View Larger Image Techniques in our "Tip of the Week" series come from all levels of experience: studio artists, production potters, students, teachers and industry experts.

December 28, 2007

Tip of the Week: Easy to make glue solves sticky situation

by Caitlin Murray | Read Comments (1)

The next time you find yourself in a jam with a piece of broken greenware that you'd like to reconstruct but with no glue to do the job, try your hand at mixing and using this easy recipe for pottery "glue." First, mix equal parts white vinegar and light corn syrup. Next, add dry/powdered clay a pinch at a time (kind of like making gravy) until the mixture has the consistency of paste. You can use the mixture to reattach broken pieces of pottery just as you would a glue or paste. After you have reassembled the pieces and the "glue" is dry, all you have to do is sand the joints with drywall sandpaper so that the reassembled piece is smooth, and then fire your piece as you normally would. Thanks, Caitlin! And be sure to check out Explore the Surface for other pottery tips that can help you in the studio.

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Other great tips
1. To get a very slick surface on clay used in slab building, use a 20-inch wallpaper squeegee that has a metal rib extending its full length. After the slab is rolled out, the squeegee is drawn across the slab several times until it is smooth. Such squeegees are available for about $5 at most paint and hardware stores.

2. Some people tend to tighten up with slip designs when they apply them directly to their pots. Instead, try experimenting with designs trailed or brushed loosely on newspaper. Pick out the best one (wait for the shine to disappear), then gently press the newspaper-backed slip onto a leatherhard pot. (The pot's surface should be moistened.) Slow down the drying at this stage; the paper can be peeled off later. Remember, the design will be in reverse and inside out.

3. Shimming the front feet of your wedging table to raise the front edge about 4 inches will decrease the amount the wrist must bend while wedging. It takes some practice to learn to wedge on an incline, but the reward is less wrist strain, which should help those potters who are prone to carpal-tunnel syndrome.

Not sure about a term you see here?
You can find definitions and explanations for more than 500 ceramic terms, from agateware to zirconium, in the Ceramic Arts Daily Glossary.