Steven D. Lee on mon 14 apr 03
I was creating some pieces this weekend and noticed that I have
developed preferences that don't seem to make much economic sense.
One, I spend about as much time preparing a ball of clay to throw as
I do actually throwing it. I kneed, mix, smash, and spherize (make a
ball) of pre-measured amounts of clay and before I know it I have 10
perfect little balls of clay in my styrofoam cooler, ready to throw
and 45 minutes have gone by.
Two, I like to throw directly on the aluminum wheelhead. Nothing
seems to grip the clay better, but this limits the tools I use for
triming the base before I cut it from the head to wooden ones. I
know I can throw faster with masonite bats, but don't prefer them. I
also have to force dry my larger pieces to the point that I can
remove them from the wheelhead. Again, I know bats would be ideal,
but I still never find myself using them.
Three, I like the feel of clay that with the exception of some
finishing tools used during trimming, I create my bowl shapes and
curves of my small cups and bottles using my hands alone. I have
tried using tools to have more consistency of arch and curve, but I
still seem to slowly go back to using just my fingers and feel the
curves and arches, slowly forming them into the shapes I want.
Four, Trimming seems to take as long as throwing the pieces. I like
to accentuate the curves, highlight the natural parts of the piece,
neck, foot, shoulder, etc, and practicing selected chattering in some
way on a lot of my pieces.
Now I am posting this because all of these habits take a lot of
time. I have been going through a development plan to see when I can
give up my full time job and switch to pottery full time, but the
major three stumbling blocks are PRODUCTION TIME, MARKETING, and
CONSISTENT QUALITY.
I guess I would like some pointers to increase my Production Time but
keep the love of actually preparing, forming, and triming the pieces
there. I am afraid that something will be lost if I only spend five
minutes per pot.
What are ya'lls thoughts.
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Steven D. Lee
SD Pottery - The Little Texas Potter
http:\\www.sdpottery.com
millenial_age@yahoo.com
14341 FM 112
Thrall, TX 76578
512-898-5195
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