Budget cuts caused some anxiety among University of Hawaii SEED (senior) auditors trying for admission into fall classes. I found room in Brad Taylor's Ceramics class; he was good enough offer me a stool.
After syllabus and other forms filled out and explained, we were instructed to make coil lines. Duh! Big deal, you comment. But, it takes practice, I'll alert you, to make coils of clay uniform in thickness as you make them longer.
There are different techniques, but I learned the best tip was: no matter how frustrated you are by your lack of skill, you'd better be Zen about hand rolling coils, because a light touch is necessary for uniformity. Students are to learn that coils are used to build and shore up pot walls, to fill in low spots on objects, and to make additions to existing objects.
Ass. 1 - Build a 6" coil vessel (some students don't know "vessel"). My pottery is crude; I don't try to disguise the coils, being as I've got a my hands full with scoring and adding slip between coils, blending on the inside to keep the rim from collapsing, all while retaining some kind of shape to the finished product. I feel remedial.
Ass. 2 - Build a 12" coil vessel. WHAT??! More torture.
In my mandated sketch book I've a swift pencil drawing that is nothing like the finished product. I go in on other days to try and finish the "vase," measuring frequently, "Only 7 inches????" Round start turned to a radiused-corner square, slightly flared at 6" (showing I'm moving beyond novice :) and tapering to about a 1 1/2" opening at the top.
I have gained more appreciation for this art---there's much more to working with clay than ever conceptualized. Det. Jill suggests I make ashtrays and maybe handprints.
Judge not nor sneer at these small beginnings! I am beginning to realize I must get beyond the wanting-to-smash-the-object-thru-various-stages temperament if I'm going to get beyond ashtrays and handprints.
Ass. 3 - Pinch 4 small bowls, a set of 'um. Nothing large—like green tea cups or something like that. My mind goes blank, while paying students have started great little cups of various shapes and thicknesses. They've figured that more clay on walls makes building faster. I'm too cheap to build thick walls; I don't want to haul in another 25# lump of clay.
I fashion crude ‘awa bowls, the kind one can't get zoned with, 'cause they will hold very little liquid. These will be ceremonial bowls, I envision, and shape them kinda' like coconut shell bowls, from which ‘awa is commonly consumed. I puka'd one of them trying to carve my initials in the bottom after the fact.
Pinching is another exasperating technique: when you build a 3-dimensional object, pushing/pulling one side throws another side off, so you're always making minor adjustments. Teacher Brad shows us how to pinch up, because that's the direction we want to go. One has to learn to control pinching to build in the desired direction.
Ass. 4 - Pinch a 6x6x6 cube. AAAHhhhggrrrrhhh!!!! Zen pottery setback. Teacher demonstrates how to punch out a base, beyond the 6" marks and fold up and in at the corners, and thereafter attach your punched out, folded over clay, using the pinch up and out method. There are tricks: utilize squares, pieces of wood, scrapers, etc. to keep this six sided box in square. Teacher Brad notices I am veering off square as the box goes up: I had sort of a trapezoid going. Dismay! Grrrrr! Lots of framing with flat pieces of wood, scraping and pinching in later, I have the semblance of a cube. Seems hours worked to produce this crude box. Instructor Brad assures students practice cuts construction time significantly.
