Tips from the Pros by Charan Sachar

A Better Sink Trap

MAINTENANCE
orking with clay can sure be messy, and throwing your mess down the drain is just not an option. Having worked in several studios during the last five years, I learned a lot about what works and doesnt work in a studio. When I finally set up my own studio in our new home, I wanted to tackle the sink-trap problem. I set out to create something that improved on previous designs, which all had shortcomings. There were three problems that I wanted to solve. First, connecting pipes to round buckets is annoying, and they are prone to leaking after maintenance. Second, opaque traps make it difficult to determine when the trap needs cleaning. Finally, under-sink traps are difficult and unpleasant to clean. The first modification I made to my design was to attach pipes to a square bucket rather than a round one (figure 1). The outer large bucket is a sturdy 10-gallon, rectangular, translucent storage container. It needs to be strong enough to take the weight of water and clay, and have at least one side as flat as possible to attach a pipe to the sewer drain. If you think your container is not strong enough, use two containers for added strength. On the inside sits another square bucket (a cat litter bucket works well for this purpose). This bucket serves as the first filter. Drill three rows of holes in the top 4 inches on three sides of this bucket. Do not make holes on the side that faces the sewer outlet because water pouring from the holes will agitate the sediment close to the drain. The height of your trap depends on the height of the sink outlet and the waste pipe. Because my sewer drain is high, I had to raise both my sink and the trap (figure 2). You may not have to do this. The sink legs are fastened to the blocks so they cannot be kicked out. Hooking up the trap is easy. Use washers and silicone to make a watertight seal for the drain. Locate the smaller square bucket at the end farthest from the drain. Even if there is a lot of clay water flowing out from the inner bucket it will still flow on the sides that are farther away from the main outlet, giving

Sink Trap Plan

Clay water from sink Holes in the inner bucket on three sides only Removable lid

Sewer outlet

Inner square bucket

Settled clay

Clear water

1
Choose a rectangular transparent bucket for easy pipe connections and to see through when its time to clean. Double filtration utilizes holes in the top 4 inches of the inner bucket on only the three sides farthest from the outlet.
July/August 2006 PotteryMaking Illustrated

2
The sink and trap are raised up due to the higher sewer outlet. Installing the trap to the side of the sink makes for easy cleaning and maintenance.

enough time for the clay to settle before the water goes out. To solve the inconvenience of cleaning the trap, I located the entire trap to the side of the sink rather than right below it (figure 2). When the trap is located below the sink, it is hard to reach, remove and reattach the fittings. By directing the sink trap to the side, there is no need to remove any fittings; just pop up the lid, rotate it around, and the sink trap can be cleaned easily. No loose connections, no mess! I installed this sink trap over a year ago and it has worked great. When the settled clay level reaches a certain point, I know it is time to clean. So far I have cleaned it twice and it took less than half an hour without any problems. Also because the bucket is transparent, you can actually see if your clay trap is working. It makes me feel very comfortable when I see clear water seeping out the outlet.
Charan Sachar is a studio potter in Federal Way, Washington, who does wheel throwing, extruding and handbuilding. Watch for his demonstrating making a teapot on HGTVs Thats Clever on August 23, 2006. For examples of his work, please visit his website at www.creativewithclay.com.

PotteryMaking Illustrated July/August 2006

Tips from the Pros by Frank Gaydos

Do-It-Yourself Decals
TONER DECALS
Paper and select clear paper from the ordering section. Thirty 811 sheets cost $25 plus $8 shipping in the United States. Finally, youll need a computer with an image editing program like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Elements, Coral Draw, Microsoft Picture-it, the freebie GIMP for Windows, etc. A great source for images is the Dover design book series. They supply images on CDs in different formats already scanned. Of course, you can also come up with your own black-and-white designs, and anything you can type in any font.

Process
With a little imagination and a laser printer, you can spruce up your work with decals.

any potters use commercial ceramic decals in their work, but some are making their own decals for reasons of creativity or frugality. Creating your own ceramic decals is easy and fun, limited only by your imagination. Heres a simple technique for creating your own decals.

How it Works
Some brands of black-and-white laser printer ink cartridges contain up to 60% iron oxide, as well as other pigments in their toner. If you print a decal using one of these printers, apply it to a glazed ceramic surface and re it, the iron oxide survives the ring and becomes permanently fused to the glaze surface, leaving a sepia-toned image on the surface. The other pigments and llers, which are typically organic, burn away.

First, create an image on your computer. Since the image prints darker than it looks on the monitor, you should lighten it with the editing program. For scanned photographs use 300 DPI (more than 300 usually makes the image too dark); however, sometimes you might want a darker image, so experiment. Youll need to test to see how it res with the glazes you use. Fill entire page with images to avoid waste. Insert decal paper into your printer oriented so that the image prints on the glossy side. Since the glossy side is applied face down, what you print will be a

Supplies
This process works using the black ink from a laser printer. The problem is that not all black ink contains black iron oxide, as some manufacturers are converting to organic soy-based pigments. For now, Hewlett-Packard (HP) printers use the most iron in their toner while Apple printers are a distant second. Dell laser printers work, but not as well and yield a lighter image. NEC and Brother printers do not work at all. Other brands, as well as toner cartridges from third-party vendors, must be tested. If you do not have access to a laser printer at home, try the local ofce supply store or public library. Youll need to purchase special decal paper from www.beldecal.com. Click on Laser/Copier Decal

Fill up your decal sheet so as not to waste decal paper. Since decals are placed with the ink side down, be sure to ip the image horizontally before you print. The magic square on the right shows up correctly when applied to the surface of the piece.
PotteryMaking Illustrated

September/October 2006

mirror image of what will be on the piece. For example, in the magic square on the previous page, the square on the right would appear on the screen and the square on the left would be the nished result on your piece. Cut your images from the sheet as close as you can to the image. Avoid having a lot of decal lm left over because this Several factors affect quality: toner, underlying may hinder placement on glaze and ring temperature. In the examples curved surfaces. to the right, the sh decal was red at Cone Place the cut decal into 06, Cone 05 and Cone 04 (from top to bottom). warm water and wait Perform tests to nd the best materials and ring about 30 seconds. When range for your work. The decals above were red the decal slides off the onto a Cone 04 glaze at Cone 05; no lost detail. backing paper, place it toner side down onto a smooth ceramic surface. After placement, use a soft paper towel to pat the the low temperature rere. Low-temperature glazes decal dry while also pushing out any air bubbles that may give you more trouble with the setting of the may become trapped. If you allow air to remain unimage. Some earthenware glazes may shift during the der the image, that part of the image will not print. rere and some may absorb the iron oxide resulting in Therefore, the surface must be smooth. You can a wavy or faint image respectively. place decals on any curved surface within limits. You After the image is red onto your pot, you can then should not have problems with the average bowl, add color by using china paint wash, enamels, overcoffee mug, etc. glazes or lusters, and rering. Glaze color selection is important. Lighter colors Frank Gaydos has been working in clay since 1974, are good, but white is the best. Fire your glazed ware both as a potter and as a technician in the Pottery to maturity and then rere with the decal in place Shop of the Community College of Philadelphia. For to at least Cone 08. I nd that high-red porcelain more information, contact him through his website at works well for two reasons: the white color gives http://mysite.verizon.net/vze778gn/index.html. good contrast while the mature glaze is unaffected by

The image on the left is a 44-inch test tile with decals printed on an HP LaserJet. The image on the right is an example of the enhanced decoration possible with overglazes, enamels and lusters.

PotteryMaking Illustrated

September/October 2006

Tips from the Pros by Dennis Maust

Creating a Weathered Patina

ANTIQUING TECHNIQUES
n my studio Ive employed several techniques for antiquing or creating the appearance an aged surface. I have always been drawn to surfaces that show their weathered history and am intrigued by images that suggest rather than spoon feed a message. I discover new possibilities each time I try this technique and maybe thats what has kept me using these methods year after year.

Newspaper and Slip Technique

This technique involves the repeated application of different colored slips using newspaper as an application tool. Repeating the steps below using slightly different colors of slip builds up complex, random surface design.

Brush colored slip on newspaper to place on a leather-hard piece.

Smooth the slipped newspaper out somewhat. Leaving some wrinkles adds to the texture.

3
6

When the paper has been smoothed to your satisfaction, peel it back off.

Immediately paint a different-colored slip on the same piece of newspaper, and apply it to the piece in the same or different location.

PotteryMaking Illustrated

November/December 2006

Press Mold and Slip Technique

I sometimes use patterned plaster press molds to vary the surface, making it more interesting. Before laying the slipped newspaper on my pot, I lay it on the plaster mold and peel it off. I then paint another layer of slip over the slipped newspaper and apply it to the pot. Peeling this off again leaves an imperfect image of the pattern but leaves the impression parts were worn off over time.

Lay the newspaper on the patterned mold.

Paint another layer of a different slip on the newspaper.

Apply to the pot, smooth out and peel away to reveal the pattern.
PotteryMaking Illustrated

November/December 2006

Top right: Applying an oxide wash to a piece that had been painted with a wax-resist pattern. Bottom right: Wiping off the oxide. Above: Finished work created using that technique.

Other Techniques
On some pieces, I build up many layers of this random slip decoration. Then, on the areas I nd most appealing, I wax resist and spray areas of solid color slip or oxide wash to create a sense of shards having been put back together (the plain color being the part fabricated to support the found shards). A variation on this has been to draw a more intentional design with wax resist over an area of layered slip (after the piece has been bisqued) and then spraying a glaze or terra sigillata over it. I have varied the thickness of the slip and at times dried the slip-covered newspaper, crumpling it before painting the subsequent layer of slip. Each variation gives a different effect, sometimes a marbleized appearance or that of peeling paint. Slip trailing on newspaper, then painting another layer of slip over it before applying to the pot, also enables one to work on a at horizontal surface for gestural work that may be difcult on upright curved surfaces. After bisque ring I often brush oxide washes over the surface and then sponge off. The edges of the various layers of slip show up more giving the surface more depth under a glaze. I have also used this technique with terra sigillata on bone dry burnished ware. The resulting work tends to be smoother and more convincing as something ancient.

PotteryMaking Illustrated

November/December 2006

Tips from the Pros by Frank James Fisher

Brush Bottle
use white vinegar in my studio to mend cracks in greenware, inspecting every piece before its red. But I prefer to keep glass out of my studio, particularly because the tall glass bottle that vinegar comes in is prone to tipping over. I needed a short bottle with a wide base for stability, not unlike an antique ink bottle. My bottle design calls for a larger ared lip suitable for wiping a paint brush, making the bottle useful for any brushable medium. The bottle is thrown in two pieces: the bottle form and the base platform. Because this vessel uses the narrow-neck bottle form, the centering must be perfect. If the clay becomes even slightly off-center, the lip will utter, bend or tear later during the compression and forming of the neck. Use well-wedged clay, then pull and compress it at least three times when centering to align the clay particles. Center a one-pound ball of clay and open it all the way down to the bat. Pull the clay ring outward

STUDIO TOOL

A small bottle with a ared lip used for brushable liquids.

until the diameter of the bottle base is achieved (gure 1). Slowly pull up and in toward the centerpulling too fast creates an uneven wall. The slightest difference in thickness creates difculties later when forming the neck (gure 2). Use a wooden rib and press the inside surface against it to remove excess surface clay and remove throwing lines (gure 3). Slow the wheel and begin forming the neck approximately a third of the way down from the top. Use three pressure points and slowly squeeze inward (gure 4). Run your nger tips simultaneously on the inside and outside of the neck and lip to evenly distribute the clay. Use a chamois to rene and smooth the lip, then compress the clay at the narrow part of the neck using the handle of a needle tool and your ngertip (gure 5). With the basic shaping complete, ne tune it as needed (gure 6). Continued on page 38

1
Open clay to the full diameter of the base.

2
Pull walls up and inward.

3
Even out the walls with a rib.

4
Compress the neck as you collar in.

5
Smooth and compress the inside.

6
Make nal adjustments to the shape.

12

PotteryMaking Illustrated

July/August 2007

Continued from page 12. Mark the cut-off line with a needle tool about a inch up from the bat. The walls should be thin enough at that point. Since there may be excess water inside the bottle, which could cause the form to dry unevenly and crack, remove a wedge of clay at the base and tip the bat to release the water (gure 7). Make the base with about of a pound of clay. Throw it upside down to create a dish similar to a low-walled dog bowl. Use calipers to ensure that the diameter of the base is slightly greater than the diameter of the bottle (gure 8). Wire off the base from the bat and set both the bottle and base aside until leather hard. Once the pieces are leather hard, cut the bottle from the bat with an X-acto knife (gure 9), running it along the groove marked earlier by the needle tool. Trim the base upside down, which is actually rightside-up in the nal assembly. Score the surface of the base and the bottle with an old toothbrush, and apply slip (gure 10). Quickly line up the bottom and top and press them rmly together. The excess slurry will squeeze out of the joint ensuring a strong bond (gure 11). Clean up the seam with a chamois or elephant ear sponge and rotate the wheel until the joint is clean and smooth (gure 12).

Antique ink bottles served as the inspiration for the form of the vinegar bottle.
Frank James Fisher has been a potter for more than 25 years and is a frequent contributor to Pottery Making Illustrated. For more information, visit his website at www.frankjamessher.com.

7
Cut out a drain hole at the base.

8
Use calipers to measure the base.

9
Cut the bottle from the bat.

10
Apply slip to scored areas.

11
Attach the top to the base.

12
Clean the seam with a sponge.

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PotteryMaking Illustrated

July/August 2007

Tips from the Pros by bill Jones

Problem Solving
Throwing & handbuilding
ros always have the knack for showing us a catchy tip or two at a workshop or in a classroom setting. We think wow and park the little bit of inspiration somewhere in the tool center of our brain for later recall. The best part about tips is that they solve immediate problems. Some are specific to just a particular technique and others have a broader application. Weve gathered a few tips from past issues of Pottery Making Illustrated, which youll now find reprinted in Throwing & Handbuilding: Forming Techniques, a compilation of selected past PMI and CM articles published in the Ceramic Arts Handbook series.

Tip 1: The Flip

After throwing a large platter, its truly a daunting challenge to flip it over and trim a foot-ring. Sam Hoffman lets the clay get to leather hard, then places a sponge, towel or other soft object in the center to prevent the center from slumping during trimming. Carefully place a large bat on top of the rim, support the platter with one hand underneath the bottom bat and place one hand on top, then flip the platter in one smooth motion sandwiching it between both hands.

Tip 2: The Squeeze

Antoinette Badenhorst likes to squeeze a little extra out of her porcelain throwing technique using two plastic kidneys. With one on the inside and one on the outside, she can squeegee excess slip off and eliminate throwing rings without distorting the form. Since this thins the wall, she leaves extra clay on the bottom of the sides to provide extra support until the form sets up.

PotteryMaking Illustrated

January/February 2008

Tip 3: The Pull

Kathy Chamberlain makes baskets with very, very long handles. Working in white stoneware, Kathy pulls handles up to 30 inches long and lets them hang straight down so they can set up very slowly. When they start to stiffen, she places them over a wooden dowel. If the clay is too dry, it will crack and if it is too wet, it will not hold its shape. When attaching the handle, she builds two level stands to support the vessel upside down where she attaches the handles and finishes the piece. She covers her pieces with plastic and allows them to dry upside down for several days.

Tip 4: The Seam

Elizabeth Kendall handbuilds tall elegant forms from soft porcelain slabs. The seams in her cylinders are part of the overall design, but she doesnt want the extra bulk of two overlapping layers of clay. To prevent extra thickness at the seam, Elizabeth uses a pony roller to bevel and thin the long sides. This gives the pieces a finished organic edge. She then forms a cylinder around a long pastry rolling pin and gently compresses the seam with her hand. The she finishes sealing it using a roller. If the slab is fresh and moist, it isnt necessary to score or slip the seam.

These tips are part of the techniques contributed by more than twenty artists in the Ceramic Arts Handbook Throwing & Handbuilding: Forming Techniques available at www.ceramicartsdaily.org/books.

PotteryMaking Illustrated

January/February 2008