DIY Network

Covered Butter Dish: Sculpting a Knob Creating a ceramic butter dish, Part 3 of 4 From "Throwing Clay" episode DTHC-208

Figure A

Master potter Bill Van Gilder is making butter dishes with distinctive knobs. He began by throwing two shallow bowls. He split the rim of one bowl to create the seat for the lid. After the pieces dried stiff-leather hard, he trimmed both bowls to form the base and lid of the butter dish. A small lump of soft clay was attached to the center of the lid. He threw the knob as if it were a small pot and shaped the angle of the knob so it could be easily grasped.

To demonstrate how to create a second knob, he made a second butter dish. The dish is now partially trimmed and ready for a sculpted knob (figure A).

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	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D

1. Bill trimmed the top of the lid but left the area close to the knob untrimmed, keeping the clay strong and thick.

2. Before sculpting the bird knob, he again scores the top of the lid and wets the area, smearing the water to create a sticky spot on the hard clay that will tightly grip the knob, which is made of very soft clay.

3. The sculpted knob begins as a 1-ounce piece of clay. He elongates it and begins pinching and shaping the clay into a bird shape.

4. A tiny piece of clay is rolled into a beak. When the beak is in place on the bird, Bill gently forces the bird down onto the scored area of the lid and sets the pieces aside until they are bone dry (figures B and C).

5. When all the pieces are bone dry, they are placed in the kiln for the bisque firing (figure D).

The kiln will fire for 10 to 12 hours, reaching a temperature of approximately 1750 degrees. After cooling for 24 hours, the dishes are ready to be glazed,

6. Bill will use two contrasting glazes on the dishes, raspberry red and cream rust; where the colors overlap, the glaze acquires a cream, melted look (figures E and F).

Figure E

Figure F

7. Wax-resist emulsion, applied in bands between the layers of glaze, will allow the red glaze to shine through the cream-rust glaze. The red lines appear at directional changes on the pot, highlighting the changing shapes of the dishes (figure G).

8. Bill next waxes the base. Because he will fire the dishes with the lids in place, ensuring that both pieces fit correctly, he waxes the rim where the pieces connect. He also waxes the neck, the interior rim and a little extra space on the ledge (figure H).

Figure G

Figure H

RESOURCES :

Kilns
L & L Kilns
Website: www.hotkilns.com

Clay
Highwater Clays
Website: www.highwaterclays.com

Extruders
American Art Clay Co. Inc. (AMACO)
Website: www.amaco.com