When watching a clever thrower in a factory making some difficult and probably horrible vase, it is
intensely interesting to see the fine forms evolved in the process. To the artist the impulse to stop him is almost irresistible. It was there that the old masters showed their wisdom and restraint. They stopped at the right moment and none of their shapes descend to the merely clever.
There is a nobility about a large vase lacking in a small one. Once the appetite be whetted for big pots the desire for size seems insatiable. The only way out, except for the born thrower, is the two- or three-piece vase.
The Chinese were masters of this as of every other process and we find that they frequently made vases of quite moderate size in two or three parts, sticking the pieces together with consummate skill. This process, however, should never be attempted until considerable proficiency has been gained in throwing to a drawing, for in any but expert hands it is doomed to failure. The shape must be carefully drawn out on paper and the sections marked off and then thrown exactly to size. Any deviation means endless trouble, with eventual disappointment.
For this difficult work the student unable to devote a lifetime to throwing will find a removable wheel head a necessity. Then a slotted one can be screwed on which will allow a plaster disc to be shipped back into exactly the same position, thus saving the difficult task of re-centring. For prolonged
operations these plaster discs require to be shellacked to prevent the work leaving.
Fig. 34
To start with a shape as shown in the illustration might be attempted. (Fig. 34.) The drawing made full size is hung in full view. Then the gauge is set to
the exact width of the joint. The bottom half is first made, being cut square and true with the pricker. The drawing is reversed and the upper half thrown, the neck being at the bottom with a fair amount of waste beneath. When each part is trimmed accurately to measure, they are put aside to toughen.