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My father used to say, “a good workman never blames their tools”. This was usually on the back of me at the age of 7 bending a nail and saying it was the hammer’s fault.
I also spent many a weekend digging around in the basement of the house that my grandfather built. I saw nothing in his basement that would lead me to conclude that he had built the house with those tools. They all seemed too small.
What I have learned through a string of short bursts with various pottery teachers, is that what qualifies as a “tool” in ceramic work could literally be anything.
One of my teachers would say:
Your hands are your best tool. So I prefer to use my hands as much as much as possible, but you can use anything.
Another of my teachers had a strangely extensive collection of tooth brushes and flossing machines which were kept in an old glass jam jar.
I continue to learn that the potter need never be pressed for tools.
1. A strip from a car chamois
2. Bowl
3. A computer bracket for turning
4. The broken head of a plastic spatula
5. An old brush
6. Strips cut from a softdrink can bent over a pencil and wound with cotton
for turning
7. The wire from a pen straightened, twisted and looped over a pencil from Ikea.
For turning.
8. A swiss army knife (various uses, no pun intended).
9. A length of dental floss tied between two rings from my wife’s keychain
for cutting clay.
10. A few old bread and butter plates to shift pots from the
wheel onto for drying.
11. And of course, my hands.
Recently my uncle asked whether I could help do a couple of pottery sessions with some elderly Bangladeshi folk in the community. I had only been around for six months and had no equipment to offer. He was chasing a hunch in that I had made him a pot while I was in Japan and had presented it to him on my arrival in London. To cut a long story short, his organisation has funding for such an experimental community project, which means…
He decided we needed a wheel to demonstrate some throwing technique to the elders as a way of inspiring them and perhaps giving them a go. The wheel we chose: A Discus Compact.
I was excited to test this little gem (I tend to believe most advertising), but slightly cynical as well. It came, I got it muddy, and…..wow. For people like me with little space, it is the ultimate throwing machine. It has high torque even at low speed and very quiet. Place it on a level surface and it remains stable. Little difference can be felt when throwing small pieces.
For those who might consider purchasing one, the foot pedal would make it feel more like a proper sit-down wheel, but is ultimately unnessessary as the hand dial works fine. I’m not an expert, but this little wheel really will surprise you. I haven’t tried to throw a large lump of clay on it yet. But I am told it will be fine.
