20th Annual Potters' Gathering
Pottery Workshop
Cedar Lakes Craft Center
Ripley, WV 25271
February 18-20, 2000
Guest Presenter: Lee Rexrode, Associate Professor of Art (Ceramics),
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
On Friday evening, when the potters began to gather at Cedar Lakes for our potluck dinner, Lee was there to greet us. He had arrived early beating the heavy rains and flash flooding which caught most of us by surprise. The potluck dinner has been a tradition at the Gathering with more great food than we could handle even by just sampling a little of each. During the dinner we got to know Lee and a little of his background as he began to quiz us about our own directions in pottery and what we felt our strengths and weaknesses were so that he might address some of them during the workshop.
Lee was very open and personal with the slide and digital camera presentation of his family and background leading up to his past and present work as both a potter and educator. From his collection of old phonograph players to the organization of his slide presentation and his passion for vapor glazing and altered forms, it was evident that Lee is focused in both his work and his life.
Before turning in Friday night, several of us gathered in front of the fireplace at Holt Lodge to hear Cedar Lakes premier story teller, "Wolfman", entertain us with his tales of Indian folklore and legends of questionable origin.
On Saturday morning, Lee started off by throwing two casseroles or baking dishes whose shape he later altered. The dishes were thrown down to the bats with slab bottoms added later by scoring and adding slip to the joint. The addition of handles greatly enhanced the form of the casseroles.
Two oval pitchers were thrown using the same technique of throwing down to the bat, altering their shape and later adding the bottoms. Lee prefers this technique because it allows more flexibility. He briefly discussed other techniques, making reference to Robin Hopper's book "Form and Function". Additional clay was added to form the spouts on each pitcher. A "V" notch was cut from the rim of one pitcher to lower the point where a pulled handle was later attached. The second pitcher received an extruded hollow handle.
To demonstrate the effect of fluting with a stretched spring from a plate hanger, Lee threw a tall cylinder with thick walls. Using the spring, he spiral cut the walls and then bulged the form from the inside to exaggerate the pattern.
The application of several different types of spouts was demonstrated on vessels thrown off the hump. Lee does not use this method as a general rule when making his cups. When throwing off the hump, it is not possible to compress the bottom of the vessel. Lee suggested that the spiral orientation of the clay may contribute to the "S" cracks and recommended that pugged and hand wedged clay be placed on the wheel head with the core horizontal.
Four different styles of cups were thrown illustrating dimpling and split rim alterations. Triangular shaped handles were extruded, shaped into a loop and allowed to stiffen before attaching. A second type of extruded handle was demonstrated which provided protection of the fingers from a potentially hot cup.
Lee threw a large plate, probably 18 inches across, which he then cut the four sides forming a square. The stretched spring used earlier was used to make an interesting design. In order to trim the bottom of the plate, Lee throws a clay hump to place the plate on allowing it to be centered and trimmed without damaging the rim.
Keith Lahti gave a very impressive demonstration of a "Low Impact Potter's Wheel Set-UP". Keith has designed this system to minimize the harmful effects of long hours working at the potters wheel. The strains and resulting damage to joints, tendons, and muscles can reduce the efficiency and thrill of moving the clay to the potters will.
I have made several sprig molds using bisque fired stoneware and was very interested in the method Lee used to make drape molds from a heavily groged stoneware clay body. In Lee's handout on drape molds, he lists the advantages and disadvantages of using stoneware over plaster and one major concern of mine has been contamination of my clays. With young potters(grandchildren) and clumsy old potters around the studio, it is easy to chip or brake plaster molds. Plaster chunks are hard to see, especially in porcelain, and may not be detected until the piece is fired. Using a vertical silhouette of the desired form cut out of a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and a template attached to a block of wood, a mound of clay can be formed into the desired shape. Lee had removed the excess clay from the underside of the mold after it was leather hard but left a bridge in the center forming a handle.
Two forms were demonstrated using moderately thin slabs of clay(one oval and one square). Slip was trailed over a slab of clay before it was draped over the oval mold. A rib or sponge was then used to draw the clay down evenly onto the mold. The excess clay was removed using a fettling knife by drawing it toward the mold. As soon as the clay became stiff enough to support itself, it was inverted onto a flat surface and the mold removed. The slip trailing looked great against the dark stoneware. The same process was followed in making a square plate. Lee said it is possible to make 6 to 10 plates per hour, after you are set up, with only minor trimming required on the rim.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the critique of pottery brought by several potters with enough guts to subject their work and pride to the objective and discerning eyes or opinions of their peers. Lee led the critique setting a positive and constructive tone, providing encouragement to develop specific areas or techniques to enhance both the design and form.
Lee begins reduction at ^08 for his glazes, holds it for 45 minutes and then continues in moderate reduction at a slow rate. No specific firing schedule is followed at the upper temperature ranges. Several handouts were provided and discussed on glaze formulas, soda glazing and firing, slip application techniques, drape molds, and pitcher spouts.
The sgraffito technique of carving through a light color slip to reveal the dark clay beneath was demonstrated by using a brush to apply an even coating of white porcelain slip to the interior of a large, shallow bowl which was leather hard. While the slip and the clay body were still leather hard, the surface was carved, freehand, using a loop tool.
As you can see, Lee put together a great workshop. He covered a lot of material with enough demonstrations to challenge all of us, shared a lot of information, and provided new ideas. He answered our questions or gave suggestions to investigate, but most of all, he engaged each of our questions and ideas, positively and sincerely.