Friday, January 04, 2008

Footing a Plate

I use this homemade foam bat when I am cutting feet on plates or wide bowls. To make it I just used white school glue to attach thin foam to a batt. The clay supply stores sell these too. I have another larger one I use for platters and big bowls.Here is the uncut plate centered on the batt. Learning to tap on center is a skill worth learning. I use it not only when cutting feet but also when waxing, or decorating.
The finished foot below. I'll usually pick up the foam batt and invert the plate over onto another regular batt. That way I don't mess up the rim or distort the pot. If it's firm enough it's okay just to pick it up.
I usually dry my plates upside down on a batt.