Do Gom
24-02-2008, 01:40 PM
Hello all,
I used to do a lot of throwing when I was in high school and university, but as I've been living abroad for a number of years now I haven't had a chance at a wheel for a while.
Today I visited a ceramics handicraft village near Hanoi, Vietnam and nestled within the industrial molds and mass-production were a few old hand wheels, mostly set up for tourists to try their skills at making a mess.
I jumped at the chance to play in the mud again, but found it challenging to use a wheel that was neither a kick wheel nor a wheel with an electric motor. It was especially difficult to get the wheel spinning fast enough by simply yanking on with one hand it to keep it going while you put any pressure on it to center the clay.
I don't have enough Vietnamese language skills to ask the locals for advice, so I was wondering if anybody out there had any experience with wheels you have to spin by hand and any suggestions for getting and keeping speed and getting the clay centered effectively.
In the end I had a blast making a mess and entertaining all the passers-by who stopped to stare at a clay-spattered foreigner, and I definitely plan to go back there (after the blister on my left forefinger heals from where I was grabbing the edge of the wheel...).
Thanks!
I used to do a lot of throwing when I was in high school and university, but as I've been living abroad for a number of years now I haven't had a chance at a wheel for a while.
Today I visited a ceramics handicraft village near Hanoi, Vietnam and nestled within the industrial molds and mass-production were a few old hand wheels, mostly set up for tourists to try their skills at making a mess.
I jumped at the chance to play in the mud again, but found it challenging to use a wheel that was neither a kick wheel nor a wheel with an electric motor. It was especially difficult to get the wheel spinning fast enough by simply yanking on with one hand it to keep it going while you put any pressure on it to center the clay.
I don't have enough Vietnamese language skills to ask the locals for advice, so I was wondering if anybody out there had any experience with wheels you have to spin by hand and any suggestions for getting and keeping speed and getting the clay centered effectively.
In the end I had a blast making a mess and entertaining all the passers-by who stopped to stare at a clay-spattered foreigner, and I definitely plan to go back there (after the blister on my left forefinger heals from where I was grabbing the edge of the wheel...).
Thanks!