After pulling up walls and shaping, it is time to take away the excess clay and to add underglazes, handles, beaks, spouts, or carve designs onto the form. This step of taking away the excess clay is called (by some people) trimming or turning (for others). The vessel must be in a consistency called leather hard, which means that it is hard enough for the vessel to withstand the pressure of a sharp blade, and yet not dry, avoiding creating dust when the blade touches the pot. I hold the vessel and I determine how much clay I can take away. If the vessel has an opening big enough for my hands to fit inside, I touch the inside bottom of the vessel and compare to the outside, making marks with my fingernail on the outside of the vessel where the curves begin, determining where there is extra clay that can be taken away so my vessel takes it final form and it has the right weight for it’s purpose. I visually determine where the vessel should go on the wheel, place the vessel upside down on the wheel head, prop my right elbow on my right thigh, and with my arm still I hold my right finger to the side of the vessel, determining where I must shift the vessel so it will be equidistant from the edges of the wheel. I stop and shift the vessel often until I am happy with the circle the vessel is making. I take 4 generous pieces of clay and push them onto the wheel and onto the vessel at the same time, creating a strong attachment between the vessel and the wheel head. Following the marks I made before, I use a trimming tool to take away the excess clay, revealing the shape I imagine for the foot of the vessel. When I sense that I took away enough clay, I take a spoon and run it back and forth on the bottom and sides of the vessel, smoothing out the form (in a step called burnishing), and then I brush vinegar on the pot for a smooth finish. I press my maker’s mark to the back or to the side of the pot, add handles, spouts, or additional decorations, carve the piece, and allow the vessel to dry completely before the firing process.
Trimming is the most time-consuming part of the process for me. I take my time finding the center, taking away excess clay, peeling layer after layer of clay until I get the form I want. I also take time burnishing and brushing vinegar onto the pot. The full process of trimming allows for the shape to be what it can be. This is comparable to a method of studying Torah that is known in our tradition by the acronym PaRDeS (meaning Orchard in Hebrew). The Hebrew word is composed by 4 consonants, pay, resh,dalet, and sameh. In this method the letter pay stand for pshat, the straightforward meaning of the text, resh which stands for remez, a clue to understand the text, dalet which stands for drash, an interpretation that expands the understanding of the text, and the sameh which stands for sod, the secret meaning embedded in the text.
The Torah can be read in all these levels, and we keep all these meanings in our heads as we study, opening our eyes to the layers of the text. There are times when to make a point or to apply the text to our lives we need to focus on the simple meaning of the text, the pshat. Yet our understanding and our intellectual growth come from peeling away the other layers of meaning, when the hidden is revealed, and we expand our intellectual horizons.
In pottery, there are times when I do not need to trim away excess clay from a vessel. However, I surely miss an opportunity for more beauty when I refrain from taking my time and concentrating on the form. There are times that when I study the text something catches my attention and I get a clue to follow. In pottery there are times when something catches my attention and I visualize a path to creating a better vessel. There are times when I study the text and I must expand on it to make sure I am understanding its meaning in a way that aligns with my beliefs. In pottery there are times when I must add pieces to make the vessel function to its full potential (imagine a teapot without a spout). And there are times that I study the text and its secret, its sod, its deeper meaning is revealed and changes my outlook in life. Similarly, in pottery, there are times when I feel I am successful beyond my wildest imagination, feeling that the piece I created achieved, by some unknown and secret way a form that is balanced, beautiful, and functional.
Finding the secret hidden in a form or in a text is a once in a lifetime event. There are plenty of moments of pshat, of plain meaning of texts, of simple forms that are delightful, that enrich our lives even when they are not sublime. Following the methodology of PaRDeS in our lives is a tool to living a fulfilling life in every moment, enjoying the simple and the complex, the plain and the sublime, in study, in pottery, or in whatever it is that brings you joy.