Tool-making

The first day of the first pottery class I took as an undergraduate, we didn't even touch the clay. Instead, we went into the wood shop, and with scraps of wood, doweling, wire and cork, made all of our tools: cut-off wire, needle tool, throwing stick and ribs. The only tool we bought outright was an elephant-ear natural sponge, for throwing. Even our chamois was recycled, previously used with charcoal in drawing class.

I still carry that tradition with me. I do buy tools these days--I'm particularly fond of Mud Tools' silicon ribs--but I still use scrap wood and sheet metal and my belt sander to make many of my pottery and sculpture tools.

And then there's this one. It's called a roulette, a roller. I made it from clay, pressed in tool impressions, and dried it overnight on the heater vent in the bathroom. Ideally, I should have bisqued it next, but I needed it in a hurry, so I just used it as greenware.

What does it do? Well, if you roll it over a semi-stiff slab, it leaves a lovely scaly texture. Like snakeskin, or alligator… or chicken legs.

Yup. I made a special tool just so I could make chicken legs. Why?

Stay tuned.