Russel Fouts on sat 19 apr 97
Evan,
>> So who coils pots these days? <<
AAKKK!! Joan Blandino, Gabiel Koch, Jane Perryman, Jane waller,
Karen Hessenberg, Finona Salazar, Judy Trim, Elizabeth Fritsch, Dave
Roberts, Jill Crowley, Carmen Dionyse (well she sort of builds out of
chunks), Ewen Henderson (chunks again), Imogen Ward, Lawson Oyekan (chunks
again), Kate Malone, Sebastion Blackie, Rosa Nguyen (coils cows!), Geoffrey
Eastop, Antonia Salmon, Rudy Staffel, Jennifer Lee, Irene Vonck (rips and
tears pieces from a slab of clay and joins them together, what do you call
that!?) etc, etc.
And the much lesser known Russel Fouts (hey!, who saw my black,
terra-sigged cup at the cup sale and who's now the "lucky" owner?).
Is it significant that the majority seem to be women? Is handbuilding a
more "feminine" technique.
Actually NOBODY just coils, I agree with Magdalene Odundo, "coiling" is a
very individual technique, as is most hand building. There are some
basic "categories" (slabbing, coiling, pinching, etc) but each one of us
(even throwers) has developped the technique or combination of techniques
that works best for us.
When I'm "coiling" I use big flattened coils. Am I "slabbing" or
coiling, maybe "Clabbing" or "Sloiling" (yuck!). I join the coils by
pinching (and my own variation on "Spooge"). Then I bring up the walls with
a combination of pinching, drawing (like slow throwing) and scraping. Often
times, if I want a "regular" neck and rim, I add a coil then "Throw" it
into shape with a wet chamois by turning it slowly on the banding wheel or
walking around the pot.
Not only do the techniques vary with the maker but I find that the clay
itself dictates how it can be worked. My methods work great for my clay
body but work lousy (technical jargon) with others. Actually this is true
whether you're handbuilding or coiling.
I inherited a batch of clay that was so stiff that the only way to form
it (without reprocessing it first) was to put it over a hump mold and beat
the sh*t out of it. Made great plates, strong, light, one of my favorite
pieces to make and my best sellers. ;-) Now I let a couple of bags go
stiff deliberately, then I make plates.
I think this also has to do with how you approach the clay and the work.
I like to start with what I have on hand and try to find a way to make it
work or find out what "it" wants to make. The stiff clay cried out to
beaten into plates (masochistic clay?) or cut and worked as stiff slabs.
Pricing is an interesting problem. I only hand build and since the pieces
take longer to make, I charge more. The smaller pieces tend to sell better
but I'd like to sell more of the bigger pieces (about a metre) as well.
I believe that with practice and good working techniques one could get to
the point where it wouldn't take so long to make a pot and the price could
come down a bit. Probably not into the region of a production potter but
then again it's a very different product.
I have to add that I'm not making a living from my pottery (yet!).
What about people who's "coiling" is so refined that the pieces look
thrown (Dave Roberts for one)? Is there, in this case, an added value
because the piece is hand built? (I say this having NO idea what he charges
for a piece or how he arrives at that price).
Russel (off to the studio to "slap" some clay!)
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* Russel Fouts, CI$: 100021,23,
Bruxelles, Belgium
Internet: 100021.23@CompuServe.Com
"It took more then one man to change my name to Shanghai Lil."
MD
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Leslie Goldenberg on sat 19 apr 97
I, too, am a coiler. While I am currently on hiatus from doing ceramics (too
busy with my primary career), coiling is mostly what I do when I am working
in clay.
I let the coils show, but I create very ambitious forms and build them up
slowly. I either do concentric rings, or else more decorative curls and
twists, but the decorative surface is always subordinate to the form of the
pot. The result is a highly decorative but still elegant pot. If I use
white clay, I use transparent glazes (seafoam green is my favorite). If I
use brown clay, I usually put a bright color on the inside (a barium blue
green is my favorite) and just iron oxide stain rubbed into the grooves on
the outside.
I have had very positive feedback to my work. The one time I have been in a
sale, I sold nearly everything I had in stock. I have entered a couple of
local shows, and I took first place in one county-wide competition, which
allowed me to enter a state-wide contest where I took third. I have traded a
number of my pots for works made by other potters in the communal studio
where I work (when I have time). People I have not seen for ages often greet
me with, "Oh, you are the coiling woman!." Could I do this for a living? I
doubt it! A 10-12 inch pot takes 8-10 hours to create!
The key is to making coil pots that show their coils and still look
attractive is to form coils that are of absolutely uniform thickness. This
can be done when rolling them out by hand, but it takes a lot of time and a
lot of experience. I still do some of my pots this way. The faster method
is to use an extruder -- I use one made out of a caulking gun. The other key
is to do a lot of smoothing as you go (on the inside only, of course, if you
want the coiled texture to show). I use a spatula like tool to join the most
recently added coil to the previous ones. Then I use a wood tool to smooth
and stretch things further. Finally, I use a rib to reinforce the overall
shape and to create an absolutely smooth interior.
Leslie Goldenberg
....wishing I had more time to pot
Fay & Ralph Loewenthal on sun 20 apr 97
Evan, most of the rural potters in Southern Africa coil
pots. They also do not distinguish between art and craft.
To them it is the same thing, because they basicly make
for the home industry and if it is arty as well then it looks
and sells better. These are mostly female potters doing
incredible work much the same as their mothers before
them. Ralph in PE SA getting ready for Passover.
Linda Arbuckle on sun 20 apr 97
In addition to Russell's list of coilers, Gail Kendall did a workshop at UF
last Nov., and I was able to see her work. Her lovely tureens (one in the
NCECA show received the Shimpo award) are all coiled. She uses no slip
between the coils, as that would make them too soggy, she feels.
She begins the bottom third upside down (bottom up), and coils up to a
closed form, builds a foot onto this, then turns that over. Once stiffened a
bit, she continues to build the walls, lid seat, and rim. She melds the
coild together as she goes, then scrapes inside and out using a metal rib.
Watching her build is awesome. Very lovely volumes in shapes that you
couldn't throw. Gail teaches at U of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Handbuilding in general is often overlooked, and a great way to open up form
options.
Linda
Linda Arbuckle
Associate Professor, Graduate Coordinator
University of Florida, Box 115801, Gainesville, FL 32611-5801
e-mail: Linda Arbuckle@ufl.edu (Note: this is a new e-mail address)
Joyce Lee, Jim Lee on mon 21 apr 97
This may be one of those too-obvious responses to Claudia's question
about achieving shape using coiling. Experienced potters, beware! Delete
keys at the ready! I am just learning coiling (if we don't count
beginning efforts in my first class... I don't and you wouldn't either
if you could see them. They'll never make it to my Home
Page.) Having closely watched Fernando learning and working with coils
in class which result in stunning pots destined for display at his
wedding and reception, inspiration has once again taken me into a yet
another direction. The method that seems so easy in his hands, (but is
still a mini-struggle for me) is to use a cardboard template to dictate
size and shape. I'm using an overhead projector to develop the
template. Of course, this means planning ahead and I am still just a
scoch past the "throw it on the wheel and see what happens" stage much
of the time.
Joyce
In the Mojave feeling the hot weather gradually encroaching. Beautiful
now, yes, absolutely, but already there are suggestions of scorching in
the air.
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