Malcolm Schosha on sat 29 oct 05
On 10/28/05, Tony Ferguson wrote:
> Tony, Tone, Toni,
>
> Come on brother, fess up, maybe you just haven't learned yet how to throw=
off the hump. If you want to learn a "crack fee" method of throwing off t=
he hump, come on down to my neck of the woods and I will gladly show you ho=
w. Now if I had a video like you, I could call it "no cracka de hump bowl,"=
and we could trade. Yet another project on the back burner!
>
> Seriously, here is a technique I've adapted from what I learned in Korea:=
pull the clay up, cone (in your case, very large dildo--be aware, you wil=
l always get snickering--especially from high school students) use your thu=
mbs and johnny apple in the center and butterfly open. Before you pull and=
mark the bottom edge of your piece on the exterior lowest part of the bowl=
, cup, etc, run your thumbs back and forth form center out about an inch or=
so--I think I do it 5 times: one to the right, two to the left, three to =
the right and so forth, like dance lessons--and then carry on raising the w=
all, shaping, etc. This has worked for me with any claybody I have used. =
Have fun and enjoy some crack free hump throwing.
>
> Tony Ferguson
> http://www.tonyferguson.net
> http://www.aquariusartgallery.com
>
.....................................
I actually sent this previously, but think it did not go through, so
am sending it once more.
I am sure that some clays are more prone to S-cracking than others,
but I have thrown with dozens of clays and never had a problem with
such cracks because I am careful to compress the clay at the bottom as
I open the ball. This can be done in one motion, although going back a
second time to further compress the clay is helpful (particularly if
the clay is pugged) and it does not take long.
For those who throw off the hump, compressing the clay in the foot is
not possible, and S-cracking will be difficult to avoid completely. I
realize that throwing off the hump was a highly prized technique
recommended by Leach and others, but in Italy (where I learned)
throwing off the hump is looked down on as a way to throw large
quantities of low quality pots. I found this out after reading Leach's
book, when I asked a potter I worked with (a great thrower, who was in
his late 60s at he time) if he ever threw that way. I was surprised
that the question pissed him off so bad...you would have thought from
his angry reaction that I had asked him if he ever considered having
sex with his daughter, or something else equally insulting. I guess to
him it was a pretty serious insult, something that a decient person or
potter would not even consider doing.
Water standing in the bottom of the pot can be a problem that produces
S-cracking too. The best approach, I think, is to reduce the amount of
water used until reaching the point where water does not accumulate at
the bottom. With some practice and thought this can be done.
Be well.
Malcolm Schosha
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