A walk in the barn...

Not that kind of barn folks...there are no animals here (just beetles, spiders and art students). I am talking about the art barn.

People have asked about the process of making something on the wheel.  First, I must admit that I am still a beginner on the wheel. I have been hand-building work most of my life. I have done some pouring and other work with slip (liquid clay), but have always wanted to throw. Now I have been throwing for a few months (all together). My focus this semester is throwing.

Here are the steps, quick and dirty (really), and in approximate order:

1. Wedge clay (get the air bubbles out). I seem to wedge air bubbles in. This is a problem. Air bubbles are the devil. They weaken a work and can cause a piece to blow up in the kiln. Wedging looks like kneading bread, but it's not the same. Don't ask. There are a couple of ways to do it.*

2. Center the clay on the wheel. This is one of those things that you just have to learn to do...and some days it escapes the best potter. I am not the best potter. Centering escapes me frequently. Centering clay with air bubbles is a nightmare (read that "impossible") so you see my problem. Fortunately, I am able to be happy with some wonky looking pots.**

3. Open the clay. This is basically creating the bottom of the piece by putting your finger in the middle and pulling the clay towards you as the wheel turns. It is easy to pull your work off center if you pull too fast or the wheel is too slow or you don't use enough water to allow your fingers to slide over the clay.

4. Create the piece you want making sure to compress the bottom (stabilizes it to prevent nasty S cracks) and stabilize the lip. [Compressing the bottom just means you push down on it...a little massage. Stabilizing the lip is simply pushing on it from three directions to strengthen it and even it out.]

5. Remove the piece from the wheel. This is another place your work can go "wonky" as the clay is wet. I used to get fingerprints in things and move pieces out of the semblance of round when removing them from the wheel. We now have a set of "lifters" (don't know if that is what they are called, but it's what you do with them. I use them religiously and I love them). It is like taking two spatulas and going from opposite directions get them under the piece you have separated from the wheel with a "wire tool."***

Prof took this photo. I was helping another student remove her work from the wheel. I do get messy...clay everywhere. And Yes, that outlet looks pretty hinky. Not sure what is going on with that outlet, but will look tomorrow.

6. Dry pieces slowly. Trim messy and heavy bottoms. **** Attach handles and whatever else you want to add when leather hard. Continue to dry slowly to prevent cracking (and having your very carefully created mug lose its handle).

7. Bisque fire when dry. Most stuff bisques at cone 04 - 1940 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot.

8. Glaze if desired. This involves either dipping, spraying, or painting on glaze (commercially made or made in class) that is a mixture of water, chemicals, glass, clay and/or a variety of other things. I just sieved a bucket of oak ashes (from the barbecue joint - I was hungry every time I got near them). It took hours to sift the bucketful and resulted in only a coffee can full of finely sieved ash. I have made some test glazes and we will see how they look in a week or so.

9. Glaze fire. The temperature of the glaze fire depends on the clay and glaze. We have earthenware clay that we fire near cone 04 and stoneware clay that fires at cone 10 - significantly higher (2381 degrees Fahrenheit - really hot).

10. If all goes well you can remove your piece in a day or so and start to use your mug or bowl or vase or whatever.

Here are three photos of work showing the same items at different points in the process. I was killing time in early September (waiting for a full kiln to heat up - it is an old kiln and so I have to change the temperature twice before I can walk away. Each temp change is an hour apart.) and threw three cylinders. On two I tested ribs that create a nice finish. I like the way some of the glaze we use "breaks" over this kind of texture, so it was really a test.

Naked pots. You can see, especially with the one on the right, that they need to be "trimmed" or cleaned up a bit. The other two look pretty nice with the nice round designs. Sorry each photo has the cups in a different order.

I decided to try some handles.

These little guys looked like they would make OK mugs and so our prof demonstrated "pulling" handles. The one on the far left is the best looking one and feels best in the hand (I tried them all after the glaze fire). I will tell you a secret - you put the handle at the worst spot on the cylinder - cover up the mistakes you can!

After glazing. I haven't tried drinking out of any of them yet. I love the glaze on the blue mugs - it is really nice on the handles. I will continue playing with glazes.... I have a couple more things ready to hit the kiln.

I emptied a glaze kiln today and found these guys on the bottom shelf. All in all, they will do - a huge improvement on previous cups/mugs.

And, for many reasons, it took about a month from start to finish to make these mugs. I was doing other things, I needed the handle lesson, and we weren't bisquing or glazing high fire clay when I started, etc. If this was the only thing I was doing I suppose start to finish would take a week or so. One must allow drying time and firing time. And, for me, one must allow time to debate the glaze. I fret entirely too much over glaze selection and then use the same ones over and over.

So, this is the "quick and dirty." I am spending the semester throwing and working with glaze. I will add more photos as time goes by.


NOTES:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUlWD3R3eE4 (This guy says it is just like kneading, but he obviously does not bake. It is similar.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAOPlz3Bkgs

** Wonky pots are only an issue if you want perfect pots. Still, they are hard to trim and cause frustration. I am learning to live with the "wonk."

*** This is actually a garrote, but instead of choking an adversary, you cut clay with it. [Imagine my surprise to see this tool when I started working in clay!]  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garrote

****Would that other heavy bottoms could be trimmed away with light pressure and trimming tools.

Some things from the week of 10-9-15:

Three of 4 pieces made this week. Top to bottom: covered container working for a top, mug waiting for handle, tea bowl (see Japanese tea ceremony for more).

Three handles drying. I ended up having to use the worst of the three as...

...student working moving too quickly "took out" a couple of the handles. I was too tired (and out of time) to make more. I am still working on handles and so I usually make extra - just in case. Good thing.

Lid for a tall container - waiting for trimming.

Lid for tear drop shaped container. This one will have a driftwood handle (see it on the table above).

Trimmed and drying - waiting for bisque fire next week!

Better view of covered containers.

Fired the outside gas kiln. Mostly tests of glaze (and kiln). Looking forward to Monday when we see what we got.

Kiln open - early morning.

A few things out.

Glaze tests.

Opening the clay here. I have no idea why I am up, but this is the location I do most of my work. I don't normally "turn my back" to the room, but this works best for me.

Adding water to ease opening. In the background are old molds for slip-casting, test tiles of our high fire glazes and posters showing step-by-step processes. [I have to admit my eye is drawn to the lady who needs to see her hairdresser.]