Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Don't you just love it when you get a new issue of a ceramic / pottery magazine?

Every day I get bills, junk, and the occasional letter in the mail... It's yawn, oh no, and hmmm type mail most days. However, when I open the mailbox and see one of my pottery magazines it's like a mini-Christmas. Ideas, tips, cool pottery and even some great ads with new glazes, equipment and tools, oh boy!

If I tried everything I wanted to try from Pottery Making, Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, etc. I'd have to plan on living for a few thousand years. I have forgotten more things that I want to experiment with than I've created over the years I've been working my craft. It's a wonder I ever manage to create anything with all those ideas rolling around in my head... not to mention the time involved with devouring the magazines!

It's not enough that I take every magazine that has the word "ceramic" or "pottery" in the title, but I also have a tendency to subscribe to any freebie how-to that flies across my computer screen or pops into my in-box.

One of my favorites is from Ceramics Art Daily. They send some of the coolest tips and instructional stuff right into my inbox. With a quick click of a link I get video demos, written instructions and, of course, solicitations to buy books which explain more.

Since I work with slab, coil and hand building more often than wheel I'm very happy that they have a nice balance.

Today's email really caught my attention. I enjoy coiling but don't do a lot of it these days as I usually cut slabs and build in a coil type method for ease and speed.

However, I'm going to have to try the method outlined in today's Ceramic Arts video / demo. At some point I'm sure I'll be sharing a piece or two or ten on here made using this coil method... And I thought I knew it all when it came to coiling. Ha.

Here's a teaser from the page you'll get to if you click the link below:

Hand Thrown: East Asian Wedged Coil Technique
A Master Potters’ Approach to the Coiled Form


Coiling is one of the first things we learn when we begin pottery. It’s a simple and basic technique we all know. But are we making the best coil pots we can? Ones that don’t crack and are not limited by size or scale? Joyce Michaud came across a coiling technique used for centuries in the Far East...

http://ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore/hand-thrown-east-asian-wedged-coil-technique/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting, much appreciate comments and readership! Wanted to let you know that we will not post any comments with links, just makes our lives easier and safer. Likewise, if you're not nice (as in family friendly), no one will ever see the comments.