Throwing Prescription

Spring quarter started last week. We're nearly a week into this funny shaped quarter (funny shaped because it started on a Wednesday, which makes the first 5 days feel short and long at the same time). I've got a relatively light quarter, with just two classes (or four, depending how you count) as well as my union duties. With the break and a new "prescription," I've gotten into the studio every day for about two weeks.

Apparently this many pieces is too many pieces for me to throw on one day (with stiff clay)

Over spring break, I divided my days between firing, glaze, building, and throwing, as well as class prep and union work. On the day I devoted to throwing (and trying out my new Garrity tools), I threw 25lbs of clay, using up the rest of a box of porcelain. While I was throwing the slightly stiff clay, I looked down at my left thumb and noticed that it was very round and puffy, with a little dent in the middle emphasizing how much it had blown up.

The lymphedema sleeve I've been wearing to try to help with the swelling

Of course the "blow up" was from lymphedema, itself a result of all those lymph nodes taken out last June. Without as many lymph nodes, my body's system for removing extra fluid, from a cut or injury or infection, is impaired. Straining or working muscles too much can also, apparently, result in the lymph fluid collecting in the body because it can't get moved out quickly enough. 

I used these "love birds" throwing ribs from Garrity Tool's tool of the month club to make the textures. 

I've been working with an occupational therapist at the Lymphedema clinic since July to try to reduce the swelling that has collecting in my arm, chest, and breast. OT for lymphedema is pretty great, actually. The main thing, besides wearing a compression shirt and sleeve, is lymphatic drainage massage. I have a series of moved I do myself, but when I go in to the clinic, she has a whole bunch of things she does and it's basically just like getting a massage. Very relaxing, with the benefit of improving the swelling, too.

Another Garrity throwing rib made these textures

When I visited the lymphedema clinic after throwing during break, my therapist told me that I needed to spend more time throwing, but for shorter periods of time. So instead of infrequently throwing 25lbs of clay, I should spend about 30 minutes every day throwing. Basically, the idea is to get me back up to where I can handle more throwing. She also ordered me another compression sleeve, because if I throw in it, it gets messy pretty quickly. 

Some small forms I threw with my sculpture clay (not a great throwing clay body) 

I operate better with specific directions, or maybe I just prefer them. If I'm told to "take it easy" or "not do too much" I feel frustrated about how to define "easy" and "too much," so I really like this clear and specific direction: throw 30 minutes a day. And, it has the added advantage of telling me to do something I want to do anyway (but don't always make time to do).

Some small and large forms I threw with the sculpture body

I started last week Thursday, the first day of my clay class(es). It's a 3 hour class, but I don't throw the whole time in any of those classess, especially not on the first day.  I threw at home on Friday and over the weekend, using some recycled scupture clay. The clay includes nylon fiber and grog (ground up fired clay), which makes it a good sculpture body, but a fairly annoying throwing body. This time around it also had bits of metal in it. I need to figure out if that's coming from the pug mill or somewhere else. 

a thrown and hand-build sculpture in progress

The nice thing about throwing at home is that I can work on my sculpture. On the three days I threw with this body, I threw small pieces that I plan to combine into larger sculptures. Because I threw a bunch of sculpture pieces, that gets me back into the studio the next day (or days) to build with those pieces, so that's a good motivator to get me into the studio in general. Because the pieces are small, I don't necessarily need to commit to more time than I have.

one of the small sculpture forms I threw with the sculpture clay

Today I threw at school, both because I don't have any throwing clay ready, and because I wanted to have more bowls ready to trim tomorrow during class. The nice thing about throwing at school is that other people are around. I chatted with some folks in the studio and generally just enjoyed being in the space. The clay is also a lot nicer for throwing and didn't have any bits of metal (though I did find a bit of rock, which is fairly unusual).

the March Garrity tool makes a good paddle for small work

It's also kind of nice to have a time limit. I'm supposed to throw for 30 minutes, which I was able to squeeze in between meeting a student and attending a Teams meeting. But I also didnt' feel like I needed to commit to a huge undertaking. I was able to setup, wedge, throw, and clean up in about an hour. Because the time has been prescribed, I feel like I can just do it and be done.

the Garrity arm tool (full view)

Having a time limit it nice, sometimes, for something that could expand to take up any amount of time--Like writing a blog post. I could let it expand to take up several months of editing and perfecting (like I've done with the last two posts I haven't actually published) or I could set myself a limit, keep it short and be done.

Great Pottery Throwdown Tieton Edition

Ed Marquand of Mighty Tieton and Paper Hammer competes in Saturday's throwing competition with some assistance of Jeff Kent. Photo from Boxx Gallery's Facebook Page (click through to see more photos).

This Saturday was the opening reception for The Potter's Touch ceramics show at Boxx Gallery in Tieton, WA, featuring sculpture, pottery and some 2D work by local artists. The show runs through the end of July, with the gallery open on Saturdays and Sundays 11-4. 

Advertising for The Potter's Touch show, featuring sculpture by Jane Gutting (visit Boxx Gallery for more)

Also on Saturday, I was invited to judge a pottery competitio modeled (very loosely) on The Great Pottery Throwdown on BBC2 (which Americans can watch on HBO Max), the competition featured 4 locals artists, not all of whom probably consider themselves professional potters. The audience consisted of local and visiting art fans both young and old, though the youngest audience members ended up considerably messier than the audience members who set up some ways back from the demonstration wheel.

All the potters were asked to bring five 1.5 lb balls of clay. They were given a time limit of 15 minutes and asked to aim for height, consistency, and creativity. Jane Gutting, the organizer, hinted that creativity might be what you call the one that falls down, but I love seeing potters play on the wheel, using it for sculpture, drawing lines on the surface, or messing with the form in interesting ways.

Amanda Ontiveros throwing her first vase on Saturday (photo from Boxx Gallery's Facebook page)

First up was Amanda Ontiveros, a local ceramic artist and YVC clay alum. She works at Yakima Maker's Space downtown, where she is just starting to get into teaching classes. (I keep hoping they'll start up their kids and/or community pottery classes again soon.) She has also been working on producing custom dishes for Yakima restaurant, Crafted, though she explained that those dishes are handbuilt, not thrown on the potter's wheel. Amanda's throwing skills didn't look at all rusty as she comfortably threw 5 evenly matched vases to start off the competition. Amanda won the top prize for consistency and for being the only pottery who completed all 5 pieces within the 15 minute time limit.

sculpture by Nancy Bocek, photo from Boxx Gallery

Next up after Amanda was current Seattle artist (originally from Yakima), Nancy Bocek. Her work in the Boxx Gallery is stunny black sculpture with human forms carved and highlighted with shocking orange lines. She explained that she hadn't thrown pottery in 30 years, but she still managed to create the tallest form that was entirely thrown. Nancy also was the only potter to add a linear design element to her surface, not surprising for an artist whose sculpture emphasizes line and texture.

Paul Beverage, throwing his second form (Amanda's pieces are on the far left of the table, Nancy's tallest piece next to them, and Paul's first creative piece in the foreground).

Paul Beverage, of Wilridge Winery, was the third potter to compete in the throwdown. Paul's usual ceramic work is larger and more sculptural than the parameters of the competition allowed. If you'd like to see his work, check out his tall stacked sculpture as you drive in to Wilridge. Paul channeled some George Ohr energy on his first piece, entertained the kids by blowing into the opening of a clay "balloon" for his second, and won first prize for height by altering a thrown form to extend it to 12" high. 

Jane Gutting moves Ed's pieces off of the bats at the dnd of the competition (Amanda's 5 pieces are on the far end of the table, then Nancy's 3 pieces in a reddish clay, Paul's 3 pieces in a white clay, and Ed's 3 pieces on bats).

The fourth and final competitor, Ed Marquand of Mighty Tieton has a role in a lot of arts organizations and events in Tieton and Seattle, but he hadn't thrown in decades. He didn't seem interested in competing against Paul or Nancy on height, but he made the widest pieces and, as The Great Pottery Throwdown is an offshoot of The Great British Baking Show, he won the award for "most likely to be able to fit some baking inside." As he and Paul eschewed the splash pan, Ed also won the award for messiest potter.

The day was lots of fun (and remarkably cool, as both the potters and the audience were mostly set up in the shade). Jane Gutting did a great job of organizing the event and making sure stuff was set up and that everyone had clay, water, and electricity, and she brought the awards. Jeff Kent, who recently took over my pottery classes at YVC while I was on medical leave, did a great job of taking photos (a lot more than I thought to capture), and making sure the potters had water and tools. Bart Roderick helped create the right atmosphere by playing live music for the event.

I had a great time being the judge, with a little help from my daughter. And before we even got around to awarding prizes, I asked Jane if we could do this again next year. That's the plan, and it sounds like it will be great fun. As soon as I got home, I drafted up a plan for what we need, what we could add for next year (i.e. more wheels so the competitors can go head to head) and who we need to invite to be invovled. Look for more information in the coming year!

Mugs from the mug wall at The Potter's Touch. Photo from Boxx Gallery. Check out more photos on their Instagram

Throwing for Yakima Artist's Studio Tour: Scream & Texture Mugs

 

mugs with sprigged texture

I've got about 3 weeks until the Yakima Artist's Studio Tour on Labor Day Weekend, so I decided to throw some new screaming face mugs. My home studio will be open for the three days of the tour, September 4 and 5 from 10-4 and Monday, September 6 from 12-1. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids and seniors, and you can purchase them directly from me. Tickets get you into all 7 participating studios for the entire weekend.

25lbs ready to throw

Last time I threw porcelain, I discovered that my recycled porcelain was contaminated. This caused bubbles and yuck in my clay after firing, so I had to replace the clay. Unfortunately the mugs and some of the bowls also needed to be replaced. In the past week I've thrown 50# of that new clay. None has been fired yet, but the throwing went fairly well.

smashing a covid mug from the contaminated clay

I did have some funny reactions with my pulled handles. I used clay straight from the bag, but several of the wet handles split in straight lines while they were drying. I dont' think I've ever had this happen before. I'm guessing the clay was too recently mixed and that led to the problem. 

broken mugs with (short?) new clay

Clay that has been recently mixed is "short" meaning that there might be inconsistencies in how evenly the water and clay particles are distributed and mixed. Aged clay (as opposed to short or new clay) may also have some mold developing that helps the clay be more plastic and more flexible. I'm guessing these handles were simply too wet to hold up for the distance required.

25lbs ready to wedge

Straight out of the bag, the clay was pretty wet, wetter than I usually work with and sticky on the outside. Once I wedged it up it was ok to work with, but it wasn't as nice as the pugged clay I threw with last time. Of course it should be nicer when fired, since the last batch unexpectedly had bits of a different clay body mixed in.

the color difference in the clay next to the bubble suggests that's a different clay body, which matures at a lower temperature

I had a little trouble getting started the other day when I sat down to throw. Sometimes switching clay bodies or consistencies requires a little getting-used-to time, but I think my issue was compounded because I did a hard arm workout that morning and my arms were simply tired. 

the first "warm up" bowl had to be cut shorter at least two or three times

After the first unfortunate bowl got trimmed down to size a couple of times, I got back into the swing of things and threw a batch of bowls and mugs. I didn't want to make too much stuff, because the face mugs really take a lot of work. I threw five and those should keep me busy for at least a couple of days once the handles are on. Twenty five pounds of clay yielded five mugs, eight handles (always make extras) and four bowls, as well as the stuff I trimmed off the top of the first bowl.

one evening's throwing

The week before I threw the same amount of clay, but made 9 mugs, as well as some bowls. Nine mugs was a bit much, because the face mugs take more time. I didn't end up making all 9 into face mugs, but turned three into sprigged mugs.

sprigs

The sprigged mugs are also a lot of work, but its a different kind of work. Putting sprigs on just means repeating the same texture over and over again. It takes time, but not a ton of thought.  The face mugs take more concentration, planning, and patience. I also find I need to return to the face mugs several times to refine the sculpting, whereas the sprigs go on and pretty much stay put. I did add some texture behind, but that's it.

different sprigs

The screaming face mugs start out looking pretty messy as I rough in the features. I neglected to take a picture of the very start of the process, when it looks like a toddler has decorated the mug. Below I show the mug after the second time I returned to it. The features are starting to get roughed in and the expression is starting to take shape.

step 2 of the facial features

I return to each face several times after I initially place the features. With some of this batch of faces, I accidentally let the mug itself get a little stiffer than I'd like before I started to work on it. This meant I kept needing to add moisture and take breaks between sculpting on it. I started by scoring (scratching) the surface and adding slip (liquid clay) to the surface before adding clay to the areas that would stand out (nose, lips, eyebrows). Then I painted slip over the whole surface and let the mug sit under plastic while I worked on the next one.

step 3 of the facial features

When I returned to the mug, the wetness of the features and the mug itself had evened out a bit, the added clay and surface was a little drier and the mug was a little wetter. I was able to cut and press into the clay with wooden and rubber tipped tools to create the wrinkles and indents and start to smooth the cheeks, nose, and lips. Then I painted to surface again with slip and let the mug sit under plastic another time.

finished scream mug

Eventually, I was able to use metal carving tools to shape the teeth and refine the deeper wrinkles and folds in the drier clay. I usually use a dry brush to wipe away the small bits I carved away with the tools then brush the whole face with thin slip or water when the features are done to my liking.

the eyes were an afterthought here

I hadn't worked on faces in quite some time, so when I returned to them it took me a few tries to get proportions and positions right. 

my faces inspiration and expression guidance board

I started by working from my wall of inspiration photos, but I made a few mistakes. On one I planned to leave the eyes off, but it looked too strange. I ended up adding them, but they are very close to the top edge which also looks strange.

the mouth was an afterthought here

On another I thought I'd leave the mouth off and ran into the same problem in the other direction. I'm fairly happy with the eyes on this one, but the missing bottom lip just looks strange and changes the expression.

face mask mug

I tried one more mug based on my photos. This one was a masked mug which took me a bunch of tries to get right. I kept taking away too much mask. The mask is a little hard to sculpt from a photo because it is all white and because I can't see the sides and the front at the same time in the photo. It's also a little funny working out where it ends, as faces aren't flat at the bottom like mugs.

scream mug nearly complete

Finally I realized that I could work from the finished mugs that I liked last time around. Instead of looking at photos and interpeting them to mugs, I could work from my most successful mugs directly (or photos of the ones I sold). 

scream mug from earlier in the year

In some ways this approach simplified the process, because I already know where the features belong on the mug surface and I already knew which faces and features worked best. Working in this way also resulted in me simplifying or stylizing some of the features. I think this worked out visually. It was certainly easier to create this way and I was able to play around with subtle variations in proportions and depth.

screem mug with large teeth, in progress

I still ran into trouble, of course. For one of the mugs I made the teeth separate, which results in more realistic looking teeth, but I made these teeth too big. I'm afraid the result looks a bit like Jerry Lewis making fun of someone rather than a more straight-forward screaming face.

scream mug with large teeth after the tongue was added

As of this writing, I have five more mugs to add faces to today. With any luck, I'll have learned from my mistakes from the previous batch and these ones will be improvements.

finished scream / face mugs, drying

My goal is to get all of these face and sprig mugs finished, glazed, and fired before the Studio Tour. With three weeks that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I do have some other pieces to finish up and glaze before the tour and a few work committments and appointments. I wrote myself a calendar of when stuff needs to be done because I have a habit of trying to cram in just a bit more if I think I can fit it in. I want to make stuff, but don't want to knock myself out.

sprig mugs drying

More Throwing: Lemon Squeezers, Plates, Scream Mugs, and Kid Lessons

Dry plates waiting to be fired

At the end of June, I told myself that I could have all of July to myself before I started thinking about prepping classes for the fall. It didn't work out quite as planned, and I spent more time working on work related stuff, but I did keep my promise not to prep classes until August. Tomorrow, then, I start class prep.

Citrus squeezer parts thrown, before carving

In July, I managed to throw regularly and spend some studio time sculpting, too. It wasn't as productive a summer as some, based on what I made in the studio, but I was glad to get the time despite the chaos of this particular summer. I threw mostly plates, mugs, and lemon squeezers, with a few odds and ends we needed for the house.

Citrus squeezers (both carved and coiled ridges)

I managed to throw enough that I ran out of throwing clay. I tried throwing with some sculpture clay I had hanging around. I know I want to glaze all the work at cone 6, and my only other option was some recycled scrap clay that is about half low fire clay. I tested this recycled clay at cone 6 and it didn't work well.

Bottom of a trimmed plate in sculpture clay: holes are from grog, the hairs are from a clump of nylon fiber

The sculpture clay is heavily grogged (grog is ground up fired clay) and has nylon fibers (for building and drying strength) in it, both of which are nice for sculpture, but pretty gross for throwing. The clay looks especially rough when trimmed. Throwing was actually fine, but the texture is certainly noticeable. I'm a bit concerned about how this clay will fire, but I didn't really have brain space for sculpture that week.

More citrus squeezers in sculpture clay

I've since ordered some replacement throwing clay, so if I can squeeze in some studio time in August, I can make some more mugs. If the plates don't work in the sculpture clay body, I can also remake them.

Screaming face mug in progress

I spent some more time on a few screaming face mugs. I have four in progress and about three in the kiln I loaded today. I've discovered the certain features tend to come easier to me. Specifically, I have been having trouble with thin lips. I have been working from photographs and the flat image leaves some information out for the transition to three dimensions. 

Poorly rendered Trump on the right

I've been trying to capture Trump's face in one of the mugs and one of the bulbs, but I keep struggling with something about the face, either the lips or they eyes. The anonymous faces might simply be easier because I don't mean them to look like anyone I can recognize.

Kids' throwing lesson

I also took one exhausting day and gave a clay lesson to my daughter and the neighbor girls (ages 8-12). The lesson went fairly well. We all wore masks and kept the door open and the fan on in the studio. I had all of us throw on bats so we could take turns. (I also had saved out some small pieces of throwing clay so the kids didn't have to use rough sculpture clay which would hurt their hands). 

Kids' throwing lesson

I showed the girls how to center, then let each one try. I ended up helping them with that step, but they mostly didn't need my help for throwing or for trimming (other than getting the clay centered for trimming). All three girls managed to throw and trim a small bowl and I managed to get some help from all three in cleaning the shockingly messy studio afterwards, but it wasn't until this evening that the studio was fully cleaned and recovered after the experience!

Lemon Squeezy

I finally got into the studio this week. I guess I haven't thrown since early March (before classes moved online for finals) and I haven't really worked with wet clay since spring break. I was hoping to be done with school stuff this week. I'm not quite there yet, but I did sneak in some time to throw at least.

Lemon Squeezers, Sean saw these on my shelf and said he thought they looked like tools.

My getting-back project was to make some lemon or lime squeezers for our kitchen. Earlier this year my husband bought a metal lemon squeezer, but the metal quickly started pitting and looking ugly. Around this time I saw some hand held citrus squeezers by Lorna Meaden on her Instagram and realized that ceramic would be more durable and easy to clean for regular use--and possibly easier to fit in the drawer.

Sculpture from a couple years ago

As I was throwing the pieces, I realized that the basic form I was imagining is pretty similar to the essentially form of many of my sculptures. I kept the squeezer part thick so that I could carve channels into the surface for maximum lemon squeezing efficiency, and I made a variety of parts so I could see what worked best. 

More Lemon Squeezers with simplified tops.

I carved the channels differently in different pieces and I'm not sure which will work best. I was thinking about also trying a version where I add coils onto the surface. I also played around with the handle shape and size and I think the result is that some of these look nicer than others. I'd say these were prototypes, but I'm not sure there's going to be much need for more of these. Once I fire them we'll try them out and see which work best.

A lime squeezer (because it is smaller)

I also threw some plates and dabbled a bit with a couple of mug and sculpture ideas today. My clay had gotten fairly dry since last summer, so it took a bit of work to get back in shape and it really wasn't as nice to throw with, but the studio time was refreshing anyway. 

my clean floor after mopping

After I threw and trimmed today, I was able to easily mop up the floor so my studio still looks nice and clean. It was also nice to easily put my bats directly onto the shelf next to my wheel. Unfortunately, I discovered one drawback of the new studio floor: my stool has wheels which roll more now than they did on the carpet and rugs of the old studio. I might have to replace them or add some kind of block to keep them from rolling while I throw.