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Scaling It Down
The size of a pot can be determined by things beyond its intended use, including ones body size and the things
you surround yourself with. Take a closer look and make a connection.
Mike Jabbur
Tall, narrow chucks can make trimming easier because they actually fit inside the pot, saving rims from globs of
smashed clay.
Adero Willard
Use a variety of techniques and tools on the same piece to add contrast and complexitysimilar to sewing a
patchwork quilt.
Ben Krupka
Reinvent a historical style to create surfaces that inspire you and creatively engage your forms.
Martina Lantin
Roth shares the glazes she uses on her functional wall sculptures.
Workshop Glazes
Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts, Peters Valley School of Art, Odyssey Center for the Ceramic
Arts, Ox-Bow School of Art, Northern Clay Center share some of their tried and true shop glazes.
Learn to make both your own baking dish and a great rhubarb crisp.
Scaling it down
by Liz Zlot Summerfield
1 Handbuild a cylinder to make a pattern. Cut it apart to give a visual from the 3-D form to the 2-D paper pattern. 2 Trace the pattern and cut along the valley created by the needle tool with an X-Acto knife. 3 Bevel the
edges to create more area for the join. Flip the slab over and do the same bevels on the sides adjacent to the
first bevels on the back side of the slab. 4 Gently tack the slabs together from bottom to top all around the pot.
Use a rubber brayer or rib to secure the slabs. 5 Tap all four edges between the side and bottom of the pot to
create both feet and a concave bottom.
Adding Volume
Set the pot on a banding wheel, wet your fingers, and gently
push out the inside walls. This stretches the slab and adds
a curved, volumetric surface. Work around the pot until all
four sides are addressed.
To form the feet, the pot must still be at the soft leatherhard stage and hold its shape. If the clay is too wet when
forming the feet, the bottom will sag, and if it is too dry it will
crack along the bottom. Using the fatty part of your thumb,
gently tap between the seams on all four undersides of the pot
(5). This forces the bottom to become concave and simultaneously creates four feet for the piece to sit on. Once the feet are
formed, place the pot on a level surface and bend the feet to
eliminate any wobbling.
If you choose to stamp into the clay surface, now is the
appropriate time while the clay is a soft leather hard and can
accept the texture (6).
Once the pot is a stiff leather hard, you are ready to create
the lid. Prepare the pot by leveling the rim. This is easily
10
11
6 Push a carved bisque stamp into the outside surface of the pot, while holding one hand on the inside of the
pot. 7 At the leather-hard stage, cut the lid away from the pot holding your X-Acto knife horizontal to the pot.
This should be done in one motion. 8 Finger tack a thin slab around the inside rim of the pot. The flange only
needs to be slightly higher than the top of the pot to hold the lid in place. 9 Cut away clay from the pot just inside the traced line of the spout, so that there is enough surface area to attach the spout. 10 Use slip made from
your clay body to decorate the exterior of the pot. The consistency of the slip along with the pressure used will
determine the quality of line you create. 11 Underglaze is one solution to add color to the pot whether it is
used for large blocks of color or small impact areas.
Stick the chuck down to a bat as you would any other pot
and then add a generous coil of clay to the rim (1). You can
center this coil with water or let it stiffen to leather-hard and
trim it (2). I do a bit of both. Then air dry or blowtorch the
coil until it is leather hard. It is helpful to match the shape of
the coil to the inside shape of the pot you are trimming and
make sure that the widest part of the coil is also the highest.
If the inside edge of the coil is the highest point, your pot will
not sit correctly on the chuck. The shape of the coil I add varies from one pottery form to another, and sometimes I trim
the coil a little between pots to improve the fit for a given
piece. Because of this, I always trim pots with the narrowest
opening last. You may need to add a fresh coil or re-soak the
chuck if you are trimming for several hours or working in a
drafty studio.
Center your pot on the chuckmaking sure it is both centered and level might take some practiceand give it a little
downward pressure with a subtle twisting motion. Applying
pressure will help your pot adhere to the chuck. Then trim
your pot as you normally would. Although the pot is stuck
to the chuck, it is still important to apply downward pressure
as you trim.
I always begin by defining the outside diameter of the foot
ring (3). I do not trim inside the foot ring until later, which
allows me to push down on the bottom of the pot while I trim
and it helps to keep the pot stuck to the chuck. I trim away
all of the excess clay between the foot ring and the waist or
1 Center and stick the saturated, bisque-fired chuck to the wheel head with clay, then and add another coil of
clay at the top. 2 Center the coil with water or let it stiffen to leather hard and trim it. 3 Place the cup onto the
chuck and begin trimming by defining the outside diameter of the foot ring. 4 Trim away about 90% of the excess
clay between the foot ring and the waist or belly of the pot before trimming the inside of the foot ring. 5 After
trimming the inside of the foot ring, finish trimming the outside area until the rhythm and gesture compliments
the throwing. 6 Use a smaller trimming tool to clear away any trimming scraps and then use a cosmetic sponge
to smooth the foot. 7 Use a sponge on a stick to clean up any scars left from the chuck. 8 The finished cup after
trimming. 18 Photos: Eliot Dudik.
Inspired by Cloth
and Clay
by Adero Willard
Platter Planning
A larger form like a platter allows more surface for contrasting decoration to inhabit. I create a double lip, and
then alter the shape of the form by pulling and stretching
the edge to vary the degree to which the two conjoin. Consideration of how these alterations affect the character of
the form helps inspire the mapping out of the decoration:
which areas of decoration will be contained inside the form,
which will extend to some, but not all edges, and so on.
Using an X-Acto blade, I map out areas so contrasting patterns will collide, intersect, and overlap. It may be helpful to
make a separate sketch on paper and keep it nearby in case
you lose track of the order of the layers during the application of underglazes.
Leaving areas bare, apply black underglaze as background color. Paint shapes with wax resist to create the
first layer of pattern.
5
In one area of the ivy pattern, use
cross-hatching to make the ivy pattern dark-on-light (positive space).
6
In the other areas, cross-hatch around
the ivy pattern to create a light-ondark decoration (negative space).
Variations on Technique
With the sgraffito and slip-trail decoration complete, I apply the next wax decoration to preserve elements at this
7
Use a slip-trailing bottle to decorate
the bare area, contrasting delicate
strokes against larger bold elements.
8
Apply a second ivy pattern with wax resist. Although
constrained within the map, this creates the appearance
of endless flow.
9
The second wax pattern contrasts by its geometric nature, as well as contrasting circles against the sgraffito
grid.
10
Apply yellow underglaze in the gridded areas. Remove
any underglaze that beads up on the waxed areas with a
dry sponge.
11
A second wax pattern, also geometric but similar in character to the ivy, is applied over the yellow underglaze.
12
Apply red underglaze to the second ivy area. The wax
decoration will show through. Remove any underglaze
that beads up on the waxed areas with a dry sponge.
Two Firings
13
Apply a layer of white underglaze over the yellow.
Masking adjoining decoration with wax helps prevent
errors. Remove any underglaze that beads up on the
waxed areas with a dry sponge.
scrubbing pad to sand off the flaky residue that the wax
leaves behind, then I dunk the entire piece in glaze to seal
the decoration and make the colors more vivid. I glaze fire
to cone 03 in an electric kiln.
Adero Willard lives in western Massachusetts, where she is a studio
potter and instructor of ceramics at Holyoke Community College. She
has shown in a number of galleries and craft shows nationally, including the Society of Arts & Crafts, Craft Boston, and the Smithsonian
Craft Show in Washington, DC.
The Oribe-Inspired
Decorated Jar
by Ben Krupka
As a maker, I remain dedicated to the evolving conversation with material, aesthetic ideals, and function. I work
within the parameters of aesthetic functionalism while
striving to build pots that feel full of volume, look soft
and fresh, and tell a story, while maintaining a historical
reference. The work shown here references the experimental and playful feel of Oribe-style ceramics, but through a
contemporary lens, both in pattern and narrative themes
as well as in form, which is influenced by how I eat and
drink. The work uses abstract cloud forms to reference an
intangible dream state and fuzzy communication that are
depicted in unframed floating spaces. Pattern is used to
define place and divide space.
The majority of my work begins on the wheel. I find
this tool to be the simplest way to connect curves and create not only physical volume, but also a visually suggested
sense of volume.
Throwing
Start by throwing a straight-walled cylinder with the bottom third resembling a bowl on the interior rather than a
cylinder, which would have evenly thick walls. This will
give the stability necessary to slightly swell out the belly
of the pot in the throwing stage without compromising its
vertical, wet structural strength. It also will come into play
later when trimming.
Leave the top quarter of the pot about twice as thick as
the walls so it maintains its structure as you use downward
pressure to create the lid seating.
After the cylinder is thrown, smoothed, and the lid seating is roughly formed, begin at the top, working downward
to swell out the walls, creating more volume (figure 1). Its
important to begin widening the form from the top as this allows the bottom half of the pot, which is still thick, to maintain structure and keeps the pot from getting too thin early
on, causing it to slump. Once the pot is formed, delicately rib
10
1
Swell out the walls from the top
downward. Keep the walls an even
thickness.
2
Use the rib to remove all throwing
lines and refine the surface of the pot.
3
Form the knob prior to opening the
walls of the lid.
down the entire pot removing all throwing lines that would
eventually act as a visual distraction to the applied surface
treatment (figure 2). Remove the pot from the wheel and allow it to become leather hard.
Next, center a substantial amount of clay as a hump.
This allows you to throw multiple lids more quickly in the
event that one does not fit. While ignoring the majority of
clay that is already centered, focus on a portion of clay that
comfortably fits in your hand, and center it as though its a
separate entity from the remainder of the clay on the wheel.
Rather than creating a hole, which one would normally do
when opening, form the knob in the center of the ball of
clay (figure 3).
After the knob is formed, throw walls around the knob
and, using a stiff rib, push down and level out the top of
the lid (figure 4 ). Once you are happy with the shape of the
lid, use calipers to measure the exact lid diameter and cut
it to size with a needle tool. Smooth out the cut edge, then
remove the lid and allow it to become leather hard.
Trimming
lid until the walls are an even thickness throughout (figure 6).
Flip the pot over, center it, and begin trimming. This is
where the distinction between physical and visual volume is
created. Because the interior of this vessel is shaped like a
bowl, it affords the flexibility to trim heavily, exposing the
bowl shape within. After the bulk of the trimming is complete, use the metal rib as a trimming tool to remove unwanted trimming lines. Sponge down the surface and use a
soft rib to unify the thrown and trimmed surface (figure 7 ).
Slip Decoration
Its important to have a vision for the finished piece in order grasp the steps and work backward. I find it helpful
to sketch my ideas on paper prior to applying slip to the
surface of the pot. Once the pot is on the dry side of leather
hard, begin to apply colored slips by starting with the darkest color, in this case black. After allowing the black slip to
dry, apply the next color of slipI used AMACO Velvet
Underglaze V-388 Radiant Red.
Once the slips are dry, cover the entire pot with wax resist
and allow it to sit overnight so the wax hardens (figure 8).
The longer you let the wax dry, the easier it will be to draw
clean lines.
11
7
Trim excess clay around the base. Use
a soft rib to even out the trimming
surfaces. Allow it to become leather
hard.
8
Apply colored slips. After the slips
are dry, cover the entire pot with
wax resist and allow the wax to
harden.
10
Use a soft brush to remove the dry
burrs of wax and clay that peel up as
you draw.
9
Use a pointed tool to draw through
the wax and slip creating sgraffito
lines. Avoid brushing the burrs into
the lines.
11
After the drawing is complete, use
colored slips to fill the lines.
Use a tool with a point that gives the line quality you desireanything from a ballpoint pen to a needle tool will
work. Another contributing factor to line quality is the
moisture content of the clay. The drier the pot, the sharper
the line (figure 9).
Throughout the drawing process, pause occasionally to
brush off the burrs of wax and clay that peel up as you draw
so they dont accidentally get pushed back into your lines. Be
patient and wait as long as it takes for the burrs to dry. The
drier the burrs are when you brush them away, the cleaner
the line will be (figure 10).
Once the drawing is complete, use colored slips to fill
in the lines (figure 11). After each color is applied, sponge
away what doesnt adhere before applying the next color
12
Sponge away what doesnt fill the
lines before applying the next color.
(figure 12). The overlying color should wipe away easily due
to the layer of protective wax resist still on the pot.
Glazing
After bisque firing the pot, use a damp sponge to clean the
surface before applying glaze. This removes any dust that developed from the wax burning off in the kiln and allows for a
consistent and clean coat of glaze. Apply areas of colored glaze,
allow them to dry, then apply a thin layer of clear glaze on top
of the entire pot. Wipe the bottom clean, allow the glaze to dry,
then fire it to temperature.
Ben Krupka is a ceramic artist and educator living and working in Great
Barrington, Massachusetts. He teaches ceramics at Bard College at
Simons Rock. To see more of his work, visit www.benkrupka.com.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2014 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated. Visit www.potterymaking.org to subscribe.
12
Martina Lantins cups combine monoprinting, toner-resist transfer, wax-resist glazing, and glaze trailing on thrown and altered
forms. The surfaces have a rich, layered, and weathered appearance that encourages a closer look.
Monoprinting
13
Toner-Resist Transfer
The toner-resist transfer technique requires more preparation, but is similarly flexible. The method depends on the
water-resistant property of the toner (rather than the toners
iron content as in decal printing). Its best to experiment with
laser printers or copiers available to determine which may
work best. Line drawings or patterns with equal amounts of
figure and ground are suited to this technique. Using highcontrast images with minimal large open spaces ensures that
the black areas resist the application of pigment and the
printed spaces are consistent in their color application.
The image can be generated through the use of copyrightfree imagery, or drawings made either on paper or digitally.
Many copiers have the capacity to color reverse the image (making what is the black-on-white line drawing into
a white-on-black image). When working with text, letters
need to be mirrored in the original, as the print process will
be the reversemaking the text readable.
This technique is flexible, working well with slips, commercial underglazes, and colorant/frit mixtures. I use a mixture of
two parts Mason stain to one part Ferro Frit 3124. I like the
interested in the incomplete transfer possible with this technique, and dont mind the blank spaces, it can also create a
sharp and complete image. This method is flexible, because
it allows underglaze, slips, and stains to be intimately combined with one another.
6
Add water to the frit and Mason stain mixture until its a consistency thats repelled
well by the toner spaces on the image.
14
Paint the frit and stain mixture onto the Apply the image to clay once the
white areas of your laser-printed image. sheen disappears. Compress the back,
Clean any stray drops with a sponge.
then once the paper dries, peel it off.
10
After applying the slip, place the image onto the tile, compress, and peel
the paper away. Note the images
added depth.
9
If desired, apply a backing slip over the
paper pattern before applying it to the
clay. This creates a varied background.
12
11
After the bisque firing, apply glazes to
accentuate the pattern. Here the glaze is
applied to fill between the lines.
Glazing
In glazing on top of existing slip decoration, I seek to continue building visible layers by adding a variety of colored glazes. Glazes are often applied to fill
between the lines of the underlayer (figures 11 and 12), then covered in wax, so
that the colors resist any additional glazes and maintain their integrity in the
firing. Once the wax resist dries, I either pour a glaze over the tile, or for cups
and larger forms, dip the form in glaze. When glazing cups, I hold them with
one finger on the rim, and my thumb on the foot, then dunk the cup in at an
angle, rim-side down. The tumblers feature all of the techniques described here,
applied to a three-dimensional form.
Enhancing Context
From the moment they were introduced to me, monoprinting and toner-resist transfer became ways for me to generate depth in my surfaces and insert more detailed
narratives and pattern references to enhance the context of my work. As my familiarity with these techniques evolved, I became interested in the erosion of images,
making them difficult to read. The incomplete transfer of an image generates a
surface that evokes the age of the object. Currently I use the toner-resist transfer
technique underneath a layer of white slip, further obscuring the pattern as in the
plate image at left.
Through these methods I seek to convey the number of times during the making
process that the object has been handled. The print processes generate a surface that
I hope will encourage exploration, and through that exploration, lead to a deeper
relationship between user and the crafted object.
Martina Lantin teaches ceramics at Marlboro College in Marlboro, Vermont. To see more
of her work, visit www.mlceramics.com.
15
Gerstley Borate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lithium Carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whiting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OM4 Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 %
4
5
70
14
5
100 %
Pink (2)
Cone 610 Oxidation
Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ferro Frit 3134. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OM4 Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20.0 %
14.0
18.0
18.0
30.0
100.0 %
Bone Ash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Custer Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EPK Kaolin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.00 %
7.50
22.50
31.00
12.50
25.50
100.00 %
10 %
10
62
18
100 %
10 %
Metallic
Add: Copper Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . 2 %
Rutile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 %
Bone Ash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Custer Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EPK Kaolin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.02 %
7.11
22.34
31.47
12.68
25.38
100.00 %
For Yellow:
Add: Mason Stain #6440 . . . . . . 1.50 %
For Green:
Add: Copper Carbonate . . . . . . . 1.50 %
Copper Oxide. . . . . . . . . . . 0.75 %
For Light Blue:
Add: Cobalt Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . 0.20 %
Manganese Carbonate. . . . 1.00 %
For Medium Blue:
Add: Cobalt Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . 0.45 %
Manganese Carbonate. . . . 2.25 %
For Dark Blue:
Add: Cobalt Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . 1.00 %
Manganese Carbonate. . . . 5.00 %
For Brown:
Add: Red Iron Oxide . . . . . . . . . . 2.00 %
For Violet:
Add: Mason Stain #6304 . . . . . . 15.00 %
For Tangerine:
Add: Mason Stain #6027 . . . . . . 15.00 %
For Light Green:
Add: Copper Carbonate . . . . . . . 0.50 %
Yellow Ochre . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00 %
For Dark Green:
Add: Iron Chromate . . . . . . . . . . 4.00 %
This article originally appeared in the January 2015 issue of Ceramics Monthly.
Visit www.ceramicsmonthly.org to subscribe.
www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2015, Ceramic Publications Company | Clay Workshop Handbook
16
Workshop Glazes
Get ready for summer workshop season by trying out a few shop glazes used in workshop studios around
the US and Canada. For more recipes from workshop venues, check out the digital edition of this issue.
BvictoriaD
Cone 10 Reduction
Cone 10 Reduction
Cone 6 Oxidation
Barium Carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spodumene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30 %
10
50
10
100 %
Dolomite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zinc Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.0 %
6.0
6.0
3.0
46.0
30.0
100.0 %
Gerstley Borate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Custer Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ferro Frit 3134 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EPK Kaolin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jacquies Base
Debs Clear
Cone 04 Oxidation
Cone 04 Oxidation
Gillespie Borate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lithium Carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EPK Kaolin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38 %
10
5
5
42
100 %
Add: Bentonite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 %
For Jacquies Flasho Pink
Add: Rutile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 %
Tin Oxide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 %
Recipe and image courtesy of Dustin
Yager, Head of Education and Artist Service Programs at Northern Clay Center,
www.northernclaycenter.org.
8.0 %
4.0
21.0
31.0
9.0
9.0
18.0
100.0 %
45 %
30
25
100 %
Add: Bentonite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 %
For Debs Copper Green
Add: Copper Carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . 6 %
Spanish Iron Oxide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 %
Recipe and image courtesy of Dustin
Yager, Head of Education and Artist Service Programs at Northern Clay Center,
www.northernclaycenter.org.
This article originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of Ceramics Monthly.
Visit www.ceramicsmonthly.org to subscribe.
17
1
After throwing a ring of clay, use
a needle tool to cut about inch
inside the base.
2
Once the ring has stiffened, use
your hands to shape the ring into a
square or rectangle.
3
Cut a slab to fit the bottom, score,
slip, and join both inside and outside and add handles.
Once both the ring and the slab are dry enough to
handle, lift the ring from the bat and shape it with
your hands into a square or rectangle (figure 2). If you
really want it exact, use a dividing web (you can buy
18
one or make one from directions on Ceramic Arts Daily (http://bit.ly/dividingweb), but I do it by eye. Place the reshaped ring on your slab and
draw around the outside with a needle tool, remove it, and cut out the
shape with a sharp blade. Doing this avoids marking the reshaped ring
with your cutting tool. Besides, you need to score and slip both the top of
the slab and the bottom of the ring to join them. Or even better, scrub both
pieces with a toothbrush dipped in Magic Water, making sure to work up
a good amount of slip (Make Magic Water by mixing one gallon of water
with 3 tablespoons sodium silicate and 1 teaspoons of soda ash). Place
the squared-off ring back on the slab and smooth the two pieces together
by working the foot you left inside the ring into the slab (figure 3). Use
fingers and a rib to smooth the two parts together on the outside. Its a
good idea at this point to add some kind of handle; whether it is pulled,
extruded, or cut from a slab is up to you. Handles will make it much easier
to remove the baker from the oven. Allow the baker to fully dry, bisque
fire it, fully cover it with food-safe glazes, and finally fire it to the recommended clay and glaze temperature.
Check out the link under this articles title at http://bit.ly/ovenware for
more info on making ovenware.
Sumi von Dassow is an artist, instructor, and frequent contributor to Pottery Making Illustrated. She lives in Golden, Colorado.
Fruit
Topping
Recipe
Mix the fruit, orange zest, and sugar. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cognac and add it
to the fruit.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the
butter into the flour until it is evenly distributed (pea size). Add
the rolled oats and almonds. Break the egg into a
small bowl, beat it lightly, then add it to the
dry mixture to bind it loosely.
Place the fruit in an oven-safe
baker in an even layer, then
spread the topping over
the fruit. Bake at 350F for
approximately 50 minutes.
19