David Woof on wed 26 jul 06
I am in Mel's camp here, the archives are full of tons of information on
S-cracks. We've all had our say in this regard.
However, we have an issue re pugged clay.
Wayne wrote: > here... thats why most of us bought the darn pugmill to
begin with...to eliminate having to wedge.<
Just my opinion, with acknowledgement of individual situations of disability
or necessity, wedged clay is without rebuttal the direct way to lively pots
and a lively cardio-vascular system and all it's attached physiological
parts and functions. If one is too many, then there are way to many flacid
pots, flacid lives and flacid body parts cluttering up this clay landscape.
WEdging is the age old meditative process where both the potter and the clay
are prepared and invigorated for the event to come. a getting acquainted
time. the turn on.
It's where the potter becomes centered.
In the late 1970's, using the new sensitive energy measureing devices of the
day, it was established that, when agitated and manipulated, clay has the
unique ability to take on and hold for a time more energy than registered
when it had been at rest. The study was done in California. Berkley or UCLA
????
The old time potters, and some still live, turned the spiral wedge 100 turns
before considering it wheel ready. Try it; at about 70 turns, the clay
begins to change under one's hands. a springy resilience, a lively energy is
communicated back to the potter whose brain is now oxygenated by the cardio
workout, hands and body sensitive to the mood and the impending creative
act. this next may be the best pot you will ever make, it may even be your
last. make love to it. not a quickie, but a slow savoring till it comes
right.
Working efficiently and short cuts are not the same.
Where we were at emotionaly, intelectually and the rise of our spirit when
the work was being made are all communicated in the finished work. trick
glazes and surface treatments will not change this or save a bad pot.
David
_________________________________
_________________________________
David Woof Studio
Clarkdale, Arizona
Ph. 928-821-3747 Fax. 866-881-3461
________________________________
________________________________
peering over the edge, reverently taking an irreverent look at everything.
Liz Willoughby on wed 26 jul 06
Thanks David for reminding us about the clay; the wedging of the
clay, and the results that might be achieved with the pots and our
own bodies and mind during the process. I think it deserves to be
reread.
Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada.
>
>Just my opinion, with acknowledgement of individua
>l situations of disability
>or necessity, wedged clay is without rebuttal the direct way to lively pots
>and a lively cardio-vascular system and all it's attached physiological
>parts and functions. If one is too many, then there are way to many flacid
>pots, flacid lives and flacid body parts cluttering up this clay landscape.
>
>WEdging is the age old meditative process where both the potter and the clay
>are prepared and invigorated for the event to come. a getting acquainted
>time. the turn on.
>
>It's where the potter becomes centered.
>
>In the late 1970's, using the new sensitive energy measureing devices of the
>day, it was established that, when agitated and manipulated, clay has the
>unique ability to take on and hold for a time more energy than registered
>when it had been at rest. The study was done in California. Berkley or UCLA
>????
>
>The old time potters, and some still live, turned the spiral wedge 100 turns
>before considering it wheel ready. Try it; at about 70 turns, the clay
>begins to change under one's hands. a springy resilience, a lively energy is
>communicated back to the potter whose brain is now oxygenated by the cardio
>workout, hands and body sensitive to the mood and the impending creative
>act. this next may be the best pot you will ever make, it may even be your
>last. make love to it. not a quickie, but a slow savoring till it comes
>right.
>
>Working efficiently and short cuts are not the same.
>Where we were at emotionaly, intelectually and the rise of our spirit when
>the work was being made are all communicated in the finished work. trick
>glazes and surface treatments will not change this or save a bad pot.
Kathi LeSueur on thu 27 jul 06
<<<<<disability
or necessity, wedged clay is without rebuttal the direct way to lively pots
and a lively cardio-vascular system and all it's attached physiological
parts and functions. If one is too many, then there are way to many flacid
pots, flacid lives and flacid body parts cluttering up this clay
landscape.>>>>>
It also leads to carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder and back problems. The
average production potter, making a living at potting, needs all of the
time they can have to make pots. They also need to use every labor
saving device they can afford to save their body.
Kathi
Maurice Weitman on sat 29 jul 06
Hello Marek,
At 12:18 +0100 on 7/29/06, Marek & Pauline Drzazga-Donaldson wrote:
>as a proponent of properly prepared clay -=20
>wedging and kneading - and that it should be=20
>used as a cardio vascular excercise, your side=20
>effects of carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder and=20
>back problems are mainly due to wrong table=20
>height for preparation of clay and wrongly=20
>executed method. Also as these problems are due=20
>to RSI (repetetive strain injury), and there is=20
>a remedy which I have tub-thumped many times. I=20
>have cured myself and many others very simply.
>
>happy safe and vibrant potting from Marek www.moley.uk.com and www.no9uk.c=
om
While your remedy/method may be wonderful, and I=20
and others may eagerly be awaiting more=20
information about it, perhaps you paint with too=20
broad a brush.
Unless your distance-diagnostics are truly=20
advanced, there are several other causes for CTS=20
and other soft-tissue damage beyond repetitive=20
stressors.
And your remedies might not "cure" others as they have your own condition.
There are genetic and injury-related causes for=20
many of these conditions, and regrettably, many=20
instances of the damage cannot be "cured" by=20
anything but surgery.
Once a tendon is frayed, or worse, or once a=20
"tunnel" is impinged, there is little help that=20
external remedies can offer. Certainly, we all=20
should pay attention to proper ergonomics and use=20
our bodies wisely, but I hope you will agree that=20
what works for you and others may not be a=20
universal solution.
Yours in healthy, enjoyable potting,
Maurice, fresh home from the third of four summer=20
road trips, this one to visit family and friends=20
(and museums) on the sweltering right coast of=20
the USofA, having escaped the worst of our own=20
(106=BA) heat-wave, and packing for our camping=20
trip among the Tule Elk near the top of=20
California, where it's said to be foggy. At=20
last, something else to complain about.
Jennifer Boyer on sat 29 jul 06
I second Kathi's emotion.
My CMC thumb joints(big joint that connect thumb to wrist) are not in
good shape. I have osteoarthritis(overuse) in them and 60 tons of
clay so far has something to do with it. I kick myself that I didn't
rely on my pug mill more earlier in life. I've had one for years, and
have always reclaimed slop with it, but still liked to wedge to prep
clay for the wheel. Wedging has definitely affected my hands over the
long term, along with all the other hand-based activities I've done.
I know that certain people are more prone to arthritis than others,
but when you are young how do you know if you are one of them?
So now I have thumb braces, an electric jar opener, a 20 minute
limit on gardening every day, an aversion to plank pose or down dog
in yoga, etc etc. and apprentices to prep clay for me.
Here's my take on the minimum it takes to prep pugged clay in order
to avoid cracks without wedging:
Pugged clay is prone to cracking because the middle of the pug is
less dense than the outer circumference. This happens when the
outside of the pug is compressed against the wall of the pug mill on
it's way out. You need to create a prepping routine that allows you
to put the clay on the wheel with that axis changed. You do NOT want
the clay to end up on the wheel with the cut sides on top and bottom.
I cut a piece of pugged clay and put it on the wedging table cut side
down. It doesn't matter which cut side.
I start lifting and dropping it on the table, turning the clay a bit
with every drop just enough to get it from cylindrical vertically to
cylindrical horizontally. Then I turn that piece onto it's side.
EUREKA!!
I just ran up to the studio with my Sony digital camera and took 2
little movies: one of prepping a pug piece from my pug mill and one
prepping a commercially pugged piece. I do this WITHOUT wedging. Pain
will make you do strange things, I know, but I've found that you can
cone the clay on the wheel and it will throw just fine. Luckily I can
throw in a way that avoids stress on my CMC joints....
Go here and click on WEDGING MOVIE:
http://www.thistlehillpottery.com/websiteresources.html
Jennifer, the one at the gas station asking someone to open her gas
cap for her.....
On Jul 27, 2006, at 8:20 PM, Kathi LeSueur wrote:
> <<<<<> situations of
> disability
> or necessity, wedged clay is without rebuttal the direct way to
> lively pots
> and a lively cardio-vascular system and all it's attached
> physiological
> parts and functions. If one is too many, then there are way to
> many flacid
> pots, flacid lives and flacid body parts cluttering up this clay
> landscape.>>>>>
>
> It also leads to carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder and back
> problems. The
> average production potter, making a living at potting, needs all
> of the
> time they can have to make pots. They also need to use every labor
> saving device they can afford to save their body.
>
>
> Kathi
>
>
*****************************
Jennifer Boyer
Thistle Hill Pottery
Montpelier, VT
http://thistlehillpottery.com
*****************************
Marek & Pauline Drzazga-Donaldson on sat 29 jul 06
Dear Kathi,
as a proponent of properly prepared clay - wedging and kneading - and =
that it should be used as a cardio vascular excercise, your side effects =
of carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder and back problems are mainly due to =
wrong table height for preparation of clay and wrongly executed method. =
Also as these problems are due to RSI (repetetive strain injury), and =
there is a remedy which I have tub-thumped many times. I have cured =
myself and many others very simply.
happy safe and vibrant potting from Marek www.moley.uk.com and =
www.no9uk.com
Bonnie Staffel on mon 31 jul 06
Jennifer and Kathi,
Yes, I agree that we are going down the right track, IMO. Enjoyed the
vignette on your web page. When I received my pug mill, Bluebird people
told me to put the cut edge on the table and then squish it making it =
more
round. Have done this for years without much handling, then wheel =
knead. =20
I used to make my own clay so had control over the moisture content.
However, now that I am buying my clay from a manufacturer, it always =
comes
too firm. So I cut the block into smaller bricks, place them in a big
plastic lidded tub with very wet cloths interspersed. In a few days the
clay has softened and I then run it through the pug mill several times =
to
get the clay evenly integrated. All these operations are quite =
physical.
Lots of bending, lifting, pressing and moving the upper body. I usually =
put
the pugs that are about 12" long into plastic bags for later use. It
continues to equalize in storage. I feel like I have had a workout =
every
time I prepare my clay, just as much as when I made my own clay. =20
Now that I am throwing most of my work with the coils and slab method, I
just pull out the previously pugged clay from the storage bag, run it
through the mill again and then add the die for the size coil that I =
want to
work with. If I need to make a slab, I use a pug from the same bag so =
that
the clay for the slab matches the one that I throw. =20
Lately with the rotator cuff problem I developed from carrying too many
"eggs in one basket" I can rely on family members to do the preliminary
processing of the clay so that I don't have to do much lifting, or use =
my
left arm instead. I don't even have to wheel knead to get the coil
"centered" and don't have to use my damaged thumb to open a ball of =
clay. I
find my clay is beautifully aged and shows much strength in throwing the
wall with my method. The clay doesn't get tired from being overworked =
in
the centering and opening process. =20
In addition, this method opens up possibilities to throw very large =
work.
In a fit of excitement I recently made some large platters and pots, =
but
with my shoulder problem, had to ask a family member to dip the bisque =
into
the glaze. There are ways to dip and there are "ways to dip." So I =
will
have to fix up the boo boos. At least my glaze is very forgiving. =20
I guess one can't wish for the old days, but make the best of what you =
have
now. Hope I can help those who need it now or those who can see into =
the
future and want to keep working forever. =20
Thanks for listening.
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
DVD - Throwing with Slabs and Coils
DVD - Beginning Processes
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