Knob 'n Alls

Knob 'n Alls by Lauren Coffey

Spring quarter has gotten off to a busy start. Shows, installations, kid projects, hiring committees, and perhaps I've said "yes" to a few too many things. My winter quarter students were so prolific that I've got two more posts partially done, but I just haven't finished and posted them.

Knob 'n All by Kim Hansen

One of the things my winter quarter classes did a lot of was knob 'n alls. I don't really know how it is supposed to be spelled. (It used to annoy Shannon, one of my advanced students when students would call them "nominals.") However they're spelled or pronounced, they're lidded containers made by throwing the lid attached to the bottom in one closed form.

Knob 'n All by Kim Hansen

These forms are usually a fairly popular shape to make. The basic shape, if you don't cut off the lid, is fun to throw and I use it as a basis for a lot of my own forms. 

Knob 'n All by Amber Ryan

The shape can be thrown, then the lid cut off when the piece has dried up a bit. The lid can be cut off with a "key" which basically means you cut the lid irregularly so that it fits on only one way. The cuts can be a part of the overall design of the form. They also don't take a lot of pre-planning.

Knob 'n All by Amber Ryan

The other way to do the lid was something I learned from a student. Of course some of my students are more than students. They make a significant impact on the studio and they make my job easier and more fun. Janice was the one who discovered the technique I now prefer for knob 'n alls. 

Knob 'n All by Lauren Coffey

Janice's technique is to press a flat tool into the side of the wet wall once the form is closed. The wall then becomes the gallery that holds the lid on. Lauren and possibly Leticia (from this post) used this technique. You can't see the galleries in these views of the finished work, but you can see them in this post of my work in progress.

Knob 'n All by Lauren Coffey

The knob 'n alls from winter quarter were done mostly by beginners for their third project. Lauren's was in the advanced class and she did these as a kind of recuperation break while she dealt with an injury.

Knob 'n All by Adela Arciga

There was a great deal of variety in the lidded forms, decoration, and glazing. Adela and Lauren both used Ninja Junior Crawl glaze on their lids and Adela just managed to avoid sticking her lid to her base as the glaze ran.

Knob 'n All by Adela Arciga

Adela's lidded jars were tiny, but she made each one very differently. The orange was a favorite during critique, as was Amber's apple. Strangely no-one tried to make a banana knob 'n all.  Adela, Amber, and Lauren also achieved the challenging tall knob. Lauren threw some of her's separately and then attached them to the lids later. I think Adela threw hers in one.

Knob 'n All by Adela Arciga

Last quarter I ended the quarter will a full class of 16 students, three of them advanced. This quarter is shaping up to be a similarly strong quarter with a full class and 6 intermediate students, which might be the largest group of intermediates I've ever had.

Lidded container by Leticia Ortiz

If you're in the Yakima area and you are interested in seeing some of my students' work in person, we have two exciting opportunities coming up soon. The Department of Visual Arts Student and Faculty Exhibition opens April 30 with a reception from 5-7pm in Larson Gallery. The show continues through May 25. The spring clay sale is May 9 from 11am - 7pm in the lobby of the Palmer Martin building (building 20).

Lidded Jars, Thrown With The Lid Attached

A few months ago, a student of mine was telling me about a video she had watched in which the potter threw a lidded piece with the lid attached. In class I have often shown students how to throw "knob'n alls" that are thrown in one piece and later the lid is cut off. I first heard of these pieces on a Robin Hopper video "Form and Function."

closed top cylinders (for sculpture, not lidded containers)

I find 'knob'n alls" easy to throw, if not exactly easy to spell.  They are simply cylinders that close at the top. Later the top half of the piece is cut off, usually at an angle. The lid fits tightly because it was originally part of the piece itself. 

a knob'n all

The lid can be made to fit very tightly by keying the cut. Instead of cutting off the lid evenly all the way around, I cut a notch or notches which then help keep the lid in place and assure that the lid is always put on in the correct orientation.

new knob'n alls drying (before cutting)

When my student told me about her new method for throwing a knob'n all, I didn't really understand her. It wasn't until the quarter was almost over, and I was laying in bed thinking about throwing projects, that I really thought about what she had said. I realized what she meant and what she'd done and I determined to try it.

lid after trimming (I didn't have a chuck, so I used a glass jar)

Last week I threw some of the new knob'n alls. The piece is thrown basically the same as normal, a cylinder with a closed top, but before finishing, I pushed the wall in, just under where I wanted the lid, to create an indent. It took me a few tries to find the right shape of tool to create the indent. The indent will eventually become the lip that comes down from the lid and inserts into the base of the container, keeping the lid securely in place.

lidded container after trimming

Later, once the piece has dried a bit, the bottom edge of the indent is cut and the excess trimmed away. The lid now slides easily down into the base, creating a secure lid. I tried this method a few times and all of them worked to different extents. I learned a bit more about how thick the wall needs to be where the indent is and how deep the indent itself needs to be. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my students next quarter.

trimming base on the lidded container