How To Professionally Foot A Pot?

[jammy43]

Is there any way to make the outside foot rim look more finished? Currently I usually leave a 1/4 -1/2 inch unglazed rim on the bottom of my pots. Some flare out from the pot, others are straight and I tend to get uneven glaze lines. Sometimes the glaze sits at the line difference other times it pools down.

Is there a way to make a more even transition? Or to not have such a gap of just raw (bisqued) clay at the bottom?

[Rebekah Krieger]

I am not the most advanced potter- but I think it looks very neat if I use the small looped tool   ( or the small circle) at the base so it gets a sort of "bevel" and then I run my fingers along it to take off any sharp edge. 

[Stellaria]

You really do want that bit of unglazed clay at the bottom. Without it, you'd be losing kiln shelves or waster slabs left and right due to glaze running and pooling.

Are you waxing your foot rings? How are you applying your glaze? Are you just wanting some color there, so it doesn't stand out so much against dark glazes, and if so, would a band of colored slip or a wash of an oxide stain do the trick?

I've come to like the looks of the band of unglazed clay at the bottom; my only gripe is that I have a hard time brushing on the water-based stuff we use at the studio evenly. I think I'm going to sacrifice one of my electric frying pans to the pottery god to be used for hot wax dipping. It'll be a lot neater and easier.

 

Oh! I just thought of another option! You could seek out glazes that do that toasty-brown offgassing thing along the margins. At the studio I go to, our Turquoise Matte and Stone White do it, and I noticed it on my test tiles for the CAD formula for ^6 Eggshell, too. It's a very pretty effect, and would soften the edge a bit.

[Biglou13]

A pots foot is part of its personality as much as it is a part of yours. I still a haven't settled into "my" footring. But most at studio can ID my work from looking at foot alone. If really didn't think that it had personality but over time I found out I was wrong?

 

I hate to refer to the old saying. 1000 cylinders ....... Or 1000 bowls........ Before........... But there is much truth revealed in the practice.

 

It like the young art student saying I can't find my style......

 

Can you verbalize what you like about others feet. Can you verbalize the vocabulary of other artists feet?

 

Ok enough philosophy.

 

Here is some technique

 

I've started finger burnishing foot area when trimming. Also using chamois, or piece of plastic.

 

Diamond pad or 400 grit wet dry sand paper to smooth transitions.

[Pres]

Many times the plan for glazing comes from the trimming adjustments. I use what I call a glaze catch edge on most of my pieces. This is a slight undercut from the foot so that the glaze will catch in that area not running down onto the foot that I want neat. This also makes an easy line to sponge glaze off to, leaving a nice clean edge. Wax can be applied by brush easier to this area not getting it into the actual undercut, but it is not needed. I always put a slight bevel on any handmade or thrown piece if not using the undercut as that makes a straight even edge to control the glaze distance from the bottom of the pot. This causes a slight shadow at the base of the pot separating it from the table also.

 

I made a quick exaggerated drawing of the glaze catch lip on the bottom of some form. You can develop your own height of foot etc. this is just a quick illustration.

[Benzine]

Nice illustration Pres!

 

Personally, I like to use an underglaze, usually black, on the feet....foots....? Anyway, I always go further up, with said underglaze, than I need to. I glaze up to this point, and if the glaze doesn't flow as much as I anticipated, the underglaze still looks fairly clean.

[Min]

've come to like the looks of the band of unglazed clay at the bottom; my only gripe is that I have a hard time brushing on the water-based stuff we use at the studio evenly.

 

You can get a really clean straight even line with cold wax by using a small scrap of foam instead of a brush. Just a little ( roughly 1" X 1" X 1/4") scrap of foam, dip it in water, squeeze it out then use that for applying the wax. Lots more control than with using a brush.

[Pres]

I use a sponge brush(cheap by a bag full) to apply cold wax when I want on the bottom of pots, Heck, lately I have gotten lazy and use them inside of mugs and other pots to smooth up and clean out water when throwing.

[Mark C.]

A pot needs a foot for several reasons

its sets it off the surface visually

it displays it better

its acts to trasition the glaze surface to the clay surface

it sets it apart forn the surface its sits

it lifts it up

not all pots need feet-say like a handless teacup of certain shapes

other cry out for feet.

 

it takes a long time to develope a foot style.

Look at pots online or in books and look carefully at the feet

work at developing your own style of foot.

mark

[williamt]

Depends on the piece and the look you are going for...

Waxed lines for some (have used the cold wax and sponge brush as mentioned above - works great!).

Letting the glaze settle naturally at the transition (if not familiar with the fluidity of your glaze, this can lead to a bad shelf day).

Undercuts,flairs, whatever. What does the work suggest?

Your foot style will evolve with your work.

 

Lee

[neilestrick]

Trim your foot so that it is rounded over, like the side of a dowel. This does several things:

1. Eliminates the sharp edge at the bottom. Much nicer to look at and won't scratch the table.

2. Gives you 1/16 inch or so clearance between where the glaze stops and the kiln shelf starts. If you now your glazes well, that's plenty of room.

3. Makes a tiny shadow under the edge of the pot, which visually separates the pot from the table and softens that edge.

4. Makes waxing super easy- just run the side of your brush around the foot. No need use a banding wheel.

 

 

Here is an example where I've layered two glazes all the way to the bottom:

 

   

 

What I do is dip the first glaze all the way down to the edge of the rounded over foot. Then I wax over the glaze on the bottom 1/4 inch of the pot. Then I dip the second glaze. The second dip is quick, just in and out. For larger pots I wax higher, like 1/2 inch, since they run further. Yes, I occasionally have pots touch the shelf, but it's usually only 1 or 2 per kiln load (21 cubic feet).

 

Hope this helps.

[Babs]

So Neil are you using tongs to dip?  That shape of foot would make it hard for me to grasp when glazing though it looks perfect.

OK are you diping bottom first, I get it! I think.

Wouldn't chip either.

[neilestrick]

So Neil are you using tongs to dip?  That shape of foot would make it hard for me to grasp when glazing though it looks perfect.

OK are you diping bottom first, I get it! I think.

Wouldn't chip either.

 

Yes, using tongs. I dip the whole thing all at once whenever possible.

[halekat1]

I saw someone else  doing this and so I tried it. I get a more even line when waxing the foot ring by putting the pot on a banding wheel and use a small brush to apply the wax by spinning the pot on the banding wheel,

[jammy43]

Trim your foot so that it is rounded over, like the side of a dowel. This does several things:

1. Eliminates the sharp edge at the bottom. Much nicer to look at and won't scratch the table.

2. Gives you 1/16 inch or so clearance between where the glaze stops and the kiln shelf starts. If you now your glazes well, that's plenty of room.

3. Makes a tiny shadow under the edge of the pot, which visually separates the pot from the table and softens that edge.

4. Makes waxing super easy- just run the side of your brush around the foot. No need use a banding wheel.

 

Cup-Foot.jpg

 

Here is an example where I've layered two glazes all the way to the bottom:

 

Bottle.jpg Side.jpg Foot.jpg

 

What I do is dip the first glaze all the way down to the edge of the rounded over foot. Then I wax over the glaze on the bottom 1/4 inch of the pot. Then I dip the second glaze. The second dip is quick, just in and out. For larger pots I wax higher, like 1/2 inch, since they run further. Yes, I occasionally have pots touch the shelf, but it's usually only 1 or 2 per kiln load (21 cubic feet).

 

Hope this helps.

[jammy43]

Neil that is a beautiful foot. Never thought to around it

[Chris Throws Pots]

Hi Jammy,

 

Some swear by wax, and I recognize its merits... I was initially taught to use cold liquid wax applied by brush to everything. For better or worse, probably worse, I'm just not that skilled with a brush. My glaze lines would be sloppy and my pots would end up communicating a lack of control over the material. So I started thinking about how to avoid the need for wax altogether and arrive at feet that communicated intention and control.

 

By no means have I mastered the foot or anything like that. I am always experimenting with feet of different shapes and visual emphasis. But one detail remains constant across all my pots' feet that allows me to skip the wax yet arrive at a clean glaze line. I trim a tiny beveled edge on the outside of the feet of my pots. It is usually cut at about a 45° angle, and the plane ot the beveled surface is about 1/16" wide.

 

Like Neil mentioned in an earlier post, this bevel elevates the piece from the kiln shelf giving your glazes some wiggle room and it creates a visually pleasing shadow between pot and table. Also, while the bevel doesn't catch glaze in a negative space the way Pres' diagrammed foot shape does, it does create a spot where glare can safety build up, particularly in a thick application. I find that once my glazes flux out, they only like to move in one direction. Gravity causes the glaze to move, but once that movement reaches the edge of the bevel, the glaze tends to stop rather than "turn" and run inward on the beveled plane.

 

I skip waxing and glaze the entire piece. Using a yellow Mud Tools rib I will scrape the glaze from both the bevel and the plane that will sit in contact with the table. With a wooden knife I will scrape the glaze from the inside plane of the foot. A quick wipe with a clean damp sponge takes off any remaining bits of glaze. This also thins the glaze right at the edge of the foot ever so slightly, and helps prevent unwanted and often costly drips. A key for this method is to scrape the glaze from the foot before it is fully dry so that glaze dust isn't created and sent airborne.

 

Hope this helps and isn't too redundant.

 

C

[Up in Smoke Pottery]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but it works great as long as your glazes are not prone to running.

 

http://ceramicartsdaily.org/pottery-making-techniques/ceramic-glazing-techniques/bonus-monday-pottery-video-a-simple-ingenious-homemade-tool-for-dry-footing-pottery/

 

 

Chad

[earthfan]

I apply my cold wax with a plastic bottle that looks like a slip trailer. It is actually a hair dye applicator and has a little cap to put on between uses that stops the cold wax from drying out. I shake the bottle vigorously, then tap its bottom to move the wax down from the tip. Holding the applicator horizontally, with its tip just touching the foot ring, I let a thin stream of wax flow from the bottle as the wheel turns. The trail of wax will only be a couple of millimetres wide. Then I use the very tip of the hairs of a damp brush to spread it a little. The brush can be rinsed out easily as it is only the tip that is used. 

[Joy pots]

I cut up sponges to 1 inch and use them to wax the bottom, you get better control than with a brush along the bottom edge. Don't forget to squeeze them out first to prevent dripping wax. I still use a brush as well usually along lid galleys.

Joy

[Stellaria]

I must be an overly picky perfectionist, because I can never seem to get an even, satisfactory line with a brush, sponge, latex makeup wedge, or foam brush, either on a banding wheel or holding the piece in my hand.

That, or I just really stink at the job

[Celia UK]

Love the celadon ChrisThrowsPots - is it your own recipe.

[Pres]

Stella, not bring up an angry beast again, but I do all of my bottom waxing on the Griffin Grip, I also dip my foam brush in clean water before dipping it into the cold wax. Seems to help with the flow. At the same time, when I do not wax, the undercut I demonstrated allows me to sponge wash a nice even line at the undercut/glaze catch that separates the foot from the pot.

[Stellaria]

Good thing there are only a few of us at the studio that throw pots, or people would start getting crabby at me for hogging the griffin grip

I'll try it next time.

[Chris Throws Pots]

Thanks, Celia,

 

The recipe isn't mine to give. Sorry!

 

C