Welcome to the first in a series where I will highlight a tool I use in my various arts. Part of why I enjoy making things is being able to use all the coolest tools to make making things easier and more efficient. Sometimes I feel I have too many tools, but I wouldn't want to be caught without one that I need. I love shopping for, looking at, creating, and using new tools. Some tools are works of art in themselves. I really enjoy tools and I think as fellow creative individuals we may share this appreciation for THE RIGHT TOOL.
This week's tool is the BEVEL TOOL. I had seen one in a catalog and could've ordered it from China, but thought I could make one just as easy. So that's what I did. I have actually sold quite a few of these at
Wichita Pottery where they have all sorts of clay classes.
Okay, so what does it do? Well I gave you a hint a second ago. It is used for clay, specifically slab building. When building things with slabs in clay, you often need to join two slabs either at a corner or butting them together. However, the joint is much stronger if is an angled cut rather than a straight one. So this is where the BEVEL TOOL comes in. It makes straight cuts and bevels them by simply sliding this tool along the side of the slab. The wire is mounted at an angle which cuts the clay. The shell on top of the tool is to add tension to the line and is merely slipped in.
If you want a BEVEL TOOL of your own without having to make it, visit
Wichita Pottery.
I would love to hear about your favorite tool. Maybe I will highlight it in a future post!
This week's tool is... is... well I don't know that it has a name. My figure painting teacher used one and told us how to make our own. I call it a "pouncer" and don't ask me why, except maybe it's because he said his daughter like to POP him on the head with it. Simply it is a long dowel with some pantyhose on one end, held on with rubber bands. The dowel acts as a resting place for your wrist to avoid laying your hand in wet paint. It helps steady my shaking hands as I paint fine details. The pad (pantyhose) on the end keeps the dowel from scratching the surface of the painting. Another simple, but handy tool I created myself and use all the time.
