Pottery Making illustrated 1

2 Fall 2000
Features
The Japanese Technique of Hump Throwing.................9
by Mel Jacobson
Learn how to throw off the hump using a method
handed down for generations.

The Dynamic Art of Throwing Clay............................ 17

by Ivor Lewis
Insight to what happens to your clay as you center, cone, push, pull
and prod it on the wheel.

Preventing S-Cracks .................................................... 20

by Jeff Zamek
Once youve learned that clay has a mind of its own,
the next step is to convince it to behave.

Small Treasures.............................................................25
by Dannon Rhudy
Shaking things up a little.

How to Make a Clay Whistle........................................29

by Chris Henley
Just pucker your lips and blow! Heres another method
for making music from your clay.

The Stamp Story........................................................... 32

by Barbara Brown
Learn how to get started on collecting pottery stamps.

Its Extraterrestrial!.......................................................37
by Craig Hinshaw
Children explore space when modeling planet surfaces in clay.

Bottle Screen Sieve ......................................................44

by Don Adamaitis
Strain your glazes before they strain your spray gun.

Departments
ClayLinks by Barbara Coultry.........................................................................6
MuseumsTour pottery collections around the world.
Down to Business by Chris Campbell............................................................40
Are You Ready?Three easy steps to determine
if youre ready to put your work on the market.
The Budget Potter by Sylvia Shirley...............................................................42
Clay Slip ProcessingA scrap pail with a twist.
Off the Shelf by Sumi von Dassow................................................................. 46
Southwest Indian PotteryThe rich culture of Native Americans
revealed in this quality selection of books.

Cover: Tea bowl, approximately 5 inches in diameter, reduction fired to Cone 11,
by Mel Jacobson. See story on page 9.

Pottery Making illustrated 3

 Volume 3, Number 5
Editor: Bill Jones
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Pottery Making Illustrated (ISSN 1096-830X) is pub
lished 5 times a year in January, April, June, August
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The American Ceramic Society
All rights resewed
www.ceramics.org
4 Fall 2000
Pottery Making illustrated 5

by Barbara Coultry
The Ashmolean
www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at the
University of Oxford has two virtual rooms you might be par
ticularly interested in: PotWeb and Islamic Ceramics, both walk down is accessed via The Collection, where you should
found by clicking on The Collections. Deceptive with its
clean look, PotWeb is a compact explanation of pottery, its
styles and uses, its history, its makers and its place in archaeolo
gy. Dig down through the layers for a dust-free walk back
through the potting centuries.
Vatican Museums
www.christusrex.org/www1/vaticano/0-Musei.html
Painting, sculpture, architecture, pottery and more fill all the
available space at the Vaticans museum site. Nothing should be
overlooked, not even the small-print items way down at the
bottom. Like the museums of my childhood, there is something
to fascinate no matter where you look. This is less a place to see
ceramics than it is a repository for design and inspiration.
Huge, old and dusty, the natural history museum awed me
with its three-story ceilings and its echo of my little-girl
voice. This was the museum of my childhood, and I thought
it defined all museums. My dictionary describes a museum as
a building where objects of permanent value are kept and
displayed, but it leaves out the beloved description of huge,
old and dusty. It also fails to mention that a building in this
day and age can be electronic. Take a tour of these brave new
museums, without the dust and echo.
National Gallery of Art
www.nga.gov
This is a huge sitehuge in range, huge in picturesand it
has ceramics found in all kinds of places. The first hallway to
view the Decorative Art display. An alternative route is found
by clicking on pdf guides beneath the Selected Tours sec
tion. This is an Adobe Acrobat reading room where youll find
lengthier descriptions and histories of selected arts.
The Faenza International Ceramics Museum
www.racine.ravenna.it/micfaenza/e/index.htm
Faenza, a place long associated with ceramics and particular
ly with majolica, has an electronic version of its museum that is
well stocked with pictures and descriptions of historical pottery
from the Middles Ages through the 18th and 19th centuries.
Additionally, if youre interested, you can download the appli
cation form for the 52nd International Competition for
Contemporary Ceramic Art.
Fall 2OOO
Here are a few more museums to visit:
The Alexandria Archaeology
Museum: The Potters Art
ci.alexandria.va.uslohalarchaeologyl
ar-ex-potter.html
This site contains a fascinating little history of
our brethren potters living and working in
the 19th century in Alexandria, Virginia.
University of Michigan Museum of
Anthropology
www.umma.lsa.umich.edulumma.html
Try Ethnology and Asian for good exam
ples of early pottery.
Minnesota State University
Emuseum: Artifact Typology
www.anthro.mankato.msus.edularchaeolo-
gylartifactslindex.shtml
Here youll find a small picture tour of pot
tery from pre-Columbian times in Wisconsin
and Minnesota.
Esslingen Museum
my.bawue.del-wmwernerlesslinglenglishl
index.html
Excavations at the Carmelite friary is an
interesting piece about urban archaeology
that includes ceramics (which begins on the
fifth page).
Museum of Medieval and Encaustic
Tile
www.euro-archt-salvage.comlmsmpg.html
Presented by the Historic Tile Company, this
is an online display of tiles from the 13th
through the 19th centuries.
Tracing the Art of Pueblo Pottery
www.cmnh.orglresearchlculturall
pueblo-potteryltracing.html
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
gives an excellent overview of the history of
Southwestern pottery.
Michael C. Carlos Museum at
Emory University
www.emory.edulcarlos
Fascinating pieces from the past. Many
ceramics are found in the Permanent
Collections
Smithsonian American Art Museum
www.nmaa.si.edu
Go to Collections & Exhibitions, then click
on Browse the Collection.
The Art Institute of Chicago
www.artic.edulaiclindex.html
Collections sends you to a choice of various
cultures and their art, each complete with pic
tures and accompanying descriptions.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
www.metmuseum.orglcollectionslindex.asp
Great collection of digital images. Check out
the decorative art collection.

Barbara Coultry welcomes suggestions and com

ments from readers about Clay Links. Please send
your favorite sites and discoveries to her at
claylink@nycap.rr.cotn. While she cant respond
to each e-mail, she will check every link suggested.
There is a dust-free plethora of museums on the
Web. Go to On the Way to Clay for many more at
h ttp: / /home, nycap. rr. com /way2clay /.
Pottery Making illustrated 7
8 Fall 2000
 by Mel Jacobson

PHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR

One of the small mysteries
surrounding Japanese ceramics is the
method of throwing called hump
throwing. During my stay in
Kyoto, Japan, in the early seventies,
I worked for the Master Potter,
Kunio Uchida, where I was
instructed in his version of this
throwing technique. Throwing off
the hump is the most common sys
tem of throwing used in the potter
ies of Japan. I will try to explain
Uchidas technique in an illustrative
and descriptive way. Tea bowl, 5 inches in diameter, reduction fired to

Most Western potters think of Cone 11.

hump throwing as a speedy way to

make pots, but it is just the opposite. This system is very consciously
Hump throwing is a very special designed to make sets; it is slow,
ized way to do production ware, and
one of the most important aspects of disciplined and takes many
this method is that it is very slow, months to perfect this technique,
precise, and it takes two days to
make a pot ready for drying.
The reason a Japanese potter
would use this technique is to make
exact duplicates of a form. In gener
al, they make shapes that are
repeated over and over. Each pot off
the hump is identical to the one that
preceded it. In his pottery, Mr.
Uchida did not allow for any mis
takes in size tolerances. Each pot
was measured to exacting scale.
Perfection was the goal.
NOTE: The clay used for hump
throwing should be well aged, clean,
fine bodied and carefully wedged. Bowl, 8 inches in diameter, reduction fired to
Heavily textured or uneven clay bodies Cone 11.
are not well suited to this technique.
Pottery Making illustrated
Step 1
Begin with about 12 to 18 pounds of clay
in one lump. Place it on the wheel and
center it carefully, coning the clay up and
down to make sure that no air pockets
are present.
Step 4
After completing the general shape of
the pot, use a pre-designed wooden rib
that is exactly half the width of the pot
and insert it into the roughly-shaped
form. Place this rib with the left bottom
corner exactly in the center of the pot,
and the right side of the rib against the
wall of the pot.
10
Step 2
Open a small disc or pancake of clay
from the top of the hump. The size of this
piece of clay is critical, as each piece
made will have the same size disc as a
starting point. (You should have, of
course, a plan or schematic for the pots
you are going to be throwing. In Japan,
these plans were often drawn on graph
paper to exacting proportions.)
Step 5
Hold the rib in the left hand while press
ing the right-hand fingers against the out
side of the pot and pull the pot to its
height. Repeat this process several times
until the proper thickness of the wall is
complete and the height of the pot is
achieved. If the pot is thrown too tall, trim
and adjust the height with a very sharp
needle.
Step 3
Roughly shape the sidewalls of the pot at
this time.
Step 6
Check the size of the pot with a tool
known as a tombo (see box on p. 11).
Adjust the size of the pot to fit the three
points. You may need to cut a small piece
off the top of the pot to make the correct
height. Using a rib, adjust the span of the
pot to exactly fit the tombo. When all three
points come together, the pot is finished.
Finish the lip with a chamois and use a
sponge to smooth the sides.
Fall 2OOO
Step 7
Precision is needed to cut the pot from
the wheel, and a cut-off string (see box)
is used. Form a small groove at the base
of the pot with the index fingernail. Make
this groove fairly deep. Judge the depth
of the bottom of the pot and make the
groove for the string at a place that will
give the pot a 1/4-inch footring. It is imper
ative that you do not leave large amounts
of clay at the bottom of the pot, as it
takes a great deal of time to trim that clay
away, and those are precious
minutes when making perhaps 40 pots
an hour.
Step 8
Place the cut-off tool with your left hand
against the groove, and fling the string
around the pot with the right fingers as
you pull the tool horizontally away from
the pot. The string slices the pot from the
hump.
following day and trim them with an exact
Step 9
After you have cut the pot from the hump,
pluck it off the spinning wheel with the
fingers and place it on a flat board. Start
the next pot by drawing out a new disc or
pancake, and repeat the entire process.
When the pots are leather hard, place
them upside down on a clay chuck the
measured footring. The process of mak
ing footrings takes several minutes
longer than the throwing process.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

To measure the inside of the pot, the Japanese use a T- For a cut-off tool, a string connected to a wooden
shaped tool called a tombo that looks like a dragonfly. It handle is needed. I have found that old time 18-pound
is a three-point measuring stick that sizes the span and -test fish line (braided) works the best.
the depth of the pot at one time.

Pottery Making illustrated ll

 A Japanese potter will sit at his wheel for
many hours each day, six days a week-and
repeat forms over and over. The Japanese
thrower is hired to only throw pots and no
other task in the studio is usually undertak
en The master potter does all the design wor
and almost never throws the pots designed.
Glazing is done by a full-time glaze techm-
S under the car^l eye of the master potter
I was fortunate to have the opportum-
very

ty to live and work in a Japanese pottery for Mr. Kunio Uchida, 1972.
a year. I worked long hours, became very dis
ciplined in my work habits, and develope
very tight set of muscle memory systems that
I still have 28 years later.

Mei (right) and other workers (below).

Pots drying in Mr. Uchidas outdoor courtyard

J^ri 'Tah0ri'thrower> driver; Mr Naaata

chief thrower; Mr. Tanabi, glaze technician.

12 Fall 2000
 Tea bowl, 5 inches in diameter, reduction fired to
Cone 11.

Once you throw the first six to Shino teapot, 9 inches in height, reduction fired to

ten pots, it becomes almost second

Cone 10.

nature to throw the rest.

Tea bowl, 5 inches in diameter, reduction fired to

Cone 11.
Tea bowl, 5 inches in diameter, reduction fired to
Cone 11.

Mel Jacobson is a Minnesota potter and teacher. He

is currently the moderator of Clayart, an online dis
cussion group for potters. Visit MeVs website at
http://www.pclink.com/melpots.
Pottery Making illustrated 13
16 Fall 2000
T he D ynamic A rt
For this investigation, dark clay was
strategically inserted in balls of white clay.
Here the dark contrasting clay indicates
that the circumference of the ball moves
slower than the center. The witness
becomes progressively more S shaped.
Contrasting clay sandwiched between
white clay. Coning causes clay from below
to be extruded upward in the center and
downward on the outside, early evidence
of radial shearing.
Witness clay at the base of the pot. Repeated
coning motions cause shearing and fragmentation
of the structure; the clay is mixing and blending.
Pottery Making illustrated
of T hrowing C lay
Throwing clay is a fluid medium, governed by the laws of
hydraulics and electrostatic cohesion. Potters who have thrown
marbled clay are familiar with the apparent random and tur
bulent patterns revealed by faceting or turning the
surface of a pot. I have exploited this phenomenon to reveal
movements in the clay and to determine some flow patterns at
each stage of the throwing process.
For this investigation, I prepared specimens where
strands of dark clay were inserted in strategic places in
balls of white clay. Several specimens were made for
each stage of the process. The cones, as well as the short
and tall cylinders that resulted, were then sectioned to
reveal contrasting patterns against a white background
(see photos). Visual information from early trials
indicated that there was a need to inject contrasting
clay into the clay at various stages so that it would be
possible to discriminate between structures that formed
during centering, coning and raising the cylinder.
Observations were limited to the first three phases of
the throwing process: centering and coning, opening
and forming the inner base diameter, and raising the
wall of the preliminary cylinder and consolidating the
base. I observed that the clay mass moved in three
directions as it was thrown in three directions: radially
or outward, due to the centrifugal forces of rotation
and outward pressure of the inner hand; vertically or
upward in response to the raising of the hands on the
inner and outer surfaces of the wall; and circumferen-
tially with the rotation of the wheel head. Sectioning
of the specimens was planned to reveal information
about each of these movements within the clay.
The results obtained from this investigation have
been summarized as diagrams with explanatory texts.
These indicate and explain the dynamics of the forces
active during throwing and show the fluid nature of
clay when hands deform it. The flow lines illustrated
are generalized composites based on results from sever
al specimens. A test used to validate the main concept
was to throw balls of clay made from half red, half
white clays. The coning process was repeated to the
extent that the red clay that had started at the bottom
came to the top through the axis and moved down the
outside of the cone.
The results illustrated are based on my throwing
technique, but you may wish to carry out your own
investigations and could possibly arrive at differing
conclusions. The concepts I put forward to explain
observed clay behavior have given me greater under
standing of the dynamics of throwing clay, and have
provided me with knowledge that I can use to refme
and improve my technique.
continued
17
 T hrowing C lay
Step 1 - Attaching
The first action is to secure the clay to
the wheel head. It can either be thrown
on forcefully and slapped as the wheel
turns slowly, or it can be lubricated and
subjected to pressure as it rotates at high
speed. Broken arrows indicate thrust of
the hands onto the clay, line arrows
the direction the clay flows, and the
flighted arrows are the resultant move
ment of the clay.
Step 3 - Coning
Pressure is applied radially inward at the
base with one or both hands. The clay
distorts into one or two lobes that are lift
ed upward. Clay in the outer regions is
retarded. Torsional forces twist the clay.
As the hands move upward, tension
extends the height and reduces the
diameter of the cone.
An alternative method is to cradle the
clay at the wheel head with the left hand
and force the right hand downward and
slightly off center front the top of the
mound. This results in the cone being
extruded upward and prevents tensional
fractures in short clays. Friction from the
hands continues to increase internal
twisting.
18
Step 2 - Centering
Pressure is applied horizontally as the
wheel spins. Movement upward, toward
the center of rotation, is restricted by the
right hand. The intention is to smooth away
undulations in the original shape and cre
ate a hemisphere that rotates without buf
feting the hands. The interior arrows show
the movement of clay inward and upward,
while the broken arrows show the direction
of the exerted pressure.
Note: If the clay is not responsive, a void
may open between the wheel head and
the clay. This is indicated by the notch.
Step 4 - Consolidation
The height of the cone is reduced when
pressure is applied to the apex with one
hand while bracing the other hand
against the rotating clay. Patterns show
that the clay moves out and down.
Containment at the base causes clay to
circulate inward. Repeated coning and
consolidation gives a laminated flow
structure that approximates a toroidal
(donut) form in the finished mound
of clay.
Fall 2OOO
 T hrowing C lay

Step 5 - Centered Clay

Markers show centered clay has an approximate toroidal (doughnut) spiral structure
that is caused during coning. Clay is cycled upward in the center, outward and down,
and backward against the rotation of the wheel.

Step 6 - Creating a Cavity Step 7 - Raising a Cylinder

When creating a cavity, the fingers are
forced downward (A), and the rotating
clay responds by moving outward. This
stretches the annular laminated struc
ture, spreading the layered floes. When
the thickness of the base is sensed, the
fingers are moved radially outward to
make a flat open cavity. This thins the
base of the cylinder wall. It also stretches
and consolidates the laminated structure.
If pressure is applied to the base (B) as
a precaution against base cracks, it is
done by moving the fingers radially
inward from the base of the wall to the
center. Fingers spiral inward, moving
clay to the axis. Resistance from the inte
rior mass causes clay to extrude back
and beneath, then outward. This consoli
dates the clay and eliminates voids.
Fingertips squeeze the clay to obtain an
appropriate wall thickness. This dimen
sion is kept constant as the hands are
lifted. The effect is to stretch and raise
the clay. The fingers also exert a drawing
force on the rotating clay, continuing
plastic deformation of the spiral floe
structure. Torsional forces continue to
cause a retrograde motion relative to the
wheel through clay being retarded by the
hands. This increases and refines the
spiral structure. Note: Excessive pres
sure used when collaring to reduce the
base diameter may cause an annular
cavity to form, indicated by the notches.

Ivor Lewis is a retired teacher of arts, crafts and sci

ences. He has a studio at his home in Redhill,
South Australia, and is a frequent contributor to
PMI. Contact Mr. Lewis via e-mail at See related article on page 20,
iandol@tell.net.au or by snail mail at Box 70, Preventing S-Cracks by Jeff Zamek.
CMA Redhill, South Australia 5521.

Pottery Making illustrated 19

 P reventing S-C racks
A typical S-crack usually runs along the
inside or outside bottom of wide-based,
wheel-thrown forms. Shown above is the
bottom outside of a thrown, trimmed and
bisque-fired pot.
If the clay platelets are not properly aligned, there
is a greater likelihood for S-cracks to form.
Incorrect alignment may result from such factors as
a potters centering technique or even the specific
clay body formula.
The correction for S-cracks is to align the clay
platelets in the base of the pot with the direction of
the spinning wheel. When this occurs, the base
and walls of the pot will have an equalized shrink
age rate.
by Jeff Zamek
The one constant in working with clay is that at some point
something will crack. Wheel-thrown objects are subject to
various types of cracks either before, during or after they are
bisqued or glaze fired. Frequently; the type of crack is identi
fied by the shape it takes when the clay is either bone dry;
bisqued or glaze fired. The crack might be caused by factors
other than improper firing of the kiln.
Cracks that have rounded borders where the fired
glaze surface rolls back from the edge are caused either
in the drying, forming or bisque firing stages before the
glaze is applied to the pot. Cracks that have a sharp
hairline edge to the fired glazed surface are cooling
cracks occurring after the liquid glaze has set or hard
ened in the kiln. The specific cause of each individual
crack, round or sharp edged, can be determined by sev
eral factors, such as clay body/glaze combinations, clay
body/glaze formulas, forming techniques, drying
cycles, and firing cycles. Cracks can take the shape ofY-
cracks, O-cracks, half-moon C-cracks, I-cracks, spiral
cracks, and the common S-crack. S-cracks can also
appear as shallow S-cracks running across inside or out
side base of thrown forms, and they can be observed in
the bone-dry, bisque, or glazed-fired stages. On pottery
surfaces that are glazed, S-cracks usually appear with a
rounded edge where the glaze rolls back from the
crack. This is an indication that the crack occurred in
the forming stage or before any glaze was applied to the
clay.
While S-cracks can be a chronically frustrating prob
lem, luckily, they can be easily prevented by correctly
executing the technique of bringing the clay up into a
cone before the centering operation takes place. In fact,
the diagnosis and cure for S-cracks are so clear cut it
can be described over the phone to a troubled potter.
Not fully understanding the cause of S-cracking leads
to marginally successful methods of trying to solve one
of the most common throwing defects. While other
methods of preventing S-cracks do work sometimes,
they do not fully address the central cause of the prob
lem, namely unequal dry shrinkage rates between the
base or floor of the pot and the walls of the pot.
See related article on page 16,
The Dynamic Art ofThrowing Clay by Ivor Lewis.
Fall 2OOO
 P r e v e n t i n g S-C r a c k s
5 Steps to
Prevention
S-cracks can be averted by the
correct precentering technique,
which involves pulling the clay up
into a cone shape and then push
ing it down before opening stage
takes place in the throwing oper
ation. The technique is some
times called coning.
Note: Directions apply to pot Step 1
ters throwing counterclockwise. Center the clay. Use equal pressure with
Step 3
Repeat the coning process several
times. Always start from the base. The
form should look more like a cylinder
than a pyramid. When it is complete, it
should have a slightly wider base.
Pottery Making illustrated
the right palm pushing down and the
edge of the small finger on the left hand
resting lightly on the bat. Make sure the
left hand is positioned straight up at a
right angle to the bat before pushing in
toward the center. When used with the
correct amount of water, the equal pres
sure down with the right palm and the
pressure of the left hand pushing in
toward the center of the bat will result in
a centered piece of clay.
Step 4
Push the cone down. With the left hand
pushing toward the center and the upper
palm of the right hand exerting slightly
more pressure in a downward direction,
press the cone shape into itself. If the
form takes on a mushroom shape as it
is pressed downward, increase the pres
sure with the left hand pushing toward
the center as the wheel spins.
Step 2
Pull up the cone. Wet the centered clay
and grasp it with both hands. As the
wheel is turning, apply equal pressure
inward with both hands to bring the clay
up into a cone-shaped form. As your
hands move up the form, apply
increased pressure equally with the
index fingers and thumbs of both hands.
Step 5
The centered shape. The height and
width of the centered form helps deter
mine the proportion of the object to be
thrown. Horizontal forms, such as plates,
start with a wider base than narrow-
based forms such as cups.
Jeff Zamek is a ceramics consultant residing in
Southampton, Massachusetts, and is the author of
What Every Potter Should Know. Contact Mr.
Zamek by e-mail at fixpots@aol.com
 Why do corrections for the S-crack problem work for
some potters, while being ineffective or inconsistent for
others? Below are some of the methods used to prevent
S-cracks. Some corrections do in fact work at times, but
When bringing the clay when they succeed, they do so because in some way
up into a cone shape, be they have aligned the clay platelets in the base of the pot
sure to keep the base of with the clay platelets in the walls of the pot, allowing
the cone narrow (A). A
both to shrink at a compatible rate. The most effective
wide base (B) will defeat
way to solve the S-crack problem is to pull the clay up
the purpose of the pre
ventive procedure that into a cone before the centering operation takes place.
calls for a narrow base.
If you create a recessed The Myths of S-cracks
or concave area on the
top of the cone, the clay Forcefully throwing the clay on the bat
platelets will not align Whether the moist clay is thrown, dropped or placed on the
correctly (C). When the bat is unrelated to the formation of S-cracks.
cone is pushed down and
the clay finally centered, Changing the clay body
the beginning of an S- Some potters report an improvement when they change clay
crack may form (D). body formulas. While a different clay body might temporar
ily or sometimes permanently resolve the problem, it doesnt
address the actual cause of the defect.
Cutting the pot from the bat after throwing
After the pot is thrown on the wheel, a cut-off wire is passed
between the bottom of the pot and the bat. The assumption
being it will relieve the pressure on the base of the pot as it
dries on the bat.
Using a different type of bat
Throwing bats fall into two categoriesnonabsorbent, such
as plastic, or absorbent bats made from plaster, wood, parti
cle board, etc. The absorbency characteristics of the bat do not
promote or hinder the formation of S-cracks in the pot.
Ribbing the inside or outside bottom of the
pot when leather-hard
Another Ucureyyfor S-cracks is to rib the inside bottom of the
pot before it is removed from the wheel. A similar technique
involves running the rib on the outside bottom of the leather
hard pot once it has been taken off the wheel. While press
ing a rib over the surface of a pot does align the clay platelets
in a circular direction (which is beneficial) it does not do the
same for platelets below the surface layer of clay.
Smoothing the bottom of clay before throw
ing it on the bat
During the wedging operation, creases or lines can form in
the bottom part of the clay that contacts the bat. S-cracks can
form whether the bottom of the clay is smooth or creased.
Using harder or softer clay for throwing
The moisture content of the clay is irrelevant to the forma
tion of S-cracks.
Slow drying pots to prevent cracking
Slow drying of the completed pot will not prevent the devel
opment of S-cracks. Slow drying will only delay the time
until the cracks are discovered. As a general rule, once cracks
are formed, they stay the same or get worse as the clay dries
and is eventually fired.
22 Fall 2000
Pottery Making illustrated 23
24 Fall 2000
 by Dannon Rhudy
Making small and relatively inexpensive items adds a bit
of spice to a potters repertoire. Items, such as mugs, spoon
rests and trivets, are among the most common, but if youre
looking for additional quick and easy ideas, try this simple
one-piece salt (or pepper or spice) shaker. These shakers are Shaker, porcelain with turquoise matt
popular with buyers, intriguing for students and ideal for glaze with titanium crystals, fired to Cone
10 reduction.
class assignments.
Thrown in one piece, these shakers require only wheel
trimming and are very quick once the idea has been practiced
a couple of times, and theyre suitable for any throwing clay
body and temperature range from low fire to Cone 10. These
shakers can be made in any useful size, and the shapes can
be altered after throwing if desired. An added bonus is that
salt does not tend to clump in these little gems, probably due
to the slight porosity of the unglazed interiors.

Copper Green Set, porcelain, fired to

Cone 10 reduction.

Shaker, stoneware with Shino glaze, Red set, porcelain with copper red glaze, Shaker, porcelain with Shino glaze, wood
fired to Cone 10 reduction. fired to Cone 10 reduction. fired to Cone 10.

Pottery Making illustrated 25

Step 1
Center as usual, then flatten the clay to a
disk slightly larger than the diameter of
the desired finished piece.
Tip: For first efforts, start with about
lb of wedged clay. This amount makes
a fair-sized salt shaker, but learning the
technique is easier.
Step 2 Step 3
Open the center all the way to the wheel Press your finger into the spinning clay
head or bat. The center hole should and split the ring. Keep about of the
be about the size of a quarter or a bit clay to the outside and V* on the inside.
smaller. Raise the inside ring of clay, and make a
closed inner form. The closed form
should be about 1 inches high. If there
is any extra clay, trim it off.

Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

Use a needle tool or bamboo skewer and Once the inner form is finished, make Once the wall is up, collar it by gently
open a small hole (about 1/s inch diame sure the bottom of the well between the pulling or pushing it to the center until the
ter) in the center of the closed form. Keep two walls is approximately Va inch thick form is closed well above the inner form,
the center well of the closed form dry and (check this with a needle tool if youre leaving a space of about to 1 inch
the well between the two walls dry. See uncertain). Then use the outer ring of between the top of the inner form and the
cutaway detail below. clay to raise the outside wall of the piece. inside of the outer form.
It should be at least twice as high as the Note: This is similar to making a double-
inner wall. Its useful when raising this walled bowl, but on a very small scale.
wall to pull slightly toward the center. See
cutaway detail below.

HOW TO FILL SHAKER

To fill the bottomless shaker,

turn it upside down, pour the
salt (or whatever) into the little
well, shake slightly to encour
age the salt to fall through the
center hole like an hourglass.
Cutaway Detail - Step 4 Turn the shaker right-side up
and the salt falls into the space
between the walls where it
remains dry and ready to use.
Cutaway Detail - Step 5 Hold the shaker upright over
your food, and shake!

26 Fall 2OOO
Step 7
If desired, leave enough clay at the clo
sure to make a small knob for lifting.
Step 8
Once the outer form is closed, you can
easily manipulate the knob to whatever
shape you prefer, because the trapped
air will prevent the collapse of the piece.
Tip: If you do make a knob, be sure to
undercut it sufficiently to make it easy to
lift the shaker when its glazed and in use.

Step 9 Cutaway Detail - Step 9

Trim the bottom edge and use a wire cut
off tool to cut the piece free from the
wheel-head or bat. The piece is now
ready for whatever decorative marks, Dannon Rhudy maintains a studio and teaches
lines, slips, facets, flutes, gouges, pinch ceramics and drawing at Paris Junior College in
es, etc., you wish to have. See cutaway Paris, Texas. You can send comments by e-mail to
detail to the right. her at drhudy@linfield.edu.

Finishing Touches
No further trimming is needed, you can put a drop of wax over the hole,
except perhaps a light sanding of the or put a piece of bamboo skewer in the
bottom when the piece is dry. Some hole while youre glazing. The inside of
people like to put a small needle hole inthe form does not need to be glazed.
the side of the outer form to release Clean the foot as you usually would for
trapped air while the piece is drying. If your glazes and fire.
you do this, remember to smooth a bit These little shakers can be made in
of clay over the hole once the piece is matched sets, but there is no real reason
leather hard or the shaker may leak. to do so. If each piece is merely similar,
Bisque fire as usual. If you dip-glaze or glazed similarly, they make clever sets.
these shakers, it is easiest to turn them They can be incised with S or Salt,
upside down, grasp with tongs and dip P or Pepper, or anything one might
into the glaze. Trapped air will prevent wish. These designations can also be
glaze from filling up the inside of the made with a brush and oxides, slips or
shaker or the hole.To be on the safe side,whatever you choose.
Pottery Making illustrated 27
28 Fall 2000
 by Chris Henley
Many potters find it difficult to make a lump of
clay emit a sound more pleasing than the splat that
they get from throwing it against the wall. Satisfying
as that can be, it doesnt offer quite the same range of the process
tones you can get from a clay wind instrument. Here
is a guide to help you take a mute wad of clay and
turn it into your very own clay whistle. Once you get
the hang of it, whistle making will be like riding a
bicycle, and with imagination and a bit of experi
menting, this technique can open a lot of possibilities
in the whistle world.

A clay whistle can take any shape or form
the only requirement is that it be hollow.
Step 1
Start with a ball of wedged clay about two
inches in diameter. Use your favorite throw-
inglhandbuilding body, but any reasonably
plastic clay will do.
Tip: Avoid heavily grogged clays or clays with
extremely fine particles, because they will pre
sent problems when forming the whistle
wedge and air slot.

Detail of whistle aperture.

Step 2

Chris Henley has been a part-time potter for 33 years. Form a pinch pot. The 2-inch ball of clay is just
He lives and maintains a small studio in Encinitas, a starting point. The hollow form you make is
California. He developed this whistle-making technique the whistle chamber, and its size determines
in the early 1970s while living in Raquira, a small pot the tonethe smaller the chamber, the higher
tery village in the Colombian Andes. Please send your the tone. Keep the wall thickness as uniform
comments and questions to him at dch999@hominid.net, as possible.
or visit his website at wunv.hominid.net/chris.htm where
you can see a modified version of this sequence. An
interesting alternative method with tuning instructions can
be found at www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/
2525/whistles /whistle, html

Pottery Making illustrated 29

Step 3
Fold the edges together. Be careful to fold
just the edges, since you want to make a
hollow form with as much interior volume
as possible. This makes the chamber that
will become the whistle body. You now
should be holding something that resem
bles a three-cornered pillow.
Step 6A
Shape the whistle. If you plan to make a
whistle resembling something more than
a lump of clay, this is the time; however,
keep your first whistle simple. Use your
fingers to push, pinch, pull or whatever. I
like to use a small paddle to move the
clay into the general form of my design.
Step 7
Form the whistle wedge. About inch
from the tip, pierce the sealed form at
about a 45 angle with a %-inch dowel
(the blunt end of the needle tool handle
works well). Pull the dowel out at the
exact same angle you pushed it in to
make a clean, sharp wedge to split the
air. Check to see that the hole you just
made is not plugged. After forming the
wedge, dont mess with it!
30
Step 4 Step 5
Seal the seam you just created. I pinch Smooth the seam. Use your fingers or
the edges, then use a needle tool or a the modeling stick. The next step com
modeling stick to score, or sew, the pletely obliterates the seam.
seam. The seam must be airtight.
Step 6B Step 6C
Shaping can be pretty aggressive. As The paddle will help you do this. Extra
part of this shaping, youll need to start clay can be added if needed. This is also
forming a tip or stem that will become the the time to add attachments.
site for creating the whistle parts.
Step 8 Step 9
Form the tip. Slightly push the clay in and Make the initial air slot guide hole. Push
up in front of the hole you just made. This a needle tool through the thick ridge on
makes the form a bit thicker here and the tip until it just touches the far edge of
facilitates forming the air slot. the hole. It is crucial to make the air slot
parallel to the thin edge of the wedge. No
wiggling up and down!
Fall 2OOO
Step 10
Working at eye level, make 3 or 4 more
holes parallel to the first guide hole. It is
important that the floor of the air slot be
even with the thin edge of the wedge
(edge of hole across from the air slot). If
you do not keep the tool parallel to the
top surface of the whistle body as you
pierce the ridge, you wont get a peep!
Also, this air passage has to be a slot,
not a round hole.
Step 11
Complete the slot. Gently insert the nee
dle tool in one of the guide holes, and
move it side to side, not up and down like
a seesaw. Enlarging the hole by moving
side to side clears out the little bits of clay
separating the guide holes. This forms
the slot.
Step 12
The ridge is like a little bridge that forms
the roof of the air slot. This slot directs
the air across the wedge and creates
the dynamics that produce the sound.
Be sure the slot is clean and clear of
clay debris.

altering the sound

Once you get the whistle to produce a tone, you can
alter it to make more. Use the needle tool to pierce the
body in a location convenient to finger placement. First,
just make the hole the diameter of the needle. This
should cause a change in sound. Test this by blowing
the whistle and moving your finger on and off the hole.
Depending on the size of the chamber inside the body,
the note will go up or down. Adding more holes adds
more tones. Be aware that eventually you will add one
too many holes and lose the sound altogether.

Step 13
Try out the whistle by carefully putting your lips on the end of
the slot and blowing. Do not hang your lip over the slot, and be
very gentle because the clay is still moist and can easily be dis
torted. Small chambers tend to produce a high tone and may
require a good blow to get the sound. Larger chambers tend to
produce a lower tone and may sound only with a soft, gentle
steady breath. If the whistle doesnt work now, it wont miracu
lously start after its fired. Now that you have it whistling, and
maybe even producing more than one tone, put it down and
leave it alone until it dries.
troubleshooting
If you get no sound on the initial try, do the following:
1. Check lip placement. Are you blocking the air
passage?
2. Check alignment. Is the air slot distorted, or the
wedge out of alignment?
3. The position of the slot may be directing the air
above or below the wedge. Air slot was not formed
so that the wedge splits the air. The floor of this slot
should be nearly even with the thin edge of the
wedge. Plug the wedge hole, smooth over the ridge
and go to step 7.
4. Air slot is not a slot. Typically, beginners tend to
make this air passage a round hole instead of a slot.
5. Debris is clogging the air slot. Check both sides. Be
cautious in clearing this and dont distort by enlarg
ing it or changing its angle relative to the wedge.
6. Secondary tone hole is too large. Plug it up and try
again.
7. If none of the above solutions works, start over. Its
only clay!

Pottery Making illustrated 31

Barbara Broum is a studio ceramic artist residing in
Sunnyvale, California. You can send comments to
her at bbrown@webtv.net

Pottery Making illustrated 33

34 Fall 2000
Pottery Making illustrated 35
Each extraterrestial sculpture is as unique as
the student who made it and, collectively, the
pieces look out of this world.
Terra cotta was used for the Martian surface.
Figure 1
Making craters.
Craig Hinshaw is an elementary art specialist in the
Adding details.
Lamphere School District in Madison Heights, Michigan.
E-mail comments to Craig at craighinshaw@hotmail.com.
Pottery Making illustrated
by Craig Hinshaw
When students studied space exploration, we did a
project to help reinforce the lessons learned in the classroom.
We used inexpensive plastic bowls as drape molds to make
our extraterrestrial surfaces, and we made press molds for the
astronauts and equipment on page 38.
The Project: In Three Easy Parts
Part 1
Before class, I rolled out 8-inch circles of clay,
approximately -inch thick, for each student. Plastic
wrap was placed over the inverted plastic bowl to keep
the clay from sticking to the plastic bowl. The clay disk
was pressed and paddled over the plastic bowl. Craters
were made by pressing a toilet paper tube into the clay,
creating a circle, then pinching and
shaping more clay around the imprinted circle (see
figure 1). Rocks were made by rolling small balls and
flattening them on the desk surface.
Part 2
Astronauts were made by pressing clay
into plaster press molds of small plastic
replicas of astronauts. I had purchased the
replicas at a teachers store and made one-
part plaster molds ahead of time (see
Making a Press Mold on page 38).The stu
dents easily learned how to press soft clay
into the mold, pull it out and use a needle
tool to trim away excess clay.
Part 3
The students referred to pictures or plastic
replicas when making landing modules and
lunar rovers. Toothpicks were used for mod
Figure 2 eling detailed work. Water was brushed onto
the astronauts feet and equipment to secure
them to the planets surface (see figure 2).
37
 Finishing the Project
At the end of the hour, the clay
was lifted off the plastic bowl, plas
tic wrap pulled away and initials
scratched in the base. After bisque
firing, low-fire underglazes were
brushed on. Color pictures and the
plastic replicas were helpful as stu
dents strove for accuracy in glazing.
The detail, accuracy and charm of
each small sculpture is amazing, con
sidering they were made by elemen
tary students. Presenting the project
in specific steps made a complex- Step 1 Step 2
looking project successful. A plastic toy astronaut is embedded A clay mold box is formed. Liquid soap is
halfway into soft clay. Modeling tools are brushed over the astronaut, acting as a
used to build clay around the astronaut, release agent from the plaster.
Making a Press Mold ensuring there are no undercuts.

Using soft clay, a plastic toy astro

naut and modeling tools, a clay
mold box is formed. Liquid soap
prevents the pottery plaster from
sticking to the mold. Once the plas
ter is hardened, the astronaut is
pried out of the plaster. After about
24 hours, the dried mold is ready
for soft clay to be pressed into it to
create the extraterrestrial sculpture
(see steps 1-6 to the right).

Step 3 Step 4
Pottery plaster is mixed and poured over When the plaster has hardened (approx
the astronaut. imately 2 hours), the clay is pulled
away and the astronaut is pried out of the
plaster.

Step 5 Step 6
After the mold has dried, soft clay is Using a needle tool, excess clay is
pressed into it. Clay does not stick to trimmed away from the astronaut.
plaster and is easily pulled out.

38 Fall 2OOO
Pottery Making illustrated 39
 The Basics of Selling Your Work
by Chris Campbell
Are your pots ready to sell? various places. While you might be
If youve been practicing your pot embarrassed at the novice skills you
tery for a few years, you probably possessed at the time, you should
have a selection of ware filling your never be ashamed of the quality. Your
shelves. The urge to sell some pots customers will seldom admit to buy
might be lurking in the back of your ing seconds and that pot will stand as
mind, but you dont know where or a permanent example of your skills.
how. Lets start by honestly assessing Put on your safety goggles, grab a
your work to date. hammer and get to work.
Step 1. Find the Good There is no permanent warning tag
to attach to your pottery. Its up to
Select only your very best pots and you to sell pots that are safe for their
examine them carefully to determine intended purpose. Are your handles
if your ware is ready for sale. Setting firmly attached? Do your functional
aside all aesthetic considerations of vessels hold water? Are all surfaces
design, what are the desirable techni that touch food well glazed? Are
cal aspects of saleable pots? there any visible cracks? Most defects
They should have a good glaze fit in pots show up when they are dry
with no crazing, crawling or pitting. ing. There is no amount of glazing or
They should be glazed with food- firing that is going to fix a dud, so
safe glazes that are fired to the rec recycle the clay.
ommended temperature. Step 3. Check Out the
Lips and bases should be smooth so Competition
they wont scratch, and they should
also be free of dirt-catching creases. Get out to craft shows, art fairs and
Use your work for its intended exhibitions in your area to measure
purpose. Put it in the oven, the your work against the local standards.
microwave, the freezer and the dish Where do you fit in? Your work will
washer, then test it again for crazing not sell in all venues, so try to get a
or discoloration. How easy was it to feel for where you might be comfort
use? Was it too heavy or too light? able trying your first sales.
Was it awkward to handle? In the next issue, Ill give some
Step 2. Delete the Awful pointers on how you can get started
with sales.
Now that you have your good pots Pots for sale must be safe to use,
together in one place, go back and free of defects and appeal to the buy
honestly take a look at the others. ing public.
How many of these were bad before
the bisque firing? You could have
recycled the clay then and tried
PHOTO: JEFF ZAMEK

again. How many were flawed after

the first firing? They should have
been discarded at that point or used
for glaze testing. Ask yourself if they
are the pots you want out in the
world with your name attached to
them. Can you ever get a reputation
as a good potter with these pots?
Never sell or even give away your
really gross mistakes. Its not worth
the few dollars you might make. In inChrisRaleigh,
Campbell is a full-time studio potter residing
the future, youll meet your work in her at CCPottery@aol.com.
North Carolina. E-mail comments to

40 Fall 2000
Pottery Making illustrated 41
42 Fall 2000
Pottery Making illustrated 43
 By Don Adamaitis

I often use a siphon-type spray gun

to apply glaze to my pottery. The main
problem with using spray guns is that
they spit or clog easily when large
suspended particles are introduced or
formed in the glaze. If you want to apply
an even coat of glaze (and not lose
your patience), you must filter your
glaze as you fill the bottle of the spray
unit. To accomplish this simple opera
tion, you need to use a sieve to pour
the glaze through and into the spray-
gun jar. The main reason to use a small
hand sieve is to sieve small amounts of
glaze into a spray jar to prevent spitting.
I have found that a coarse screen equal
to about 40 mesh works fine for the
removal of the larger particulate mater
ial from my glaze and allows a smooth
flow through the spray gun that Im
presently using. While small sieves are
available through catalogs and supply
stores, I developed a couple of meth
ods for making inexpensive ones.
MATERIALS
Plastic (PVC) pipe reducer, 3-in. to 2-in.
Stainless-steel screen fabric
Metal cutting shears
Small tube of construction adhesive
Small section of 2-in. PVC pipe
2-in. PVC pipe cap
There are two options open for constructing ajar sievethe
first is to place the screen fabric in the large opening, using
existing bracing construction (the white pipe reducer). The
second is to place the screen fabric in the smaller opening and
brace it with a small piece of thin-walled 2-inch pipe (the black
pipe reducer). Both types of construction work well.
You also have several options of stainless-steel screen materi
al. You can use stock flat-screen fabric, a piece of screen from a
sieve used in cooking, or a stainless-steel skimmer ladle that can
be found in most Oriental specialty food stores.
Don Adamiatis has been an active potter since 1962.
He has a degree in the physical sciences, and , since retir
ing in 1987, has devoted his attention to glaze chem
istry and the physics of kiln firing and construction.

METHOD ONE

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Purchase the plastic pipe reducer and
take it with you to find a stainless-steel
skimmer ladle that will fit inside the larg
er opening. Skimmer ladles come in var
ious diameters. You are looking for one
that will fit snuggly inside the larger
opening of the pipe reducer.
Clip off the wire ladle handle, leaving
about 1/4-inch stubs extending from the
rim. With a pair of pliers, bend these
stubs over to secure them to the sieve
rim.
Take your glue tube and cut the end of
the applicator off so that you have a very
small opening. Apply an even bead of
glue around the edge of the ladle
screens rim. Place the ladle screen
inside the plastic pipe reducer and seat it
firmly. Let the glue dry thoroughly before
using.

44 Fall 2OOO
 METHOD TWO

Step 1
Cut a 11/4-inch piece of 2-inch, thin-
walled plastic pipe. Place the pipe on a
piece of screen fabric and trace the out
side with a felt-tipped marker. Cut along
the inside of the scribed circle of the
screen fabric.
Step 2
Place a very thin layer of glue around the
edge of the screen circle and carefully
place it inside and against the ridge of
the 2-inch reducer.

Step 3
Squeeze a thin layer of glue around the
inside wall surface of the 2-inch end of
the plastic pipe reducer, just above the
screen area.
Step 4
Take the VA inch length of 2-inch thin-
walled plastic pipe and force it into the
reduced end of the pipe reducer.

Step 5 Step 6
Tap the pipe home with a rubber mallet to The optional 2-inch pipe cap is used
make a solid fit. as a sieve holder and to catch any
drips after you filter your glaze into your
spray bottle.

Pottery Making illustrated 45

 RECOMMENDED READINGS
Y Sumi von Dassotv
Pueblo
Pottery
North America is the home of a cen-
turies-old tradition of ceramic art, many
of whose modern practitioners are
world-famous and represented in the
collections of individuals and museums
of many nations. Yet the artists working
in this tradition are rarely featured in
juried or invitational shows of contem
porary ceramic art. I am, of course,
referring to the Native American potters
of the Southwestern United States.
There are many books featuring
Pueblo Indian pottery; however, most
are aimed at collectors, giving bio
graphical information about the potters
and describing their work and listing
awards won, but offering little technical
information. Other books are written
from an archaeological or anthropolog
ical point of view, to the point of includ
ing recognizable work by well-known
contemporary Indian artists, caption
ing these items with their place of ori
gin and placing them within a particu
lar traditional style, without giving the
artists name! These books can be frus
trating for the clay lover who would like
to understand Pueblo pottery. So, for
the potter interested in seeing pictures
of pretty pots as well as in how and why
these beautiful works of art are made,
the following books are worth a look.

46 Fall 2OOO
 Duane Anderson
All That Glitters
School of American Research Press,
Santa Fe, NM, 1999
The subject of this book is one
not extensively covered in other
books about Pueblo pottery The
work shown is simple in form and
sparingly decorated, allowing the
beauty of the clay to speak for itself
Micaceous pottery has long been
used for utilitarian ware in the Southwest because of its dura
bility, but despite its sparkling beauty, it is relatively new in the
art market. Anyone who has experimented with the mica-con-
taining clay bodies now available commercially might be inter
ested in seeing the work of potters experienced in handling
this difficult material.
This book focuses on a convocation of ten potters orga
nized by the School of American Research (S AR) to discuss the
future of this type of pottery, and the subsequent First
Micaceous Pottery Market that took place in 1995.
Biographical information is given for each featured artist, as
well as some information about their work styles and philoso
phy. The author is an anthropologist rather than an artist, so the
technical information is light. However, the author is acutely
aware of the artistic value of the work and writes with sensitiv
ity about the concerns of the individual artists. The chapters on
the history and development of micaceous pottery are interest
ing, and there are lots of photos of contemporary work, as well
as an appendix picturing historical work in the SAR collection.
Susan
Peterson
Pottery by
American
Indian Women
Abbeville Press,
New York, 2000
Peterson, author of in-depth
books about the lives and
work of Pueblo potters Maria
Martinez and Lucy M. Lewis,
covers the work of 28
American Indian women in this book. The book, companion
to an exhibition Peterson curated at the National Museum of
Women in the Arts, includes the work of six American Indian
matriarchs of pottery, twelve of their descendants, and ten
avant-garde Indian women potters, including three from
outside the Southwest.
The first chapter, covering the history of Indian pottery, dis
cusses Navajo and West Coast Indian pottery, as well as the bet
ter-known Pueblo pottery. The second chapter explains the mak
ing of Pueblo pottery, from clay preparation to the traditional
outdoor bonfire. Primarily, however, the book consists of bio
graphical information and a gallery of work by the 28 featured
artists, beginning with the six matriarchs. These are Nampayo of
Hano, Maria Martinez, Lucy Martin Lewis, Margaret Tafoya,
Helen Cordero, and Blue Corn, whose works collectively spans
the gamut of Pueblo Indian pottery styles: polychrome, black-on-
black, burnished red, and storyteller figures.
The work included in this book is truly magnificent and
beautifully photographed, and the biographical and technical
information is interesting and informative. The avant-garde
work included forms a bridge between traditional Indian cul
ture and contemporary Anglo culture and gives the reader a
glimpse of the directions other Indian potters may begin
exploring as they seek to establish their own individual style.
Pottery Making illustrated
Rick Dillingham
Acoma and
Laguna Pottery
School of American Research Press,
Santa Fe, NM, 1992
The pottery of the Acoma and
Laguna Pueblos is polychrome, that
is, white clay with black, red and
orange designs painted on. Its bur
nished, though not to the high sheen
of the red or black-on-black work of
other Pueblos, and nowadays most often fired in electric kilns
rather than the traditional open bonfire. This book examines the
history of the pottery and the evolution of the patterns used to
decorate these works, and describes what makes a pot authen
tic or traditional. Dillingham briefly describes the making of
the work, including the preparation of the clay and slips, coil
building, burnishing, decorating and firing. He then analyzes the
basic forms and design elements, the distinction between cere
monial pots and pots made for the marketplace, and the differ
ences between Acoma and Laguna pottery.
The heart of the book explores the development of the forms
and designs used by modern Indian potters. Interestingly, prior to
the arrival of the Spanish, potters from these pueblos decorated
their work with a lead-based glaze that due to its runniness didnt
lend itself to finely painted patterns.This production ceased when
the Spanish took control of the lead mines, and the clay slips,
which supplanted glazes, allowed the development of the intricate
patterns we now associate with Pueblo pottery. Dillingham also
traces the origins of the traditional design elements, relating some
of the imagery to Spanish embroidery and even Pennsylvania
Dutch pottery. This is not to denigrate the designs as borrowed,
but rather to point out that any rigid definition of pottery as tra
ditional versus contemporary is essentially meaningless.
In conclusion, Dillingham examines the effects, both positive
and negative, of the collector market on both the pottery and
the potters. He argues vigorously for examining each potters
work on its own merits as works of art, rather than pigeonhol
ing them as more or less traditional. He decries the collecting,
sometimes illicit, of ceremonial works, while appreciating the
enormous economic benefits of the market in Indian pottery. As
long as work is not misrepresented to buyers, Dillingham sees
room in the market for all types of pottery.
Stephen Trimble
Talking with
the Clay
School of American Research Press,
Santa Fe, NM, 1987
Trimble briefly explains the his
tory and social organization of the
Pueblos, then covers the general
techniques of digging and process
ing clay, coil building, sanding, bur
nishing, decorating and firing. The
bulk of the book is a detailed exam
ination of the work of the various Pueblos, both the tradition
al styles and the innovations of contemporary potters.
This book describes how the pottery of each Pueblo is influ
enced by both history and the materials available there, as well
as by important individual potters. It is filled with interesting
details about the materials, such as the tendency of the clay
from Zia and Acoma to pit; and the use by pre-Columbian
Pecos potters of lead-based glaze made from ground galena
ore. The author interviewed sixty potters and the book tells us
largely in their own words the story of the clay and the deco
ration, the life, the joys and the frustrations of a Pueblo potter.
Though not a large book, this is the most comprehensive of
the works discussed here, and offers a good overview to the
many different styles of Pueblo pottery.
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