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Sunday, September 27, 2015

Trying Techniques

amy myers ceramics, coiled pottery, handmaker, handmaker's world, earthenware
So here they are: my first three pots made using the coiling method.

The initial attempt was, not surprisingly, a complete failure, but it was extremely useful as it revealed the main areas to be focused on.

Accordingly, my first completed pot was mainly a study in how to pull the form inward as the height increased.  This is, of course, a prominent factor in wheel-thrown work, so I should have been prepared for the same need in coiling; however, the techniques used are - at first try, at least - considerably different.  My beginner's version is a bit heavy-handed!  But I did end up with a pot...
amy myers ceramics, coiled pottery, handmaker, handmaker's world, earthenware
A rather lumpy piece, but the goal was achieved, along with learning to work with the requirements imposed by crafting the base in my mould.
amy myers ceramics, coiled pottery, handmaker, handmaker's world, earthenware
The next piece was a continuation of the same aim; it also played with a more complex form.
amy myers ceramics, coiled pottery, handmaker, handmaker's world, earthenware
Finishing the rim became a major issue on this one, and one which I did not solve to my satisfaction, but I was certainly pushing harder in this case.  I also felt that I had not thinned or worked the walls to a suitable degree of plasticity; however, as the pot dried, I was pleased with the weight and overall "feel".  This second pot gave me a stronger sense of what I needed to achieve in a more finished piece.
amy myers ceramics, coiled pottery, handmaker, handmaker's world, earthenware
So with the third pot the form was simpler, but the piece was every way more satisfactory.  It is getting much easier to produce a basic cylinder to commence the piece.  Besides that, I thinned the walls and shaped the pot, not merely while coiling, but also by using a beating process as the clay dried a little.  The result was a small bowl...
amy myers ceramics, coiled pottery, handmaker, handmaker's world, earthenware
...one which I was finally willing to put my stamp on.
amy myers ceramics, coiled pottery, handmaker, handmaker's world, earthenware
I wish I could express in the photographs the "touch" of these pieces.  Somehow there is far more of the hands in them than I ever achieved in wheel-thrown work.  It is warm, with a far more intimate acquaintance between hands and clay.  It is a sensation that is likely to keep me working in this mode for quite a while...

2 comments:

  1. τι να πω;;; αγαπαω πολυ το πηλο…τις ημερες που ημουν στην Σιφνο επισκευθηκα πολλα εργαστηρια και για μια φορα ακομη γεμισα το πορτ παγκαζ. Η Αντιγονη λιγες ημερες πριν εκανε ακριβως το ιδιο. Σε φιλω!!! αγγελικη

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    1. Clay is such a special substance - so humble and yet so rich... I love it! Thank you so much, dear Aggeliki!! Kisses :)

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