Syllabus: 10a or 10b Text. Required materials. Studio tour. Lecture: Clay Basics. Reading Assignment: Chap.10 and 11 p.177- 234   Emphasis: Types of Clay, Clay Prep, Stages of Clay, Methods of Clay Production   Pinch pot p.203-6, Coiling p. Wedging, Recycling   Handout: Clay Basics  

Tool Names -- ribs, cut off wire, trimming/ribbon tools   Clay Categories -- earthenware, stoneware, pocelain.  Pyrometric Cone, Slip & Score, Bisque, Wedging, Burnish, Temper=Grog   Stages of Clay -- liquid=slip, wet=green, damp=leatherhard, bone=dry

Pinch/Burnish Technique:

Step 1: Make it. 2: Dry it. 3: Refine it. 4: Burnish it. 5: Fire it.

Use a handful of clay ( half pound). Not too small. Not too big. Roll into a ball before pinching. Pinch two halves, when put together the two halves form a hollow airfilled form (an egg).The air will keep the pot from collapsing until it is drier. Keep the walls thin. Use fingers to smooth. Don't worry about cracks, just yet. Score (that means scratch) when attaching two pieces of clay, crisscross deeply (don't be timid), then wet or slip (note scoring recipe) before attaching. A wooden pencil scores and smooths better than a needle tool. Use a paddle to shape if necessary. Use metal rib to smooth. Use your needle tool to drill a hole in pot. Most of the forming and refining is done at this stage. Let your egg dry.

Drying. If it is really hot, loosely drape a piece of plastic over egg, so it will dry slowly.   If  egg is not finished, wrap egg tighter so it won't dry out.

Refining. Although most of the shaping and smoothing has been done. The form can be refined significantly by sanding (with drywall screen or green scrubbies). This makes a lot of dust. When possible do it outside. If you are sensitive to dust you should wear a mask. Prolonged contact with clay dust is hazardous. Please, minimize the dust.

Burnished smooth surface. If available use burnishing slip (terra sigillata). If slip is not available begin with a spritz of water. Use a smooth stone or a silver spoon (not a good one) to lightly polish the pot. Rub Crisco over egg. Dry. Shortening will change colors from moist to streaky white. Rub harder, till shiney.

Fire. Place burnished ware on top of greenware cart, the location for low fire greenware to be bisqued for pit. We will bisque lower (cone 010) than regular temp (cone 06/04). After it is biqued, it will be placed on the blue cart or the gray wheely cart.

Weather permitting it will be pit-fired either outside or at the beach. If the results are not satisfactory, you may refire using an alternate technique.

Syllabus:22 & 23 Application. Learning objectives. Calendar. Signatures.

 

 

 

 

 

Pinched form can be other shapes; such as seedpots, gourds, pumpkin, totem, animal, whistle, figure...

 

Work on refining pinch pot. Slab and Coil Demos. 

Power Point Lectures:    Part 1  and  Part 2

Slab Techniques:

1.) Use a baker's roll pin and roll it out like pie dough. If you use wooden slat's it will be even and the thickness of the slat. You can alter the thickness of the slat by cutting it to a desired thickness or by placing thin slats on top of each other.

2.) Tortilla technique -- roll a ball, flatten it in your hands, when it is about 1/2 inch slap it on a dry, porous surface (ie studio table) in a sweeping, side-ways motion. A light touch is better than a heavy touch. Remember do it twice and to rotate frequently or else it will turn into an oval.

3) Slab roller -- Always roll clay between cloth. Do not use very hard clay. Flatten clay to approximately twice the thickness and width. Change cloth if it gets wet, clay will stick to it. Do not let cloth exceed the edge. Thickness may be adjusted by removing the boards, replace when finished. Clean area after use, replace cloths, scrape clay off any surfaces that got stuck.  It is possible to run texture with the clay. Personally, I prefer to roll the slabs, remove from roller and then use a rolling pin to roll the texture on the fresh slab.Slabs are best stored on flat boards, not round bats (those are for the wheels). Hard slabs are best made by storing them on a board larger than the edge between newspaper in a plastic bag with weight (other boards on top)on top (slow and heavy, does it!). If working with softslabs, try not to get them

too thin, they do shrink. The larger the piece the thicker the slab.

Coil Technique:

1) Objective: make a smooth, ovoid shaped coil pot. Make a pot with a change of direction, 7-9" tall. Control the clay sufficiently to direct it first in one direction, then another.

2) That is (i.e.) don't make a cylinder. Make an olla, or an amphora. The outside is to be smooth but doesn't need to be burnished. Do not allow the pot to dry out, keep it leatherhard. Place a piece of damp paper on the rim if you are going to add more layers or you are going to be away for more than a day. Harder to do since you are not supposed to let the pot dry out and sand it. Hmm. Use wet sanding techniques, scraping and paddling.

It can be plain with a double-dipped glaze or do a slip design (like the Native Americans) and then coat it with the clear glaze.

Work on coil pot of your own design and shape. Look for examples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make an alternative

style coil pot-- show the coils on the outside. Use slabs. Alternate colored clay.

 

 

 

 

Either the methods to the left or carving, sgraffito, applique, or a combination.

Lecture: How to improve your library research skills.

Pick a topic for a research project. Find sources. Start now, sometimes its hard to find material.

Movie: "Daughters of the Anasazi?"

Who are the Anasazi? Who are the potters documented here? What are the techniques that are featured? How do they make their clay? How do they decorate their pots? What does polychrome slip mean? How do they fire their pots? When is the best time to fire a pit-fire? What fuel do the Acoma potters use?