June 23, 2009
Square Dancing: Creating a Diamond-Shaped Baking Dish with an Undulating Rim on the Pottery Wheel
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It’s workshop season so today I thought I would present a project that was inspired by a workshop demonstration. Years ago, potter Dick Lehman observed John Glick, one of his pottery heroes, demonstrating at a workshop. One of the techniques he observed that day stuck with him and, years later, it resurfaced in his work. But it didn’t resurface in the exact same way. Dick put his own spin on the technique, informed by his own aesthetic. Workshops are great ways to expose yourself to new techniques that you can then run through your own filter and make them your own. If you ever have the opportunity, attend one! But for now, think of today’s post as an e-workshop! - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
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Several decades ago, I attended an NCECA conference in San Antonio. I was only a few years into my life as a full-time potter and was especially keen to see a demonstration by John Glick, the ‘godfather of American studio ceramics’ and one of my heroes. As the “Roger Bannister” of potters, he broke the four-minute mile for studio potters, showing that it was possible to be a self-sustaining studio potter while pursuing a life’s dream. Now I finally had the opportunity to see him work first-hand! |
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For more great throwing techniques, download your free copy of Three Great Pottery Wheel Throwing Techniques: Tips on Throwing Complex Pottery Forms Using Basic Throwing Skills!
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| Although I only remember a few aspects of John’s presentation, I do specifically remember that John used a wooden template to create a beaded foot on some large flat bowls. After he established the foot, he cut and overlapped the rim of the bowl, a design recognized as vintage Glick (www.plumtreepottery.com). Then-and this is the important part - he used that wooden template to “draw” a series of backward “C’s” into the foot of the pot as the pot slowly turned. The result was a kind of lobed foot that mimicked the wave action of the bowl’s rim.
Fast forward a couple of decades and I’m in my studio working on some new low baking dish forms. I dredged up that long-ago workshop memory and decided to try Glick’s footing method using my own wooden template, hoping to discover something about the process that I could use-something of integrity that was tied to my own aesthetic and not just a mimicking of his design. Here, of course, is where the genius of individual temperament and neurological wiring take over. My natural inclination toward “lysdexia” (dyslexia) kicked in, and instead of carving backward C’s into the foot with the wooden rib, I began unconsciously carving big looping forward-facing C’s! So instead of a lotus-like lobing of the foot, my pot suddenly became a beautiful six-sided baking dish. I could hardly believe the fortuitous consequence of my dyslexia! From this discovery, I quickly moved to making three-sided, squared, rectangular, five-sided and oval forms. I made taller jars and vases, large serving bowls and bottles, and before long, a handled, dancing diamond-shaped baking dish, the body of which is made from one piece of clay |
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| Throwing the Form | |
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To create a diamond-shaped baking dish, begin by throwing a low, straight-sided cylinder (figure 1). I used about four pounds of clay for the piece shown in this demonstration. |
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Next, with the wheel spinning, create a beaded foot by pressing a notched wooden rib against the outside of the cylinder at a 45° angle. |
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For the rib, you can make your own by using a file to create a contour of your own design in the edge of a plain wooden rib. The rib shown in the photos is one that I made from three thin sheets of osage orange glued together with the grain of the wood alternating at 90° angles. After cutting out the contour of the rib, I sanded the edges smooth. (Note: Maple, beech or any fruit wood (apple, pear, cherry) are suitable woods to use for making pottery tools.) |
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I usually choose to add some design lines to the rim so that the later alteration becomes more pronounced due to the repeated lines and shadows.
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This article was excerpted from the July/August 2009 issue of If you can’t make it to a workshop, |
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| Altering the Form | |
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To begin squaring the form, designate the four corners. I often put marks on the bat or place little balls of clay on the wheel head to mark these corners. Next, with the wheel rotating very slowly, begin gently pushing the wooden template into the four sides between the marks, releasing pressure when you get to the corners. |
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The shape does not change abruptly so the pot may revolve ten or twelve times until you achieve a fairly square profile. You may notice that where the wall has been pushed inward, little “wrinkles” will form on the inside corners where the inside wall meets the bottom of the pot. This is not a problem and a gentle sponging will smooth those wrinkles. |
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To accentuate the sense of squareness, gently pull the corners outward with one finger. |
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If you simply want a square pot, you could stop at this point. I usually continue by articulating the foot, pushing it even farther with the wooden rib, creating a kind of “dancing square” shape. |
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Then I manipulate the rim to mimic the foot’s articulation and line. |
| Finishing Touches | |
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For a dish to be used in the oven, I attach handles while the pot is still wet on the wheel. These handles can be pulled from a lump of clay, made from rolled coils or slabs, or extruded. |
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The finished form reveals the shape of this dancing-square pot. This method works equally well for making rectangular and oval forms. Taller forms can be altered by the same method to create, for example, square vases. |
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Detail showing the articulation and indentations made to the outside of the pot during the squaring process. |
Tags: Throwing Tools
karen | June 24th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
let’s hear it fro summer and the time to try out some new techniques. Love the final pic and hope to put thru my filter real soon.
Alan | June 24th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Great, articulate and vibrant dish! This technique expresses the qualities of clay superbly!
melanie | June 24th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
So, I am confused, how do you trim the bottom? By hand? Sorry if this seems like a dumb question - I am quite intrigued but am an ‘untrained’ potter…..
JANICE | June 24th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Love it! Can’t wait to give it a try. Thanks!!!
Gillian | June 25th, 2009 at 12:53 am
and then someone’s going to want a lid to fit this…
margaret | June 25th, 2009 at 5:20 am
ditto on the lid…i would definitely want a lid for this…..i guess it would have to be a slab lid, with the galley inside, but have no idea how you would get the dimensions since callipers would not work with this…
Brenda | June 25th, 2009 at 6:56 am
I would suggest making a slump lid. It really works great for odd shaped pieces. Roll out a slab 1/4″ thick. Place on top of leather hard container, let slump about an inch into the inside of vessel. Roll on top with rolling pin. Let “lid” become leather hard in this position. Remove and trim. Add handle, smooth out sides with sponge, dry on top of piece.
Diane | June 25th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Looks like fun…I will definitely have to try this!
marty | June 25th, 2009 at 8:17 am
i think i would try brenda’s slump lid idea for this, it’s the only way i can see it happening.
do love the dish! thanks
Nancy | June 27th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
If you slump the lid, once the lid dries leather hard and you trim it out - you flip it over to fit. Isn’t it going to be exactly the *opposite* as the rim - ie, a mirror image?
SALLY | June 27th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
yes I would guess it would be exactly the mirror image,would you not have to add a flange?
Joda | June 28th, 2009 at 10:31 am
…and they call it art…lookus good..
Charmaine | June 30th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Great…can’t wait to get into my studio to try this.
thanks
Charmaine
Kathleen | July 1st, 2009 at 7:26 am
Great idea.People always want square baking dishes.This takes the form to a whole new level.The real fun begins when you start altering a thrown form!
Kat
Monica | August 7th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
This is beautiful! Thanks for the ideas!
Donna | August 11th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Really lovely. Did I miss the part where the bottom is wired off? It seems that you would do that before squaring but I did not see it mentioned…
John | August 28th, 2009 at 9:45 am
I made one of these, and it is not necessasy to wire it before you start changing the shape to square. In fact, I think that would make it harder to do as the adhesion to the wheel resists the force from the rib manipulation.
lisa | September 5th, 2009 at 6:07 am
I ended up with extra clay on one side. I love the way it came out, but didn;t feel I had control over the technique. Any help?
Teresa | November 22nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I love the piece and the idea for square forms. My round forms usually turn out this way by accident. Now I know how to accentuate them.
Thanks