Here's the person with a million and one questions again. I am starting to try my hand at making handles, hm no pun intended. For now, I just want to use a handle tool. I'll worry about learning how to pull them later. Ok, here's the question(s)...After throwing a piece, how long before you start making the handle? How long do they need to dry to become leather hard? Are the handles to be leather hard as well? Any tips? Many thanks!
i know others will disagree, especially the purists, but i cheat when it comes to handles (probably bk i learned to make them in a production studio years ago). i shape a short stubby "carrot" shape then role it on a board using a flat piece of wood. then, if i want a "pulled" look, i add some water to my hands and shape it once or twice. prepare you handles a little while before applicatoin so that the moisture difference between them and the cup is not too extreme. then brush a little wax resist around the joints to slow down the drying time there so they fuse well -- or wrap the whole thing in plastic to slow it down to equalize evaporization.
There you go with more great tips! THANKS
Went to a wonderful demonstration weekend with Takeshi Yasuda last year. He showed us an amazing thing with handles. He has a flat piece of wood with 4 butterfly screws, one in each corner. He sets to thickness desired and rolls a coil under this. Then he said just try stuff, look at your coil and press things into it, if you take a ruler and press sharp side lengthwise into the middle of the coil, then turn over and press into middle again it looks as if you have two coils, you can then wind this. Press the ruler flat side onto coil for another look. With sharp side of ruler press at angle then roll coil and ruler will spiral length of coil. The possibilities are endless. I just roll coils, often leaving one end thicker to give that pulled look. I always alter or texture these somehow though. The advantage is that without the extra wetting pulling creates the handles can be applied almost immediately to leather hard clay. Using a tool is ok, but the handles will be a bit boring and will not have that immediate handmade look. Pulling is not so difficult though, just use plenty of water, then let them set up until they are dry enough to handle, its best if you dry them curved like they will be attached.
Regarding annemarie's comments for handle making. I also lurk occasionally on the clayart list, and there was a recent discussion about waiting "forever" for clay to become leather hard. One person told us that he uses a microwave to dry the piece "almost leather hard". When I asked for more detail, he said to give it about two minutes (you have to play with the time depending on your microwave), and also responded that excess moisture would not be a concern. Two minutes instead of days here in sticky South Florida!!
Thought that might be a tip you could use.
Wayne in Key West
Yep, that's another interesting tip. I'm in S. TX so it can be pretty humid here, too. I guess I have yet to be in a good demo to see and feel what the clay should be like when it's time to attach. I assume it pretty much means when the shine is gone and it's not longer sticky, that point may be all to brief? Heck, I don't know!
If and when you get around to pulling handles try to progress to pulling them ON the pot; attach a short stub of clay to the *start* point, decide where you want it to finish and prepare that with scoring and slip, hold the piece horizontal and as Annmarie says using plenty of water draw or stroke the handle into shape. Bring the pot upright again; the handle will fall naturally into place, press and attach, and then wrap loosely to slow down drying. The advantage with this way is that the handle will *grow* more naturally from the pot. As a matter of interest; over the years I have been using 2 very simple techniques for attaching clay to clay. The first is to use a wet toothbrush to scrub (briefly) the mating surfaces; this simultaneously scores the surface AND makes the slip. Do it on both surfaces to be joined, press together and leave to equalise before cleaning up with a softish brush. The second I use for attaching handles when pulling them on the pot; I cross-hatch the pot with a wet finger nail. Again it scores and makes slip in one go. Both these techniques WORK, and save time and my failure rate with both is almost zero!
Steve Bath UK
In article , annemarie writes
The best way to describe the state they are in is *Cheese Hard*, in that they have enough *spring* in them to reshape if need be with 2 finger pressure on either side of the rim. In practise the only action that can distort your work is when attaching the stub, but then you would be supporting it on the inside. Pulling or Drawing the handle out may make a piece slightly oval, but that's all, it's down to how you hold it while pulling.
Steve Bath UK
In article , Marmaj40 writes
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