Posts Tagged “pottery chuck”

I have a decidedly low tech ceramic studio. It can be frustrating at times, but at others, I am glad to have learned how to make it work. With the exception of my electric wheel and kilns, everything else is done by hand the old fashioned way. Ceramics and pottery is an art that has changed little over time. Take clay, make something with it, decorate, fire piece to a high temperature, and enjoy.

Last year while I was making work at the Art Student’s League of Denver, I lent my “chuck” to a fellow artist. What is a chuck, you ask? He’s not my latest boy toy, it’s a thrown clay hollow cylinder which is used to stabilize more complicated thrown forms when trimming and finishing the bottoms. When I trim a bowl or other stable form, I simply turn it upside down on my wheel to trim. But, with a bottle form, it won’t stay upright making it impossible to trim without assistance of some sort.

Back to lending my chuck…. I don’t fire my chucks, preferring to leave them green (or unfired) so that they remain softer than bisqued pieces. A softer chuck is less likely to damage my freshly thrown bottles or other forms. I lent my chuck to woman who proceed to wash it off afterwards. I had forgotten to tell her that the chuck was green, and needless to say, it disintegrated under running water and scrubbing. I’ve been getting by with some other sized chucks that I had already made, until I threw some more work this last weekend, and decided to make a smaller chuck to accommodate the new form.

What could I use if I didn’t have any thrown chucks? Well, if I had a higher tech studio, I might use the Giffen Grip, but at $179.00 it’s another item to add to my wish list. At this point, I’d rather have heat in my studio and better lighting than a Giffen Grip.

Are there any high tech items on your wish list?

~Cynthia

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Tags: giffen grip, low tech pottery studio, pottery chuck, trimming pottery