, I wedge it! Kneading is for bread bakers
who want to
introduce air into dough.
Wedging is for potters who want to remove air from their clay. Also if your
technique is good"
This may be an issue of the confusions of the English Language.
But My understanding is that Wedging is a process of dividing a billet of
clay into two pieces, raising one in the air and slamming half of it down on
the other. This is repeated several times. Kneading is to take a portion of
such a billet when this Wedging action has been repeated twenty or so time
and manipulating with ones hands against the bench in either a fashion
called "Ram's Head" (Occidental origin) or "Chrysanthemum" (Oriental
origin), also know as "Spiral" Kneading. These, as you may know, are
illustrated in "the Illustrated Dictionary of Practical Pottery" by Robert
Fournier.
Frank Hamer also draws a distinction between the two processes.
As some Clayarters know, spiral kneading twice, reversing the axis of
orientation and rotation between each session, creates subtle changes in a
mass of clay making it possible to throw higher, wider, deeper thinner
pots. For some reason the mechanical strength is improved.
However, in the end the objective is to achieve a clay body that is uniform
in texture, uniform in colour unless dictated otherwise, uniform in yield
point, free from foreign bodies, free from voids, has sufficient mechanical
strength to support itself and yet be responsive enough to allow rapid,
precise throwing.
Ah, Yes, Bread Dough. The purpose of kneading is to fractionate and evenly
distribute the bubbles of Carbon Dioxide generated during the fermentation
process. This is the secret of getting a good "Crumb Texture". I say that
based on my employment with "Fletcher's Bakery" and "Newbould's Bakery" at
Hillsborough in Sheffield, England.
Enjoy you weekend.
Best regards.
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
S. Australia.
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Ivor and Olive Lewis on fri 28 oct 05
Dear Lester Haworth,=20
With you one hundred percent.
Years ago I was demonstrating the cut and slam method to a crowd of year =
seven kids.One wise idiot felt a bit idle and decided to rest his head =
on his arms on the bench just as twenty pounds of clay was descending. =
The explosion of the entrained air splattered his face with pellets of =
clay and the force of an air rifle. He was lucky not to get the stuff in =
his eye but he sat up smart after that.
Best regards,
Ivor.
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