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Christine Homer Weaving

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Ideas and photos in this section reflect years of experience resulting in methods
that make working more efficient and comfortable.

Clay Stamps

These stamps are made of clay
and bisque fired.

 The porous nature of bisque stamps means they do not stick when pressed into leather hard clay.

Potters Chop

Beginning in the year 2000 Robert has stamped his pots with this unique chop, or trademark.  The chop is a stylization of the “watersculptures”, he made from 1972-1999.

 In addition to applying  his “watersculpture” chop, he signs "Compton" in small print on the foot of each piece.

Clay Body Marker

Most of Robert's pots are marked by a small stamp on the foot.  These stamps vary in design as they indicate a specific clay body used when making that particular pot.

Using multiple firing techniques has resulted in his developing several clay bodies.  Each body reacts differently depending on the atmosphere and firing technique.

By stamping the pots he is able to track the bisque pots, allowing him to chose pieces for a specific firing, and track the results of the clay body after the firings.

Robert does little or no decoration with brushwork on his pottery.

By using texturing devices he creates a surfaces which are well suited for celadon glaze effects.

This tool cuts a nice pattern into leather hard clay. 
The roller is from an old fashioned pencil sharpener.  There are usually two rollers in a pencil sharpener. 
The handle is a piece of bent metal coat hanger.

This short piece of cord, is taken from a Japanese kimono tie.

The cord is rolled into the freshly thrown form
before it is removed from the wheel.

The resulting texture is accented
when glaze pools in the rope depressions.

The word "Jomon" translates to mean "cord pressed".

After decades of throwing, Robert discovered that keeping a wet hand towel at the wheel  keeps the work station clean and dust free.

By wiping your hands with a wet towel, you avoid clay from drying on your skin. It also  prevents slop from transferring to the floor . When clay dries on your skin it increases  abrasion causing red sore hands and arms.

Keep a wet towel that you wash frequently,
and a second clean dry towel.

Use a good skin moisturizer
before and after throwing.

After years of searching in his water bucket for throwing tools, such as sponges and ribs.  Robert designed a two tiered tool rack (with a half moon bottom) which fits securely into and over his water bucket.

A few holes in the top for needle tools, and wire hanger on the side, speeds up locating tools, when your hands are coated with clay.

Robert uses this type mixer when mixing dry minerals. 
When the dry materials are blended a pre-measured amount of water is added
and allowed to soak for several hours (or overnight).

Once the glaze is wet, he prefers using the manual rubber plunger, for both convenience and efficiency.

 This is one of many different metal devices, that can be used on an electric drill,
and will swirl glaze in a bucket.
One problem with all metal mixers is the potential for shredding the surface of the plastic bucket.
It is even possible to puncture the side or bottom of a 5 gallon plastic bucket
if used too aggressively.

A toilet plunger that has four 1 inch holes drilled into the rubber, makes a great plunger mixer. Pushing the plunger down forces glaze up and out the holes.
It can also be used as a paddle to stir glaze when it settles.

A great feature of this device is that it is very clean to use.
The plunger remains submersed at or near the bottom of the glaze bucket,
which means there is virtually no splashing.

Robert first saw this method of mixing glazes when giving workshops in Ireland.
It is an extremely low tech method for mixing glaze
without electricity and without splashing.

This is a simple device for reclaiming or cleaning clay.
Slop and Slip Clays are poured into the pan dryer (above right).
The liquid clay is air dried from above while a wood fire under the pan
warms the slip permitting it to dry evenly, on humid days.

The wooden barrel (above left) was used to settle stones and debris
from locally dug clay.  The liquid was then scooped into the pan dryer.

Robert used an industrial Dough mixer for over 30 years. This would mix 600lb batches of clay. He usually started with 200 lbs of slop, adding 400 lbs of powdered clay, and water, to bring a batch to the right consistency.

Currently Robert has clay mixed by an industrial supplier.  He now feels the storage required and the dust resulting from producing his own clay, took up too much time, energy and space in his studio.