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A Useful Education

1/12/2012

11 Comments

 
There are many reasons why I'm glad I studied graphic design in college. Even though I spent years dreaming of quitting my design work and making pots full-time. The fact is my education comes in handy, on a daily basis, for my pottery work too. 

The obvious advantage is my grasp of the term branding, which means I can choose how I want others to perceive my business (this might be the topic of a future blog post). But this post is about something more important ... a bedrock-level way of thinking that I learned in college and have been using everyday since ... the design process. The design process means that the first time you execute a new idea is just the first draft. A finished design requires cycles of revision and refinement. There are too many details and decisions to get them all right on the first draft. You must be willing to see the process through. Every successful potter I've met understands this. I've also met plenty of wannabes who don't. 

I always give credit for good ideas. Last year, my dinnerware design consisted of a square dinner plate, a round salad plate, and a flower-shaped dipping bowl. Phyllis Castells, owner of Heart of the Home in New Hope, PA, said that she'd rather have me offer two different sets ... all squares and all circles. I knew immediately that she was right. A year later, I finally finished the design of the all-squares set, which actually evolved into rectangles. I'm hoping to finish the all-circles set by next year. 
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This is something I've never liked about my square plates. When I drape a square slab over a mold, the clay bunches up in the corners, and a protruding lobe develops. It doesn't bother me that much, just a little. Enough that I decided I wanted to eliminate the lobe. 

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I thought the answer was to cut a slab with a rounded corner. Wrong. It still made a protruding lobe, only now it was shaped like a duck's bill. 

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I realized I needed to shave clay off of the corners, but still maintain a point. Here comes another benefit from my design background ... I can use softwares like Adobe Illustrator to draw precise shapes and curves. The three orange lines represent my first three attempts to figure out the correct curves and angles. They were duds, resulting in weird lobes in other places. Ugh! Every time I turned them over from their molds, I felt defeated.  I thought "hey the lobes in the original design aren't so bad. I can live with them." But then I would wake up the next day realizing I was not satisfied, and I was ready to give it another shot.

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On the fourth try (the black line in the above image), it worked. 

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Here's another benefit I took from my design office ... the perfect material for making the final cutting templates. These have a glossy surface that can withstand getting a little wet. I have a stack of these that I haven't needed in a while. 

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Now I'm satisfied.

11 Comments
Jay Wiese link
1/12/2012 04:12:04 am

I highly recommend integrating a 3D design package into your ceramic your design process. I use Google Sketchup (free). I can import my sketches, work out exact measurements and volumes, determine the amount of clay I'll need, make templates &c. before even stepping foot in the studio. It's saved me countless hours of trial and error.

Cheers,
Jay W.

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Marikacermics link
4/22/2013 09:29:41 am

Thanks for tip. Google sketch hey...

Reply
Mea
1/12/2012 05:25:16 am

Thanks Jay, that sounds terrific. I will try it!

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Joana link
1/13/2012 03:40:13 am

As another graphic designer (who has dreams of making a living as potter) I can completely agree with you. You can also create your own promotional materials, banners, retouch your photographs, etc. Education is always useful, it expands your thinking.

Reply
Beatrice R Nathan link
1/13/2012 10:05:07 am

Wow, what a great post! I really wish I had a design background. I would love to be able to use tools like Adobe Illustrator and photoshop but I just don't have the education. For a potter without your background what do you think the best way to educate myself would be?

Reply
Mea
1/13/2012 10:29:35 pm

Beatrice, every community college offers classes in these softwares. I'm also a big fan of lynda.com, which is an online resource for software training, they have countless video tutorials for every software and any skill level.

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Rosemary link
1/31/2012 02:20:20 am

The finished product looks incredible! Definitely worth the trial and error. Reminds me of Japanese Hagiyaki tea ware. Very nice.

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littlewrenpottery link
2/19/2012 11:33:09 pm

I agree lynda.com is an amazing resource, best thing is you can do it at home in your own time rather than having to go out of your way! Great work I love the look of the finished plates they're fabulous.

Reply
Julie C link
4/22/2013 01:31:50 pm

old website (mine) but the envelopes- you can make waterproof templates for the priority mail envelopes- they are made from 3M tyvek
I think that's the name of the product- and you can get them for free at the USPO- great work -btw I did get the job teaching Ceramics at a great low SES high school! Jules

Reply
vijay
6/17/2016 07:54:10 pm

great post.

Can you please share some details on how you went about making mold? Thanks.

Reply
Mea
6/17/2016 08:33:39 pm

This is the issue of Pottery Making Illustrated from 2001, which is how I learned how to make molds out of styrofoam and plaster. The article starts on page 14.

http://ceramicartsdaily.org/pottery-making-illustrated/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/08/Pottery_Making_sum01.pdf

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    Mea Rhee (mee-uh ree),
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