Jump to content

Pkqw: Week 16


Recommended Posts

Week 16

Preamble note from Pres: This book is a series of questions and solutions for potters covering a large range of subjects. The questions will be gleaned from the information presented as answers to specific questions.

 

 

  1. One strategy to teach beginning throwers once they can successfully center, and are beginning to throw, but are ending up throwing off center is to:

    1. teach them to recenter their clay better before making first pull.

    2. teach them to make their pulls on the left side of a counter clockwise running wheel.

    3. teach them to imagine that the pot they are making is taller than they really are to keep their hands in the throwing position to reach the imaginary height of the pot.

    4. Use a straight flat rib forcefully against the side of the pot.

  2. Strategies for removing a pot from the wheel could include:

    1. pulling a wire tool through after cut off with water on the wheel to move the pot onto a bat at the edge of the wheel

    2. picking up the pot with a slight twist of your hands as you firmly lift

    3. using spread fingers at the base of the pot using strong and steady movements to lift the form.

    4. all of the above.

  3. Bowl forms may be turned over safely for drying and trimming by

    1. flipping the bowl quickly to set it on a bat

    2. using cradles to lift and flip the bowl

    3. removing excess clay at the base before flipping

    4. sandwiching the bowl with a bat over top and one that it rests on-flipping the entire sandwich and removing the top bat the bowl used to rest on

  4. Clays used for pottery are ________________ and therefore not suitable for kiln furniture. The clay becomes soft when fired, hardening when cooled.

    1. Earthenware, Stoneware or Porcelain

    2. pyroplastic

    3. grogged

    4. impure

 

This weeks questions come from text in Practical Solutions for Potters, Gill Bliss c. 1998, Sterling Publishing corp.

Note from Pres: I have often used this book to begin research on problems I have had with my own pieces and when working with the HS student work. It has an extensive area on repairing work in green and bisque stages along with lots of help for potters that have holes in their knowledge. Very practical book.

 

Answers:

  1. 3. teach them to imagine that the pot they are making is taller than they really are to keep their hands in the throwing position to reach the imaginary height of the pot. Throw beyond your pot-Picture to yourself that the walls of your pot are taller than they really are, and keep your hands in their throwing position until you reach the imaginary height of your pot. Continuing to throw beyond your pot in this way prevents you from making any sudden, jarring movements as you reach the true rim of your pot.

  2. 4. all of the above. All of the strategies are discussed, adding the use of a throwing on a bat to remove from the wheel.

  3. 4. sandwiching the bowl with a bat over top and one that it rests on-flipping the entire sandwich and removing the top bat the bowl used to rest on. This technique is discussed for use with large or wide bowl forms. I probably should have made that more clear in my question.

  4. 2. pyroplastic-Kiln furniture is made from best-quality refractory clays that can withstand the high temperature of ï¬rings. It is inadvisable to use homemade pottery substitutes, which may split and warp. Clays used for making pottery are pyroplastic, which means they become soft during ï¬ring and harden again when fully ï¬red. Kiln furniture made in ordinary clay would, therefore, slump very readily.        

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. #1? I have no idea which of these is taught in a throwing class as I have not taken one. However, after opening I have learned to use my middle and ring fingers hooked over the rim and press inward with my palm before starting to pull the clay upward, and re-center the opened clay before I go further. So this is my best guess. 

 

2. #4

 

3. #1 I use for small bowls and #4 I use for larger bowls. (My definition of "small" is a bowl that I can easily grip and flip with the fingers of one hand.) 

 

4. #2? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.