Make A Drum......Punk

I realized I had intended to post this in the past but had not so i give it to you now.   the original had pictures they are now saved in the archives so i will edit them in later.

So.... make a drum, punk!
A Short Demonstration In Printed Format By Ted Damman

Some people have said that the oldest instrument after the human voice is the drum. The ShiJing mentions drums used for ritual use in China some time around the 10th century BCE. The Rig Veda mentions drums used as military signals in the 1 6th Century BCE. Without doubt the drum is far older than printed record. Do you want to insert yourself into this historical tradition? Then by all means pursue this end. Do try to read this article all the way to the end to get the full grasp of what is important. I will put a materiel list at the end as a way of summary. You will need some experience working with ceramics in order to build this. I will use terms that may seem foreign to the average reader, so if you are unsure what a term means search for it online in order to educate yourself.
I have had a fondness for the idea of making drums from ceramic materiel’s for a while. I appreciate the flexibility of the medium of clay and have learned much in the process.
I have learned so far that the way I work with clay makes for an abrasive bearing edge and a rope tuned system that may work well for a metal or wood bodied hand drum is problematic. I have found that gluing the head on is the most effective solution for me.
I have experimented with a few alternatives to goatskin for drum heads, calfskin was only a slight improvement. This seems to me not worth the additional cost. Strapping tape with the fibre threads running through it is great for teaching children to build drums but is inferior for any serious attempts at drum construction. There is also a certain drum size where the strapping tape is most effective.
Finally I have found after reading up on building udus that low fire adds resonance due to the clay body being more open. in practice I have found that this is not exactly true even with udus. A Orton cone 6 firing is more effective
than any low firing I have tried with an
added benefit of the richness of glazes
available.
I would like to share what I have discovered so far. I would like to try more experiments in the future and write another article but that is dependent on many factors.
First I like to start with a bowl as a mold to add uniformity, it is important to keep in mind that unless the bowl is absorbent the drum in the mold will not dry as quickly as the part outside the bowl. So try to build a form with an exterior opening as it will help the form dry correctly. I like to sand (250-400 grit) the bowl and apply 2-5 coats of slip to the inside of the bowl to prevent clay from sticking. It is important to apply more coats between one drum and the next being made.
Next using coils build up the sides of the bowl being sure to smooth and compress. I aim for 1 cm walls and scrape a good bit off the outside later. Make sure you build up what will later be the rim of the drum so it is thicker when you are ready to fire

When the body of the drum is the shape you desire let it dry to the point where it is at or just beyond leather hard,
whereupon you can then carve and decorate and smooth what is sticking up outside the bowl.
When you are ready to pull the drum from the bowl have the foam block from an couch or chair cushion ready to set the drum on. Spray the now exposed coils with the vinegar and water mix and smooth and scrape till you feel good about it. Try to make both parts feel uniform. Leave the Inside kinda rough this eliminates unwanted high overtones.
Shape the inside of the bearing edge to curve in a bit
Bisque to ^06 or so
Glaze the outside leaving at least 9cm in order to glue the head onto and fire while it is sitting on the rim side. (Do not Glaze any part of the interior that is not visible when assembled.
When you are ready to install the head find a place where you can leave the drum standing to dry for 48 hrs or so. You need a goatskin head at least 9cm larger than the final rim size. I try to construct so the build size is 9cm smaller and make use of shrinkage. My clay shrinks 9% or so your clay will likely differ. You need hose clamps large enough to encircle the rim and the tool needed to tighten, non waterproof white or wood glue preferably the best within reason, a turntable to set the drum on, and a light damp sponge
First place the head in a 5gal bucket of water or tray so the head is fully immersed.
Set the drum on the turntable and try to get the rim level. Set up the hose clamps and test fit them
Put glue around the edges.

Place the head so it overlaps the shell

evenly.
Place the clamps over the top and apply even pressure pulling wrinkles out of head before
it is tight.
Place sponge in the center and leave the drum be for 48hrs to dry.
By the time you are done letting the glue dry and have removed the sponge you are probably impatient to play it. hold off for a couple more days. What you can do is remove the hose clamps and trim the weird flap of extra drum head off.
What you need here is a very sharp knife. I keep a paring knife for this but you can use an x- acto knife with a utility blade or whatever you can control. see my picture as it shows my technique.
List of tools.
I will assume that clay, glazes, trimming tools, potters ribs, etc. are already familiar to the reader of this article. If you have no idea what I am talking about stop reading this enter 01 33547043 into the search bar on Amazon. The book that corresponds will start you out right. The more unusual things you will need are:
-Hose clamps to fasten end to end until you have a large enough size. (I use these as trimming tools as well)
-Vinegar
-A glazing wheel or lazy susan
-Sharp Knife

-Goat skin drum head of the correct size. -Glue
-Foam pad
-Bowl to use as mold

Slainte, I wish you well in your drum building future.

Post Script: if you want to know how to take care of your drum (you know you do) do a quick search online and find what you need. Though i will recommend these pages.
http://drumaticinnovation.com/about-drums/drum-care
http://www.rhythmhousedrums.com/knowledge/care.php
http://www.rhythmhousedrums.com/knowledge/head-repair.php 

Installation!!

Today I created my first official installation.  Stressful but i feel it went over well.

Summer pots so far

messing around with slip casting this summer making molds and such.  so here goes

pit fired piece and sculpture

my new pieces presented today

Güdrid

My latest effort named Güdrid as the name came to me when I was  pressed to name the piece.  Originally i wanted to give it the name of Adara.  Güdrid is a fitting name as it is the feminine form of Güdrun and means battle.  The work deals with destruction and aftermath and the fragility of recognition.  often we find ourselves mere moments from destroying all that we value.  the gasmask is symbolic of walls people raise to defend themselves from other people.

much needed updates

I am sorry to have delayed posting updates.  The unfired piece is slowly melting back into the earth.  Oh and an awesome picture of a leaf.

Also pictures of the drum that never was. (probably for the better)  it broke when i tried to flip it over to fire it. should have used a more dense clay body and should have used incised lines for strength rather than ribbing.  oh well

This weeks installment of aided entropy vs unfired clay.

This installment is two weeks worth.  I poured 1 gallon over the piece both this week and last and the cold weather is helping more than the heat did.  cracks are forming and the piece is pulling itself apart this is really cool. More water actually has a effect on the piece versus not anything happening with a quart or two.  

Applied Graphic Assignment

I know i should of had more pictures earlier but here is what is up.  I am working on a applied design project. it does have a purpose but I will not reveal it yet. here are some juicy pics for you to enjoy this thing in its rough state.

Unfired Piece 5

10/13/11

This week I did something new.   2-litres of water people!  Guess what! If you thing it just melted the piece down you are wrong; this thing is tough seriously!  no change over last week. I touched it it was wet enough to make a very thin layer of slip on top but not much else.  if anything the water is strengthening it not weakening it.  I will continue with updates but not much is really happening. Next week I will include this in a broad update on what is happening next week.  Also this week more macro photos. one is of my hat today and the other is of a piece of tape that was laying on the ground.

Unfired Piece 4

10/6/11

Today we have more photos, It is the birthday of a friend and it rained last night. I was hopeful given the rain but still dumped another 20oz on the piece. The clay is washing away bit by bit. This is slow but neat. Several pictures this time (I am having fun with the macro lens and wish I had room in any of my camera bags for the off camera flash grip but no such luck.) next week maybe more water if I am able and if I remember. These macros are making my piece look like a rock face.  

Unfired Piece 3

9/29/11

I dyed the water red and then poured the water over the piece slowly. Not much really happened, the color was not that visible though it did provide for some nice macro photos. I am learning to better use the macro lens week by week. I do think that pouring water over the piece before photographing would be a good practice. So, I will do that when I photograph the piece next thursday. It is disappointing that the water did not do much.  

Unfired Piece 2

9/27/11

The piece has not changed much included is one macro photo (the distance photo is too dark) and a photo of my awesome hat (it is awesome). As not much has changed I will force the play thursday by dumping 20 oz of coloured water (for visibility). We will see then what will happen. I hope lots of clay will just soften and melt off that would be awesome!!!

my unfired piece 1

9/20/11

Space for living is borrowed and ephemeral. People build giant monstrosities of homes that will be acted upon by entropy from the moment the first nail is pounded home. It may be a long time before the home is reduced to ashes, scrap-wood or a pile of rocks but it is bound to happen eventually. In the animal kingdom arrangements can be less permanent. Some animals dig a burrow that will cave in later in the next year but it serves as winter protection. I will admit that some creatures may use natural caves as shelter but elements still erode mountains and hills over time. In Kansas where I live we have these wasps called mud daubers that build nests for their larvae made out of mud. There are several types of these wasps and each builds a different type of nest. Recently one built a nest in the air conditioning unit in one of our drawing classrooms here at the university. When the professor turned the unit on she was bombarded by bits of mud and chopped up wasp larvae and dead spiders. You see mud daubers are tolerated around here not only because they are hard to get rid of but also because they kill spiders. They are the number one predator of black and brown widow spiders around here. The mud daubers put dead spiders in the larvae tubes before they seal them up to feed their young. The nature of housing to decay and particularly the making of nests by mud daubers inspired my piece. First I built radiating pods from clay body with coarse sand mixed in and molded them together to have one opening. I coated the piece with a rough platy slip to create a natural texture and placed the piece in a natural location where I could record the process of the piece returning to nature. I may help nature along from time to time as I do have a schedule to finish the process by. The first two pictures show are both a macro shot and a far away shot. The piece is rough like a stone and already appears as if it were what it is intended to resemble in a way. The location is ideal for the recording of the deterioration bit by bit.

9/27/11

The piece has not changed much included are two photos and a photo of my awesome hat (it is awesome). As not much has changed I will force the play thursday by dumping 20 oz of coloured water (for visibility). We will see then what will happen. I hope lots of clay will just soften and melt off that would be awesome!!!