Week 7 Lab Group Data

Introduction:

All lab groups met with Carleton ceramics professor Kelly Connole for a pottery-making workshop. Each individual had two types of clay – manufactured, “perfect” clay and unprocessed clay collected from the Carleton Arboretum. Starting as a powder, this was mixed with water to create a workable clay, with water or powder each being added as necessary to make a workable balance. As the clay was created, temper in the form of tiny bits of pre-fired ceramic was added to the clay to aid in the firing process. From here, two to three pinch pots were crafted per person. To do so, a lump of clay approximately spherical with a 1-2 inch diameter was pinched into a vessel. This created the starting point for the pot, which could be stretched and manipulated into different forms. After the initial body was formed, rows of clay could be added to add height. The size of these rows would control the shape and function of the completed pottery.

Clay Properties: 

Property	Arb Clay	Processed Clay
Texture	Coarse, can feel many individual grains within less stable body	Uniform and smooth, playdoh like
Strength	Struggles to take and hold form very quickly	Holds form well and quickly
Malleable	Easy to move and bend, but often breaks or does not hold form	Manipulatable and maintains changes
Inclusions	Many inclusions, appx. .25-1mm; feels like small rocks	Uniform without clear inclusions
Moisture	Holds on to moisture much longer; slow to dry	Quick to dry or wetten

Pot Measurements:

Due to separation during the making process, my groupmates and I each had different methods of measuring and describing our work, some more qualitative and some more quantitative. I will include here as best a summary of each person’s findings as possible.

Pottery Assemblage One:

• Pot 1
  • Height = 3 inches
  • Shape = bowl
  • Time till completely dry = 5 hrs
    • After 5 hrs too dry to make changes to in texture or shape, even when adding a small amount of water
  • Thickness not uniform
  • Off balance base due to position during drying
  • No change in shape over time
• Pot 2
  • Taller due to added coil
  • Coiling created thinner section where finger marks of smoothing are visible
  • Extensive cracking during coiling step, but smoothed over with extra clay and water
  • No change in shape over time

Pottery Assemblage Two:

• Pot 1
  • Processed clay
  • Height = 2 inches
  • Radius = 1.5 inches
  • Attempted to add two coils, but done too quickly and clay was too wet – collapsed on self and only foundational form was savable
• Pot 2
  • Processed clay
  • Height = 1.5 inches
  • Radius = 3 inches
  • Decorated with pencil marks in EME styles
  • Designed as a wider, open shaped pot
• Pot 3
  • Arb clay
  • Height = 1.5 inches
  • Radius = 2 inches
  • Decorated with pencil marks in EME styles, but inclusions prevented long continuous lines or created pockmarks

Pottery Assemblage Three:

(Please note: Pot 1 was only measured after completely dry as it was made during the course of the lecture with Kelly and I failed to take measurements as we were going in class; 2A, B, etc. are all the same pot at different times, where t=0 is the time of the completion of the pinch pot foundation. All measurements are in mm except for time, which appears in hours:minutes).

Pot	Clay	Height	Rim width	Diameter	Depth	Base	Time	Shape	n Coils
1	Processed	41	9	75	37	4	0	Bowl – Open	0
2A	Processed	44	10	85	40	4	0	Bowl – Open	0
2B	Processed	63	9	91	48	unchanged	0:15	Bowl – Open	1
2C	Processed	61	8	89	49	unchanged	1:00	Bowl – Open	1
2D	Processed	94	4	92 (widest)/41 (mouth)	89	unchanged	1:30	Storage – Closed	3
2E	Processed	91	3	92 (widest)/39 (mouth)	85	unchanged	2:00	Storage – Closed	3
2F	Processed	91	3	92 (widest)/39 (mouth)	85	unchanged	3:00	Storage – Closed	3

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