PAUL DAVIS  - Feb 26-27, 2005        click pictures to enlarge After a superb weekend of demonstrations, stories of Japan and great conversation, BC potters have been left with plenty of ideas and inspiration to stoke their imaginations. "There's no point in me doing things you already know," said Davis. "I want to show you things you haven't seen, and give you as many techniques as I can, so you can apply them to what you're doing."  With that he proceeded to throw form after form off the hump, and demonstrate his 'slam' techniques, creating a variety of objects that come from the heart of the Japanese sensibility.  One thing that was striking about Paul Davis was how he worked his way so seamlessly through a wide range of forms. Throughout the weekend he moved from thin, small vessels, to heavily grogged hand built objects without a pause, and didn't seem to lack for fresh ideas. The workshop was engaging on a number of levels. Paul shared a wealth of information both through hands-on demonstration, and stories. Simple wisdom and comical tales are as much a part of his palette as bamboo ribs and cutting wire. click pictures to enlarge Paul's tools created lots of conversation. They were primarily hand-made from bamboo, and local hardwoods. Orchardists in the Sturt area drop off apple prunings every spring, and bamboo grows in ample quantity, so he has no shortage of materials. Nor do we, as he reminded us. The bull's tongue, which he carved from a hardwood, has also been cast in resin. Not shown is the feather file, a small trimming tool available at Lee Valley. In this picture Paul uses a rib to shape the inside of the bowl. This is one a many shapes he created out of a broad knowledge of Japanese forms. He used B-Mix to demonstrate stoneware and porcelain techniques, and a heavily grogged Plainsman for larger and 'slammed' objects. Other vessels were tea bowls, sake pitchers, plates, vases and a variety of bowls.  A series of three chucks were thrown the day before the workshop, and allowed to set enough to be used in demonstration. Normally these chucks are bisqued, and kept damp between trimming sessions. A soft ring of clay is added to the top and the bottom of the chuck to create a gripping platform for the vessel to sit on. A nylon stocking can be placed over the top ring to provide both grip and easy release.  click pictures to enlarge This bowl is being trimmed on another, shorter chuck. The base was trimmed to size according to a cutting disk that ensures uniform foot sizes. On the second day Paul went back to a hardened b-mix vessel and did more trimming with a tungsten carbide tool to create some sharp and precise trim lines. This Ikebana vase was made in the fashion of the bamboo original. He threw the vessel first, then created the cross piece from the clay he cut out of the sides, allowing the clay to remain consistent with itself while drying.  After slamming clay into a block, Paul went to work with a 2x4 and hammer. Hollowing out the centre in this manner added  compression to the vase. Later, a cutting wire was used to shape a roughly textured outer surface.  Again the 2x4 was employed to pound the clay flat, using a cross-hatch pattern to ensure compression in more than one direction. The surface was carved with banding and roughed up a little more before he was finished with it. This simple drawing of bamboo illustrates four basic strokes. 1 - the tip of the brush, moving round like a bicycle pedal 2 - the side of the brush 3 - a broad stroke 4 - the Zorro stroke Our thanks to all those who worked to bring Paul Davis to Kamloops. This was a rich experience and will continue to bear fruit for a long time.  top of page             back to workshops          Updated - October 29, 2008