vince pitelka on tue 9 jan 01
> You can take a pot off the chuck during turning and it may look OK, but it
> just feels too heavy. So turn off some more. But thinning is better done
at
> leather than at throwing stage. But that is only the experience of a
> relative newcomer who has yet to make a living, in this lifetime, out of
> this wonderful craft. I probably spend too much time turning rather than
> throwing. But that is my choice.
Martin -
It is certainly your choice, and it no doubt works great for you and for
many potters who use the pottery wheel to produce very even, symmetrical
pots. But much of the finest wheel work done today is thrown with soft clay
on a slow wheel, and shows the natural assymetry of that process. It
doesn't mean that the walls are thick, or that they are at all uneven in
thickness, but with such pots all thinning must be done during throwing,
except for trimming of the foot. It takes great skill to do so, but that is
why they can be such knockout pots.
A potter can choose to make machine-perfect wheel-thrown pots, but it should
never be assumed that this is what the wheel was intended for. Trimming the
whole surface of a pot makes sense if you want a level of finish that looks
like it was turned on a lathe. That is an admirable aesthetic, but for a
lot of wheel-thrown work such extensive trimming would completely kill the
spontaneity of the wheel that shows so clearly on the surface of the pot.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Martin Howard on wed 10 jan 01
Yes, Vince, I am sure you're right in that view.
I am concerned though for the student thrower who strives to get thinner on
the wheel, only to find that so much is lost in cutting the work off the
head, and is afraid to break the ingrained rules about turning.
I just had a lovely time at a craft fair next to a wood turning friend. I
was turning leather hard pots in the vertical position and he was turning
wood on his lathe horizontally. It was good for the public and especially
the children to watch. It showed the similarity between the materials.
But then fine art in wood is different from fine art in clay and, yes, they
should be true to their origins and material. That is where wheel throwing
with as little turning as possible comes in. One day I may go down that
road, but at present, I'm trying to produce a high quality usable article,
something better than they can buy in Woolworths.
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
Lee Love on wed 10 jan 01
----- Original Message -----
From: "vince pitelka"
>Trimming the whole surface of a pot makes sense if
>you want a level of finish that looks
> like it was turned on a lathe.
It depends. :^) All of the rope impressed, inlayed work at the
Shimaoka workshop has its surface scraped. This zogan work is influenced by
similar Korean work that is very "lively." A very sharp kana (trimming
tool) that is sharpened on the inner surface is used to remove the applied
slip off of the high points of the surface, between the impressions of the
rope.
These surfaces are very lively and on some of the work, like the
large tsubos (jars), you can still see/feel the throw lines, even though the
entire surface is "trimmed." Of course, only a very little of the surface
is scraped off. And also, the scraping is not done to change the shape
or weight of the pot.
Also, most of the Osara (plates/platters) have the complete
undersides trimmed, right up to the lip. The inlay is done before the
pot is trimmed (also, paddled and altered Jars are paddled first, and then
trimmed.) Most of the medium and smaller sized Osara are very light.
Of course, the primary focus of an open plate is the inside surface. A
nice curve is important, but often, the focus of platters and plates are
decoration, similar to tiles or canvas. It is an esthetic choice.
--
Lee Love
Mashiko JAPAN Ikiru@kami.com
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