mel jacobson on sat 18 feb 06
it is fun to listen to the give and take about thumb stops.
it is also interesting to think of `where did they come from`?
i do believe, like so often happens, potters add elements
to ceramic design that are meant for another craft.
(like copies of glass blown designs that never work in clay.)
old beer steins had metal covers, and a thumb handle to lift it.
in my opinion, that is where the thumb stop design element enters.
and then there is the question of `why did they have covers?`
of course that answer is:
dirt fell from the ceilings of bars and pubs etc.
(no sub floor/just boards. dirt fell through the cracks.)
the cover kept the beer from getting full of debris.
it was the same for large brimmed hats, folks kept
them on to cover food and drink.
(remember, long dresses went out of fashion because women
were getting killed and broken up falling on stairs..they rebelled
against those damn multi slipped dresses.)
potters saw those old steins, and copied the thumb part, but
not the cover. actually on big pitchers and huge mugs the
thumb stop helps hold the balance of the piece.
i do not use them, as it is just something else to do, and it
can be knocked off in the loading and messin time with pots.
same for ring feet. far too much work for the gain.
i throw flat bottomed mugs in minutes...and as i have
said before, i gift more mugs than i sell. so, it is not a big deal.
added elements to mugs was a big deal in the early eighties..it was like
a new spurt of energy, but was copied like mad. same for small
dots of clay, that sort of thing. a well designed handle that
fits the mug design and the finger does not need any additional
elements to make it work..it is all about negative space design.
you design the hole, not the handle. many do not understand
that.
without question, the mugs on the cover of cm made by our
dear clayart friend are lovely and well conceived. it is a
wonderful photograph too. makes a working potter proud.
as with so many design concepts....it is up to the potter and
the customer. it is whatever works for you. but, added elements
that just get added `because`, often do not work. unity of
design is critical. and, so often a simple, clean design works the best.
a mug is still what it is...a mug. it sure is not the `mona lisa`.
mel
from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://my.pclink.com/~melpots3
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