Small Runs
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 6:18PM Hey. Wow, I'm glad I had a good day today. I've been a bit of a grump so far this week but I made sure that when I woke up this morning I smiled and said, New day, don't be a grump.
Michael Kline and I talked awhile back about working on small groups of pots at a time. I think Michael blogged about it. I'll check for a link on his site*.
That idea about small groups goes back, for me anyway (and MK too I think) to a model that Michael Simon practiced in his studio.
So I've been at it for a couple weeks now and I am enjoying it. For instance, on Monday I threw 12 pots. Four cups, a jar, two knob-and-alls, 3 serving bowls, and I made two slab jars. So that's 12. Yesterday, Tuesday, I finished those pots and got them all slipped.
Working in small groups gives me time to enjoy each pot and give it some attention. I dread putting handles on more than 8 cups in a day. I have more consideration of the pots while I am making them. With 4 cups I can throw them slowly and really putting some feeling into each one. There's certainly something to be said about making large runs of pots and getting in a groove. I know plenty of potters who do that. For me, right now working with a small kiln and doing a great deal of decorating, I feel the need to go slow and steady. I don't really think 'slow' is the right word but what I mean is that I do not feel like I want to be cranking out pots and trying to play catch up, keeping them under plastic as I struggle for days to finish them.
Today I threw 11 pots but one was a teapot so I'm counting it as two. I started drawing on the small square slab box too. I'm really hoping it makes it through the kiln w. no cracks.
;)
;)
;)
I made some super size yunomi last week.
;)
I'm heading to the NC Potter's Conference this weekend. It's going to be a good time. I always like seeing all my clay pals and learning something new from the demonstrators.
Okay, I think that's all I've got for now.
* Here's the link to Kline's post. Clickity Click
Reader Comments (4)
I made two houses:)
Cool box!
Right on Tracey. Gotta find the right number for you.
Great post Ron. Glad the new rhythm is working for you. Yeah, "slow" isn't really the right word. Maybe "unhurried", "deliberate", or "attentive"? I can't think of a word right now that combines all the things you were talking about, but its definitely the opposite of "rushed".
Sometimes "small" is "big" when it comes to productivity. I love the slab box. It's a perfect canvas for your illustrations. There are six sides to tell your story.