Thursday, December 13, 2007

Pulled Handles


There's supposed to be a short video here,but it isn't here yet.Bear with me.
[Much later] Oh yes. I think I worked it out.But will it run?
I have 30 handles to pull this morning [another 20 mugs are already handled and awaiting clean-up and decoration] and thought you might like to see how it's done [first year students at Tel Hai are just starting to learn handles...]. I know,I know,it's a bit suggestive,but get over it. The Leach-and-Cardew style is to hold the lump of clay overhead and pull with one hand,so,of course,I tried this for a few years without much success until I discovered the technique of sticking the lump to the table and using both hands.Much easier on the back and shoulders. I had good teachers in handle-making- apart from Leach and Cardew [from their books], Robin Welch pulled a mean handle,and I learned a lot from closely examining pots I bought from Mick Casson [whose jahrzeit was yesterday,by the way] David Frith,Gwyn Hanssen-Piggot,David Leach,Phil Rogers and others. I've been using stiffer clay for handles for years,but,having just read in Pioneer Pottery [with Sydney] that Cardew says otherwise,I am making this batch with a softer mix;I can't say there's much difference,they just take a bit longer to dry and don't give such a nice curve as stiffer clay [Cardew pulls handles off the pot itself- I attach them afterwards,only bending them when I've pulled the whole batch]. There's much to be said about handles,as any potter knows,but I've got another 20 to do,so this will have to suffice.

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