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Handbuilding:
Tricks of the Trade
Skill Level - Previous experience in
handbuilding and/or throwing recommended but not required.
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Background
While the potter’s wheel originated in the Middle East approximately 5000
years ago, many cultures through history have always preferred handbuilding
techniques. Today, handbuilding encompasses a broad range of utilitarian and
sculptural form in contemporary clay. In our technological society we are so
easily seduced by tools and machinery, assuming that the product of our
endeavors will be improved by our use of these devices. In ceramics, that is
sometimes a mistake. The wheel is appropriate only for certain kinds of forms,
while handbuilding offers unlimited possibilities. The wheel tends to impose
symmetry, unless the potter purposefully introduces asymmetry. Handbuilt
form tends toward asymmetry, unless the potter asserts the choice and has the
skill to make the work symmetrical. And no matter how symmetrical a handbuilt
form might appear, it is never as mechanically symmetrical as most wheel-thrown
forms, and
therefore tends to communicates an organic, human quality, representing the
hands, the movements, and the personality of the maker.
Workshop Description - Our objective is to get you to handbuild with
a sense of adventure and discovery. We will explore unusual ways of approaching
pinch, coil,
and slab construction in order to develop a particular mind set,
an adventurous inclination to use handbuilt forms in new ways,
opening up the possibility of original form inaccessible through more
traditional approaches. Although our primary concerns are design and
construction, we will bisque-fire as much work as possible so that it can be
transported safely.
We will have a number of slide shows
to introduce a broad range of historical and contemporary handbuilt form and
technique. I encourage you to bring samples, slides, or photos of your
work to share with the group.
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Facilities, Equipment, Tools, and Supplies Provided On-Site by Host
Please note: the quality and content of this workshop depends on
having all of these supplies. I will bring my own hand tools, and
in some cases I may bring some of these supplies. Before ordering
or purchasing extensive amounts of supplies please check with me to see
what I am planning to bring with me.
 | Digital projector with standard PC connector cord. |
| Appropriately dark room with large screen or large white wall. |
| Large sturdy work tables for handbuilding. Heavy
plywood-covered tables are best, but sturdy 3'x6' folding tables
will work, with no more than two participants per table.
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| 24" (plus or minus an inch or so) stool for presenter to use.
This is important. |
| Slab roller with appropriate canvas sheets
for rolling slabs (presenter and participants will transfer slabs
onto their own canvas sheets). |
| Heavy-duty rolling pin with approximately
15" by 3" barrel and bearing-mounted handles (Google "Vic Firth
Maple Rolling Pin"). |
| Several sturdy banding wheels - CSI "lazy-susan" turntables are
okay, and cast-iron or aluminum ball-bearing banding wheels are
better. |
| Two clear plastic storage bins with lids (approx. 12" by 24" by
12" deep, for me to use as damp boxes). |
| Eight 24" by 36" sheets of 10 oz. canvas duck. |
| At least Six 24" by 36" pieces of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood for handling and
flipping slabs (more if possible - if you have 24" by 24" pieces,
they will
work, but 24" by 36" are preferable). |
| Wood dowels - (they generally come either 48" or 36") one length
each of 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4". If there is a
choice, get the cheaper, softer ones rather than the more-expensive
oak dowels - they release from the clay more easily. Cut each dowel in half and bring both halves. |
| One plastic spray-bottle for vinegar water. |
| Two propane canisters, as used on standard propane torches -
available from any hardware store or home improvement center.
I will
bring a torch body. It would be helpful if someone can bring
an additional propane torch. If you want to purchase one, get
the Bernzomatic TS-4000 - don't consider any other unit. This
is the best torch for this application, with one-handed ignition and
operation. It's available from any Lowe's or Home Depot or
online. |
| A supply of plastic sheeting to cover slabs - dry-cleaner bags
or similar clear plastic is preferable. |
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Supplies for Participants to Bring
Depending on the particular venue, clay may be covered by workshop cost, or
may be available for purchase on-site. Joining slurry and
vinegar will be provided. The following is a
lengthy list of supplies for a workshop, but these are the things you will need
in order to continue doing this work on your own, and we will be able to make
better use of the available time if you bring all of these supplies.
Some of these supplies may be
available on-site, but only if specified by workshop venue.
Note: The Kemper tools and CSI banding wheels are available at www.bigceramicstore.com.
The Stanley Surform tools are available at www.amazon.com
- enter "Stanley Surform" in the search box.
| Four square yards of 10 oz. canvas duck, cut into 24" by 36"
pieces - "10-ounce" is a trade reference to the weight per yard, and
that's how canvas is sold in art supply stores. If you buy from an
awning, sail, or house painting supply business they might not use the ounce
per yard reference, in which case you just need to look for good heavy-duty
canvas. |
| Standard clay tools (the packaged Kemper kit contains a wood rib,
stainless-steel scraper-rib, wood knife, needle tool, cutoff wire, small
sponge, and trimming tools) |
| Kemper S-10 flexible stainless steel serrated rib (no substitutes) |
| Kemper RB-4 or RB-6 wood rib. This rounded wood rib and the serrated
stainless rib are both very important in this workshop. |
| Metal fork |
| X-Acto knife - pencil-thin model with 1" tapered blade - no
substitutions. |
| Scissors |
| 18" or 24" ruler |
| Several pencils |
| Old ballpoint pen - cheap model like a Bic - excellent tool for tracing
template patterns on clay and for general incising tasks. |
| Compass (for drawing circles) |
| Wood rolling pin with bearing-mounted handles - not one-piece rolling pin -
for the best ones, Google "Vic Firth Maple Rolling Pin," and get
the one with the 12" or 15" barrel and bearing-mounted handles - they are listed as either 2.75"
diameter or 3" diameter, but either will work fine. |
| Wood dowels - one length each of 3/16", 1/4", 5/16",
3/8", 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" - available from any hardware
store or home improvement center - cut them all in half and bring both
halves. |
| Stanley "Surform Shaver" (short curved blade) and Stanley "Surform Pocket
Plane" (5" flat blade). Get both types - these are made to be
woodworking tools, but are excellent for shaving clay - they are available
from any hardware store or home improvement center or online from www.amazon.com
- enter "Stanley Surform" in the amazon search box. |
| Small, sturdy turntable or banding wheel. The 8" CSI turntable available from most
ceramics suppliers for around $15 is fine for our needs, but any sort of
good-quality turn table or banding wheel will work. Light-duty plastic kitchen
turntables will NOT work. |
| Spray bottle for vinegar water |
| Small bucket for water. |
| Small snap-lid container for slurry. |
| 6 manila folders (for templates). |
| A selection of bisque stamps and/or other textured objects or materials to
impress texture into the clay |
| 12 dry-cleaner bags or large plastic trash bags to cover your work |
| Small towel or other sturdy rag |
| Apron (optional) |
| If you are driving, bring a large clear plastic storage bin with lid,
approximately 12" by 24" by 12" deep, to serve as a personal damp box.
Transport your supplies in a separate box so that this plastic
storage bin will be available for its intended use. |
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Schedule for a Five-Day Workshop
This schedule serves as a general guide, but must remain flexible. Every
workshop group is different, and the schedule always evolves to suit the needs
and productivity of the participants.
First Day Morning - Introduction to the workshop, general information
about the studio, our work schedule, and safety considerations. Discussion/demo
of coil construction. Begin large coil-built form. Slide show "Hallmarks of
Handbuilding, Part One."
First Day Afternoon - Discussion/demo of
simple soft-slab construction including cups and boxes, demo of small pinch forms.
Discussion of problems with clay-memory, especially when working with slabs and
when combining different construction methods. Work on coil, slab, and pinch
forms.
Second Day Morning - Discussion/demo of lid systems for soft-slab
boxes, handles for soft-slab cups/mugs, making and using templates for soft-slab
vessels. Work on coil, pinch, soft-slab forms. Slide show "Hallmarks of
Handbuilding, Part Two."
Second Day Afternoon - Discussion/demo of bisque-stamps, making
pre-textured slabs, stiff-slab vessel and box-construction using templates.
Third Day Morning - Continued discussion/demo of stiff-slab
construction, lid systems, raised feet. Work on projects.
Third Day Afternoon - Demo of assembly of soft-slab and stiff-slab component parts. Work on projects.
Finish all work to be bisque-fired.
Third Day Afternoon or Evening - Slide lecture on Vince’s work.
Fourth Day Morning - Discussion/demo of making component parts for
multi-piece pouring vessels, including tube components and spouts. Work on
projects.
Fourth Day Afternoon - Discussion/demo of assembly of multi-piece
soft/stiff-slab pouring vessels. Work on projects, load bisque-firings.
Fifth Day Morning - Finish demo of assembly of multi-piece
soft/stiff-slab pouring vessels. Finish projects, unload bisque firings, clean up our mess.
Discuss work, outcomes, possibilities, look at slides, photos, and/or samples of
work brought by participants. We often have a potluck lunch on the final
day, and have our show-and-tell of participants work during lunch. The workshop generally concludes around midday
or early afternoon.
If you are interested in hosting one of my workshops,
please contact me for terms, pricing, and
scheduling.
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