Frank Colson on tue 27 mar 07
Hey, gang! There is more reason to throw dry than anything I've seen posted
as yet! Like, try throwing a bowl with a 6"base and an outside rim of 20
some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay being splashed with water!
Same with throwing off the hump! More hump, less water, equals high
production output!
When, as a freshman, after helping build a kickwheel for visting potter,
Marguerite Wildenhain, at Scripps, there was no such thing as a "splash
pan". She would gather a crowd close to her wheel. If they got too close,
she once told me, she descreetly dumped a load of water onto her wheelhead,
and guess what? Everyone suddenly moved back,
with clay water across their waist. My, my!! Suddendly there was all kinds
of room in front of the kickwheel!
From that day forward I never had a splash-pan on my wheel, kick, or motor.
Even when I was the first distributor in the Southeast for Shimpo power
wheels. First thing to go was the splash-pan. I had a 15 year waiting list
for the Colson School of Art to learn to throw, but to this day never did a
splash-pan appear. Students might rush into class late with their city
clothes on and would leave 2 hours later without a bit of clay water on
themselves Needless to say, rarely did anyone leave a 4 week course being
unable to throw any shape in the book! By the way, Marguerite's wheelhead
was a solid block of Oak 6 to 8 inches thick!
Frank Colson
----- Original Message -----
From: "Earl Brunner"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 11:38 AM
Subject: Re: Throwing dry
> When I was in school we learned to throw with minimal water, just enough
> water to lightly lubricate the surface. No dripping or running water
> collecting in the splash pan. After getting the cylinder up, little or no
> water was used to shape. Often if the pot was lost, the clay would be
> dryer
> than when you started.
>
> Some of the potters in our advanced studio threw incredibly thin, big,
> light
> pots, too light in my opinion. You had to be careful when you dampened
> the
> clay, if you got a drip of actual water on the surface, that one spot
> would
> soak it up and become softer/weaker than the rest of the pot and put the
> whole pot in jeopardy.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lili Krakowski [mailto:mlkrakowski@CITLINK.NET]
> Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 7:31 AM
> Subject: Throwing dry
>
> There is noting new, nor remarkable, nor eccentric in throwing dry. It
> was
> in the 80s if not earlier that Ceramics Monthly had a long
> well-illustrated
> piece on it. And the Archives must mention it...
>
> Anyone who has thrown on a Continental kickwheel knows how muddy one can
> get if one throws "wet". In winter chapping becomes a debilitating
> problem.
>
> When one throws dry one stays--guess what?--drier, as well as cleaner.
> Cleaning the wheel area becomes a cinch. The only time one uses one's
> splashpan is for trimming (for which, in my opinion, commercial sps are
> too
> small in diameter.
>
> To throw dry.
>
> 1. Use clay on the softer side.
> 2. Center and open, using a minimum of water.
> 3. With a sponge, dry the pot inside, outside, as well as the wheelhead.
> 4. Clean and DRY your hands.
> 5. With the wheel turning slowly, start to throw. You will feel a small
> "drag". Get over it. After some practice the drag will feel normal, your
> hands will move speedily, and you will not be collecting yuk along the
> way.
> 6. You will use your ribs dry as well. Remember? We all dried our pots
> before ribbing, anyhow?
> 7.For finishing the rim with a leather, or pulling a spout use a little
> water or slurry.
>
> I do not think it slows the speed of throwing, once one has learned how to
> do it. For me it speeds things up as I am not wasting time mopping
> myself,
> the wheel etc.
>
>
> Lili Krakowski
> Be of good courage
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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>
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> melpots@pclink.com.
Marek & Pauline Drzazga-Donaldson on thu 29 mar 07
Dear Frank,
"try throwing a bowl with a 6"base and an outside rim of 20
some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay"
Sorry my dear, this is something I do all the time. In actual fact it is =
not that difficult, but the method is conta to many peoples notion of =
throwing a bowl.
Never say never - especially to a Pole. Each to his own.
Happy potting Marek
Hand made Architectural Ceramics from No9 Studio UK www.no9uk.com
Fully Residential Pottery Courses and more at Mole Cottage =
www.moleys.com
"Tips and Time Travel from a Vernacular Potter" reviews on =
www.keramix.com
an irreverent point of view after 35 years in the game Marek =
Drzazga-Donaldson =20
Assemble a dragon finial at www.dragonfinials.co.uk
Free Works and Mole Cottage DVD's and Video content on all the sites
Drzazga Video Promotions at www.drzazga.co.uk Submit address for DVD
Lois Ruben Aronow on thu 29 mar 07
>>Hey, gang! There is more reason to throw dry than anything I've seen
posted as yet! Like, try throwing a bowl with a 6"base and an outside rim of
20 some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay being splashed with
water!
Same with throwing off the hump! More hump, less water, equals high
production output!
That's not "high production output" - that's size. And too many people
seem to be obsessed with it.
...Lo
Who can do a similar bowl size with grolleg porcelain and slip. Practice
and experience will do that for ya.
***
Lois Aronow Ceramics
www.loisaronow.com
www.craftsofthedamned.blogspot.com
Taylor Hendrix on thu 29 mar 07
Hey Frank,
Does it count if you throw such a bowl with wet sloppy clay but it
dunts in the bisque? If so, did so, so pttthhh. ;) Hmm, I THINK the
foot was about 6 inches. Can't remember because it exploded into
rubble....sigh....
Taylor, in Rockport TX
On 3/27/07, Frank Colson wrote:
> Hey, gang! There is more reason to throw dry than anything I've seen posted
> as yet! Like, try throwing a bowl with a 6"base and an outside rim of 20
> some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay being splashed with water!
Eric Hansen on sat 31 mar 07
Frank: So the bottom line is throwing dry is most
useful for forms that are better constructed by some
other means than throwing. I don't call that
understanding why. Why, why, why? There is a benefit
to using as little water as possible, but such
extraordinary use of valuable resourses - especially
time - makes 'dry throwing' unpractical UNLESS there
is some aesthetic value or the RESULTS of the process
seem to warrent some investigation. But I don't hear
that being said. So do you like the pots then, that
are thrown by this process? No one has yet said that
they do. This discussion, as Dayton's too lengthy
recent post "just wanted to see if this thing is still
on" or whatever, seems to be a pointless effort to use
up as much band width as possible. I am curious about
the claim that the ancient Greeks used this method; I
am sure they had access to and the technology to build
gloves with metal fingertips. Other than that it's an
exercise, not necessarily in futility, but in
eccentricity.
H A M B O N E
--- Frank Colson wrote:
> Hey, gang! There is more reason to throw dry than
> anything I've seen posted
> as yet! Like, try throwing a bowl with a 6"base and
> an outside rim of 20
> some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay
> being splashed with water!
> Same with throwing off the hump! More hump, less
> water, equals high
> production output!
____________________________________________________________________________________
8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news
Frank Colson on sat 31 mar 07
Hey, Hambone- Let's not get carried away! You are now approaching the
definition of "dry" on this matter! At just what level do we determine the
state of dry? If water never
leaves the wheelhead, is that "dry"? If a splashpan is always on the
wheel, yet you can throw any shape, is that dry? From my point of view,
"dry" is related to, the RPM of rotation of the wheelhead in relationship to
the formula of the clay in -which water is used as a lubricant to press the
clay for forming a pot. When I center a 100 pound piece of clay, I use my
arms and chest, not hands or fingers. In this case, an extremely "dry" wedge
of clay could tear my skin off! So where is "dry" in this context?
Also, many clay formulas use "grog" in their body. Grog absorbs water,
which in itself, influences the condition of "dry" or "wet" clay as we are
attempting to define the matter of throwing dry! I have been throwing for
more than four decades and almost never do I use clay with "grog" in it to
give it throwing strength! I always use "silica", often called "sand"
because it will give me tensil strength without water absorbsion .
Therefore ,I already have less water in my clay when the wheel starts to
turn. With my hands only being wet I am working at the best level of
effeciency Always, are all the 100's of combinations of thrown and
non-thrown clay expressions, which virtually throw out the window any
considerations as to definitions of "dry" and "non-dry" and brings us back,
full circle, to where we first started with all of this
Frank Colson
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Hansen"
To:
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 4:11 AM
Subject: Re: Throwing dry and understanding why!
> Frank: So the bottom line is throwing dry is most
> useful for forms that are better constructed by some
> other means than throwing. I don't call that
> understanding why. Why, why, why? There is a benefit
> to using as little water as possible, but such
> extraordinary use of valuable resourses - especially
> time - makes 'dry throwing' unpractical UNLESS there
> is some aesthetic value or the RESULTS of the process
> seem to warrent some investigation. But I don't hear
> that being said. So do you like the pots then, that
> are thrown by this process? No one has yet said that
> they do. This discussion, as Dayton's too lengthy
> recent post "just wanted to see if this thing is still
> on" or whatever, seems to be a pointless effort to use
> up as much band width as possible. I am curious about
> the claim that the ancient Greeks used this method; I
> am sure they had access to and the technology to build
> gloves with metal fingertips. Other than that it's an
> exercise, not necessarily in futility, but in
> eccentricity.
> H A M B O N E
>
>
> --- Frank Colson wrote:
>
>> Hey, gang! There is more reason to throw dry than
>> anything I've seen posted
>> as yet! Like, try throwing a bowl with a 6"base and
>> an outside rim of 20
>> some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay
>> being splashed with water!
>> Same with throwing off the hump! More hump, less
>> water, equals high
>> production output!
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
> with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
> http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Bonnie Staffel on sun 1 apr 07
I hope that I can come up with a satisfactory reason to throw dry. I =
have
been doing this for over 40-50 years. Some clays are more responsive =
than
others, IMO. I do use a minimal amount water to center the clay and =
pull up
the walls, but after that, no water unless I need to collar in a neck at =
the
top. This keeps the clay wall strong, and compressed. The fines are =
pushed
into the surface of the clay, not washed away with the slurry. Note the
recent post on the different sized "balls" that make up clay. To have a
strong finished body, you need those smaller particles so you can do =
most
anything you want in shaping the pot. Long ago I used to make my clay =
body
with straight APGreen Fireclay. No one could believe that it would =
throw,
yet it had a mighty strong body if you didn't load it in water. =
APGreen
company started to get lime particles in their clay as their business =
was in
making bricks so not an important concern, not for potters, so I had to =
give
it up. =20
When throwing dry, you can't have a water drip anywhere as you will run =
into
trouble as your fingers get sensitive to the texture of the clay and all =
of
a sudden a slippery section. That is bad news. The body stays strong =
with
less water too as the fines are the fillers that you want to keep and =
make
the surface smooth with the compression. It is also good to get used to
using less and less water, so you can throw taller pots as well as =
thinner.
Centrifugal force also throws the water off the pot and wheel head and =
onto
your clothes or splash pan, it is not on your pot. Having a lot of =
water
inside your pot also is a bad idea as the bottom of the pot gets wetter =
than
the rest and develops S cracks when drying. =20
The feel of the non-moisturized clay is different and a little scary =
when
you first encounter it. But keep on trying with your clay to see how =
far
you can push the system. I think you will be surprised at how your =
cylinder
responds when you go to form it.
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Introduction to Wheel Work
Charter Member Potters Council
Frank Colson on sun 1 apr 07
We ,and all of us "claygobblers" are in accord, then! What may work for one
may not work for another!
Frank-
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Hansen"
To:
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 3:11 AM
Subject: Re: Throwing dry and understanding why!
> Frank: Okay - I can acceot what your experience is and
> what works for you - this is clearly evidence of your
> 'touch" with the clay and its off limits simply for
> that reason for me to judge.You have a rationale for
> doing what you need to do and I just don't need to say
> anymore.
> H A M U L U S
> --- Frank Colson wrote:
>
>> Hey, Hambone- Let's not get carried away! You are
>> now approaching the
>> definition of "dry" on this matter! At just what
>> level do we determine the
>> state of dry? If water never
>> leaves the wheelhead, is that "dry"? If a
>> splashpan is always on the
>> wheel, yet you can throw any shape, is that dry?
>> From my point of view,
>> "dry" is related to, the RPM of rotation of the
>> wheelhead in relationship to
>> the formula of the clay in -which water is used as a
>> lubricant to press the
>> clay for forming a pot. When I center a 100 pound
>> piece of clay, I use my
>> arms and chest, not hands or fingers. In this case,
>> an extremely "dry" wedge
>> of clay could tear my skin off! So where is "dry"
>> in this context?
>> Also, many clay formulas use "grog" in their body.
>> Grog absorbs water,
>> which in itself, influences the condition of "dry"
>> or "wet" clay as we are
>> attempting to define the matter of throwing dry! I
>> have been throwing for
>> more than four decades and almost never do I use
>> clay with "grog" in it to
>> give it throwing strength! I always use "silica",
>> often called "sand"
>> because it will give me tensil strength without
>> water absorbsion .
>> Therefore ,I already have less water in my clay when
>> the wheel starts to
>> turn. With my hands only being wet I am working at
>> the best level of
>> effeciency Always, are all the 100's of
>> combinations of thrown and
>> non-thrown clay expressions, which virtually throw
>> out the window any
>> considerations as to definitions of "dry" and
>> "non-dry" and brings us back,
>> full circle, to where we first started with all of
>> this
>>
>> Frank Colson
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Eric Hansen"
>> To:
>> Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 4:11 AM
>> Subject: Re: Throwing dry and understanding why!
>>
>>
>> > Frank: So the bottom line is throwing dry is most
>> > useful for forms that are better constructed by
>> some
>> > other means than throwing. I don't call that
>> > understanding why. Why, why, why? There is a
>> benefit
>> > to using as little water as possible, but such
>> > extraordinary use of valuable resourses -
>> especially
>> > time - makes 'dry throwing' unpractical UNLESS
>> there
>> > is some aesthetic value or the RESULTS of the
>> process
>> > seem to warrent some investigation. But I don't
>> hear
>> > that being said. So do you like the pots then,
>> that
>> > are thrown by this process? No one has yet said
>> that
>> > they do. This discussion, as Dayton's too lengthy
>> > recent post "just wanted to see if this thing is
>> still
>> > on" or whatever, seems to be a pointless effort to
>> use
>> > up as much band width as possible. I am curious
>> about
>> > the claim that the ancient Greeks used this
>> method; I
>> > am sure they had access to and the technology to
>> build
>> > gloves with metal fingertips. Other than that it's
>> an
>> > exercise, not necessarily in futility, but in
>> > eccentricity.
>> > H A M B O N E
>> >
>> >
>> > --- Frank Colson wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hey, gang! There is more reason to throw dry
>> than
>> >> anything I've seen posted
>> >> as yet! Like, try throwing a bowl with a 6"base
>> and
>> >> an outside rim of 20
>> >> some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay
>> >> being splashed with water!
>> >> Same with throwing off the hump! More hump, less
>> >> water, equals high
>> >> production output!
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
>> > 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
>> > with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
>> > http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news
>> >
>> >
>>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>> >
>> > You may look at the archives for the list or
>> change your subscription
>> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>> >
>> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
>> reached at
>> > melpots@pclink.com.
>>
>>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>>
>> You may look at the archives for the list or change
>> your subscription
>> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>>
>> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
>> reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>>
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> TV dinner still cooling?
> Check out "Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV.
> http://tv.yahoo.com/
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Eric Hansen on mon 2 apr 07
Frank: Okay - I can acceot what your experience is and
what works for you - this is clearly evidence of your
'touch" with the clay and its off limits simply for
that reason for me to judge.You have a rationale for
doing what you need to do and I just don't need to say
anymore.
H A M U L U S
--- Frank Colson wrote:
> Hey, Hambone- Let's not get carried away! You are
> now approaching the
> definition of "dry" on this matter! At just what
> level do we determine the
> state of dry? If water never
> leaves the wheelhead, is that "dry"? If a
> splashpan is always on the
> wheel, yet you can throw any shape, is that dry?
> From my point of view,
> "dry" is related to, the RPM of rotation of the
> wheelhead in relationship to
> the formula of the clay in -which water is used as a
> lubricant to press the
> clay for forming a pot. When I center a 100 pound
> piece of clay, I use my
> arms and chest, not hands or fingers. In this case,
> an extremely "dry" wedge
> of clay could tear my skin off! So where is "dry"
> in this context?
> Also, many clay formulas use "grog" in their body.
> Grog absorbs water,
> which in itself, influences the condition of "dry"
> or "wet" clay as we are
> attempting to define the matter of throwing dry! I
> have been throwing for
> more than four decades and almost never do I use
> clay with "grog" in it to
> give it throwing strength! I always use "silica",
> often called "sand"
> because it will give me tensil strength without
> water absorbsion .
> Therefore ,I already have less water in my clay when
> the wheel starts to
> turn. With my hands only being wet I am working at
> the best level of
> effeciency Always, are all the 100's of
> combinations of thrown and
> non-thrown clay expressions, which virtually throw
> out the window any
> considerations as to definitions of "dry" and
> "non-dry" and brings us back,
> full circle, to where we first started with all of
> this
>
> Frank Colson
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Eric Hansen"
> To:
> Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 4:11 AM
> Subject: Re: Throwing dry and understanding why!
>
>
> > Frank: So the bottom line is throwing dry is most
> > useful for forms that are better constructed by
> some
> > other means than throwing. I don't call that
> > understanding why. Why, why, why? There is a
> benefit
> > to using as little water as possible, but such
> > extraordinary use of valuable resourses -
> especially
> > time - makes 'dry throwing' unpractical UNLESS
> there
> > is some aesthetic value or the RESULTS of the
> process
> > seem to warrent some investigation. But I don't
> hear
> > that being said. So do you like the pots then,
> that
> > are thrown by this process? No one has yet said
> that
> > they do. This discussion, as Dayton's too lengthy
> > recent post "just wanted to see if this thing is
> still
> > on" or whatever, seems to be a pointless effort to
> use
> > up as much band width as possible. I am curious
> about
> > the claim that the ancient Greeks used this
> method; I
> > am sure they had access to and the technology to
> build
> > gloves with metal fingertips. Other than that it's
> an
> > exercise, not necessarily in futility, but in
> > eccentricity.
> > H A M B O N E
> >
> >
> > --- Frank Colson wrote:
> >
> >> Hey, gang! There is more reason to throw dry
> than
> >> anything I've seen posted
> >> as yet! Like, try throwing a bowl with a 6"base
> and
> >> an outside rim of 20
> >> some inches. It can't be done with soft wet clay
> >> being splashed with water!
> >> Same with throwing off the hump! More hump, less
> >> water, equals high
> >> production output!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
____________________________________________________________________________________
> > 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
> > with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
> > http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news
> >
> >
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list or
> change your subscription
> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at
> > melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change
> your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
____________________________________________________________________________________
TV dinner still cooling?
Check out "Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV.
http://tv.yahoo.com/
Lee Love on mon 2 apr 07
I just wanted to add that electric wheel speeds require more
lubrication. Slower traditional human powered wheels require less
lubrication. Slower speeds = less water and gentler treatment of the
skin.
Natural clay is also better for the skin. Don't know why, but
it drys your hands out less.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." -
Henry David Thoreau
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
Lee Love on mon 2 apr 07
On 3/31/07, Eric Hansen wrote:
> to using as little water as possible, but such
> extraordinary use of valuable resourses - especially
> time
Eric,
Nobody uses splash pans in Japan. Softer clay, slow wheel
speed and less water is faster and easier on the body.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." -
Henry David Thoreau
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
Frank Colson on mon 2 apr 07
............unless it is in your face!
Frank-
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rogier Donker"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 5:30 AM
Subject: Re: Throwing dry and understanding why!
> Hey Bonnie,
> To which I can only add : "Amen!"... .... Age and
> experience must have something to do with throwing dry,,, ;-)
> All these "yung uns" who are making a muddy mess of themselves and
> their surroundings while throwing have a lot to learn... Nothing cool
> about having mud fly all over the place...
>
> Rogier (Been known to throw in tuxedo or shirt and tie...)
>
> See us on the web at http://www.donkerstudio.org
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Rogier Donker on tue 3 apr 07
Hey Bonnie,
To which I can only add : "Amen!"... .... Age and
experience must have something to do with throwing dry,,, ;-)
All these "yung uns" who are making a muddy mess of themselves and
their surroundings while throwing have a lot to learn... Nothing cool
about having mud fly all over the place...
Rogier (Been known to throw in tuxedo or shirt and tie...)
See us on the web at http://www.donkerstudio.org
Taylor Hendrix on tue 3 apr 07
And if you throw with a high enough crib, you can throw as wet as you
want to get the job done and still keep your overalls dry. Just ask
Jerry Brown. Of course that's three pulls, caller in, and Bob's your
uncle kind of stuff. Different, different.
I still throw without the small Lockerbie splash pan, but my legs are
a bit moist before too long. For me speed is still a factor: I have
very little of it to throw a kiln full.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXO_RvrntDk
Taylor, in Rockport TX
On 4/3/07, Rogier Donker wrote:
> Hey Bonnie,
> To which I can only add : "Amen!"... .... Age and
> experience must have something to do with throwing dry,,, ;-)
> All these "yung uns" who are making a muddy mess of themselves and
> their surroundings while throwing have a lot to learn... Nothing cool
> about having mud fly all over the place...
...
Leigh Whitaker on tue 3 apr 07
In a message dated 4/3/2007 11:47:57 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
wirerabbit2@GMAIL.COM writes:
And if you throw with a high enough crib, you can throw as wet as you
want to get the job done and still keep your overalls dry. Just ask
Jerry Brown. Of course that's three pulls, caller in, and Bob's your
uncle kind of stuff. Different, different.
I still throw without the small Lockerbie splash pan, but my legs are
a bit moist before too long. For me speed is still a factor: I have
very little of it to throw a kiln full.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXO_RvrntDk
Taylor, in Rockport TX
Golly, that accent reminds me of home! Hamilton's about 30 minutes from
where my Grandparents live, and of course, just down the road from Double
Sprangs.
Leigh
************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
Bonnie Staffel on sat 7 apr 07
Looks like no one is giving an answer here. Throwing dry is using less
water at the beginning and then none at all. You have to practice this =
to
get used to the feeling of the drag of your fingers. You also have to =
place
you fingers in a certain way so that the clay is compressed but it still
moves as the wheel spins. =20
When I center the ball of clay, I use only enough water to wet my hands
before I press down to center. Then I wet my hands to continue to =
center
until the ball feels dry. After opening and pulling the wall, I only =
use
enough water to lubricate the wall and if any accumulates in the bottom, =
I
sponge it out occasionally. After the wall is formed to your =
satisfaction,
then you can start to bulge it out or contour the clay where you want it
USING NO MORE WATER. I have mentioned before that I follow Cardew's =
method
of forming the cylinder, concave first and then convex. You have to get
used to the amount of pressure you put on the clay wall, almost like a =
sixth
sense. If you have compressed your clay through all the steps it will
respond beautifully, but it you use too much water, then you have a =
gooey
mess to work with instead of a strong wall. I find that if I need to =
collar
the top in I use water sparingly so that I don't twist the clay up =
there.
As soon as the neck is formed, then no more water while you refine it. =
It
can be done, but like anything worth while learning, it takes practice.
Each clay will have a different feel, but a good stoneware clay will =
respond
nicely. I have also thrown with earthenware red clay with the same =
results.
Porcelain will need a very delicate touch. Using this method your pot =
has
life and is not saggy or droopy. You want your thrown pots to look like
they spring from the table, not lay there like a dumpy lump IMO.=20
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Introduction to Wheel Work
Charter Member Potters Council
Dan Semler on sun 8 apr 07
Hi Bonnie,
Thanx very much for the detailed description.
I happen to be throwing long neck bottle forms at the moment and =20
this will help considerably.
I noticed a couple of interesting things which I had not twigged to =20
before. First, with less water you get a decent thick slip on your =20
hands very quickly. That helped me with the 'throwing with slip' thing =20
that I've heard about. Secondly, the piece can be thinned more and =20
still take greater strain during collaring than a wetter one. Thirdly, =20
the touch thing is interesting. I have noticed this before but its =20
more pronounced with less water. At certain points the clay will grab =20
your fingers. This can tweak the piece badly if you don't catch it =20
quickly. Changing the angle of the finger to the clay, using a nail =20
(finger nail) or changing fingers can help. I can imagine in time that =20
sensitivity increases considerably.
Anyhow many thanx for the explanation. Helped me quite a bit on its =20
first outing. Plan to keep using it.
Thanx
D
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