Mastering the Pottery Wheel

Who is Lynn Hoffman?

Throughout the course of this project, I’ve come to know Lynn Hoffman. She owns a ceramics studio and is the owner of Hand and Wheel Pottery. Every week, I’ve been lucky enough to spend a few hours in her studio and pick her brain for tricks and insights into the world of ceramics. She’s taught me how to use a pottery wheel and make my own pieces, as well as introduced me to other aspects of ceramics like firing in the kiln and glazing. Below are a few questions I had the opportunity to ask her in a formal interview!

1. What has been your favorite aspect of teaching pottery to both children and adults?

My favorite part of teaching is sharing my years of knowledge with students so that their work is notches above a beginners work. I believe all age groups are capable of getting any and all technical skills starting at day one.

2. What lessons do you think can be learned from creating your own work?

Making pottery (in general) is a discipline that allows a never ending opportunity for positive personal growth and satisfaction. Creating your own unique personal style and "body of work" (as opposed to copying others work) is something that usually happens after an in depth look into what you feel you would like to communicate to the world based on your personal experiences and what is important to you at the time. You may be inspired to either make beautiful functional pieces or make pieces that have a deep and profound statement for society such as a sculpture providing esthetic, social, or even political commentary. Making a difference in others lives in so many ways is infinitely possible with the arts.

3. What has been your proudest moment (or favorite) involving your own pottery?

I created and ran a community outreach fundraiser project called "The Traveling Totems" project in Ambler in 2014. This was a nice affirmation that the experiencing the arts is seen as a pretty integral piece of experiences that are meaningful. Providing this opportunity for the local area residents was a great feeling. I was interviewed by Eric Devlin from Montgomery newspapers for this project which was then featured in a full page article in the Ambler Gazette.

4. What words of advice can you give to anyone interested in pottery or ceramics (regarding the process, or just your own thoughts)?

Having taught pottery since 1992 I can say that pottery is a pretty addicting journey to many people. There is something so gratifying and enriching about clay as a creative material - Be ready for a long fantastic journey. From a practical standpoint and a financial standpoint, there are a lot of potters out there. Do not take it up as your major in college. Make it your plan "B", your life long amazing hobby.

Throughout this project, Lynn has personally been a HUGE help to me. She’s taught me the fundamentals of pottery and has really inspired me to continue pursuing it even after the project is over.

Here are a few images she sent me from her “Traveling Totem” community outreach program… :)

I thought I would take the time to enrich my knowledge regarding the evolution of ceramics. Here’s a glimpse into what I found:

Pottery has its origins in the Upper Paleolithic Period. One thing to remember is that the Late Stone Age and the Paleolithic periods took place at the same time, but the “Stone Age” is the term used that is attributed to the time period in Africa while the “Paleolithic Period” is usually in reference to that time period in Europe. Here are some of my findings…

This is an early west African terracotta pot. Terracotta was used during the early stages of pottery (it’s still used today, as well) because it did not need to be fired in a kiln – it could simply be baked in the sun. It could be found in big quantities underground, so it was readily accessible to people as early as 29,000 B.C..

Around the same time, Cro-Magnons in Europe were developing new tools to create pottery. Then…

Along came the pottery wheel, which was invented between 6,000 B.C. and 4,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia. This society’s inventions were crucial to the development of more intricate pottery, as well as simplifying the process of making pottery in general. Now that it was easier to create simple pots and bowls, people considered making the drying process faster, which led to the development of the first kilns. The first kilns were pretty much bonfires, were the pieces would be suspended into the fire for a certain amount of time (depending on the type of material) and left to dry. These two innovations catalyzed the process of making pottery and allowed for new aspects of the art to be explored, such as…

Glazing! The earliest known glazes were created in Egypt, nearly 6,000 years ago. It is known as Egyptian faience (“paste”), and it was used to paint ceramics. It was a mixture made of quartz, sodium and calcium, and was known for its fluorescent colors. Faience pieces were either left in the sun to dry or put in the kiln.

Fun fact! The word “faience” comes from the Italian origin “Faenza”, which was a town in early Italy known for its pottery.

Chinese pottery has remained pretty traditional to this day. The terracotta piece called “The Terracotta Warriors” has been preserved from the Han Dynasty – a time of great artistic evolution. During this time, porcelain was developed and replaced the more primitive clay handiwork that had been used for thousands of years. Now, China, and most of Asia, is known for its intricate pottery and elaborate clay-based displays and sculptures.

In order to fully appreciate the art of pottery, I think it is important to understand what has led up to pottery as we know it today. Check back in next week to see my progress!

SOURCES: http://www.brothers-handmade.com/pottery-glazes.html, http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab98, http://www.amywallerpottery.com/faience, https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/pottery.htm

This week, I continued to practice on the wheel. Finally, I was able to get my piece started on the wheel by myself. Here's a quick video on how to do so.

It took me about three minutes to do so, which I presumed was pretty quick. But, Ms. Hoffmann soon told me that it usually takes professional potters around 30 seconds to center clay on the wheel. I spent the rest of the session creating my own pieces, just for practice, and ended up with these:

I didn't actively create pottery for the remainder of the week, so I thought now would be a good time to step back and assess my own understanding about the process of making a piece of pottery. Here it goes...

1. Wedging the clay

Before you start molding a piece of clay, you have to wedge it. This is pretty similar to kneading dough. You fold the clay and roll it into a ball in hopes that you can remove all of the internal air bubbles. If you don't, you're at risk for an explosion in the kiln.

2. Centering the clay on the wheel

This also comes before the actual molding of the clay. Basically, you throw the piece onto the very middle of the wheel, and make sure that it sticks to the base (use a lot of water. Water is your friend). Then, you get the wheel turning and place your hands around the clay, in hopes that it becomes a uniform round shape. Once that is achieved, you press down on the top and flatten out the top of the piece. Then, you're ready to start hollowing out the center. Press both of your thumbs in the center of the top of the piece and push down. Once you get a hole, start pushing your thumbs outwards to get it to the desired shape.

3. Making the piece on the wheel

Now, this part really depends on what you're making, but just remember it's in your best interest to keep a steady hand and keep a bucket of water at hand. This will help make the clay more easily manipulated.

4. Firing the piece in the kiln

This part pretty much goes over my head. So, basically, you finish the piece and set it out to dry for a few hours. Then, you place it in the kiln for a few hours. Afterwards, you take the piece out, glaze it, and but it back in the kiln. This is known as "bisquing" the piece. Until I get to that step of the process, my knowledge about it will be lacking...

Over the rest of the project, I am going to be creating one piece wholly. My teacher and I have decided upon a pitcher, because it incorporates a lot of elements of the craft: you have to make the piece tall, a uniform width, and include a pitcher and spout.

Source: Magnum Pottery

Using the Pinching Technique

Some of the earliest ceramic pitchers date back to the Minoan civilization (3000 B.C.). These pitchers are known to have been created using the pinching technique. It works like this:

1. Create two pots and remove the bottom of one of them.

2. Attach the two pieces using water, and smooth out both sides.

3. Attach a handle.

4. Fire in the kiln.

Ms. Hoffmann has suggested that I use this technique to create my first piece, because of it's simplicity. Until I do further research, I will not make a final decision. Check back soon for more updates!

One thing I learned this week is that pottery is expensive for a reason. Over the weekend, I met with Lynn Hoffman, who has her own ceramics studio – equipped with pottery wheels, an impressive collection of tools, and a kiln – she has been creating and selling her own pottery for the better part of her adult life. Ms. Hoffmann guided me on a tour of the quaint studio (pictured below) and taught me about the process of making a piece of pottery. It goes a little bit like this:

First, you work with the clay, she told me, and that’s a process all in itself. You wedge it, which is kind of like kneading dough, to get all of the air bubbles out. If there are air bubbles in the clay, it’ll explode in the kiln. Then, you center the clay on a pottery wheel and begin constructing your piece, which is a lot easier said than done. For our session, Ms. Hoffmann was demonstrating how to make a pitcher, which is what I’ve decided will be my end goal for this project. Back to the process – she worked with the clay on the wheel and described the three basic components of creating a piece of pottery (pictured below)

She taught me how to properly align my hands so that the clay would stay centered (elbows on your knees, palms facing inwards). Now this can make or break your piece, quite literally. Later in the session, I learned the hard way, but I’ll get to that. After she had created her pitcher, she set it to dry. Usually, she leaves her pieces out for a few days before firing them in the kiln. The tour continued from there. Adjacent from the pottery wheels was a nook occupied by a kiln and a glazing station. She further went into detail about the glazing and firing process. First, the piece is fired in the kiln. This is what is known as “bisquing” the piece to prepare it for glazing. Then, you glaze the piece, and it goes back in the kiln where the glaze is set and the piece is finalized. The whole process generally takes about five days.

Then, it was my turn to try the wheel. It started out better than I anticipated. With a relatively steady hand, I molded the clay on the wheel until the pitcher was about four and a half inches tall. Here's a picture:

There were a blissful few moments of me thinking I might finish my first piece in one try, but then the clay started thinning out. I tried my best to salvage the remains, to recenter the clay, and to continue molding upwards, but it wasn't that simple (videos to come...). I ended the session with a piece that could be considered abstract to say the least...

Before...

...After

...and decided to call it a day.

Back to my first point: Lynn Hoffmann has been selling her own pieces for years. She makes ornate outdoor pieces as well as plates and bowls.

But the small pieces can cost upwards of $60. Now, before trying my hand at pottery, I would probably consider that outlandish, but after learning and experiencing what a labor intensive, detail oriented process creating pottery is, I have a new found appreciation for the art. Updates to come in the next week... as well as progress!

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