Smashing Color

There were lots of emails and comments flying back and forth last week about my suggestion for standardizing pasta machine settings. After weighing all the input, I decided to simplify my original idea and relabeled all my pasta machines with just THICK, MEDIUM and THIN settings based on the chart below.

The actual thickness standards did not change from last week so if you labeled your pasta machines last week the settings for THICK, MEDIUM and THIN are the same. What did change is the method of measuring the thicknesses.

Two cards = THIN setting.

The new chart includes both standard thicknesses for single sheets and for stacks of ten sheets. Since the majority of the world uses the metric system, the standards are in millimeters and the number of sheets stacked up is changed from the eight I used last week to ten. (Ten works better with the metric system.)

A few folks asked about using playing cards so I included a column with the number of playing cards at each setting, Stacking playing cards is not very accurate but would be a way to get close if someone did not have a pasta machine or a ruler!

If all teachers recommended labeling of pasta machines according to these standards then we would soon get a feel for sheets of each thickness. We just need to agree to a few standards so that teachers can use them in books, tutorials and workshops and students can feel confident they will get the right results.

Pasta Machine Labeling Project

1. Write down the numbers on your pasta machine dial on a sheet of scrap paper. Some pasta machines have only 6 settings, some as many as 9 settings.

2. Sheet a small piece of clay at the thickest setting and then cut it into 10 pieces.

3. Stack up the ten sheets and press gently together.

4. Measure and make a note of the width. In the illustration below my note would read, #1 – Ten Sheets = 25 mm in metric (1″)

#1 - 10 Sheets = 1"

#1 - 10 Sheets = 25 mm

5. Do the same with each of your pasta machine settings.

6. Identify the THICK, MEDIUM and THIN settings based on the sheets that come the closest to the dimensions on the chart. You will probably be a little bit plus or minus on either side of the standard. That’s OK. We are just trying to get in the ballpark.

7. Label your pasta machines. I use a file label.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Last week I included a Very Thick and Very Thin setting. I took these off the chart to make the point that we should only standardize settings that are available to everyone.

Once you find the three standard settings on your pasta machine(s), you can use all the other settings in your own work or in your studio. For example – very thick would be any setting that is thicker than your THICK setting. Very thin is any setting thinner than your THIN setting. Medium Thick would be a setting between MED and THICK etc.

I am planning to submit a post to Polymer Clay Daily about this idea and would love to get additional input before finalizing my proposal. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

After struggling to write the instructions for a new project, I realized how crazy it is that we do not have standard settings on pasta machines. We can’t just use the numbers because every pasta machine is different. Sometimes the thickest setting is #1, sometimes the thinnest setting is #1. Sometimes the thickest setting is over 1/8″ thick and sometimes it is closer to 1/16th”. This causes all kinds of problems in projects where the thickness of the sheet is critical to the technique.

I have a simple solution. Let’s standardize at least three settings  - call them “thick”, “medium” and “thin”  - and label our pasta machines.

1. Write down the numbers on your pasta machine dial on a sheet of scrap paper. Some pasta machines have only 6 settings, some as many as 9 settings.

2. Sheet a small piece of clay at the thickest setting and then cut it into 8 pieces. Line the pieces up, measure the width, and make a note of the width. In the illustration below my note would read, #1 = 1″ (24 mm in metric)

8 sheets = 1"

8 sheets = 24 mm

Why eight sheets? We could try to measure the thickness of just one sheet but this is difficult to do with any accuracy especially at the thinnest settings. Eight sheets gives us something to measure easily.

3. Do the same thing for all of the settings.

4. Once you have all the widths documented, identify these five settings -

Very Thick        8 sheets = More than 7/8″ (22+ mm)

Thick                8 sheets = 3/4″ – 7/8″ (19-22 mm)

Medium          8 sheets = 3/8″ – 7/16″ (10-11 mm)

Thin                 8 sheets = 3/16″ – 7/32″ (5 – 6 mm)

Very Thin         8 sheets = 1/8″ or less (3 mm or less)

5. Label the pasta machine. I just use a file label.

Not all pasta machines will have all five settings – this machine did not have a very thin setting and the thinnest setting was not even as thin as it should be. But in my experience, pretty much all pasta machines have settings that correspond to the middle three thicknesses.

I’d like to suggest that teachers start using just these three settings  - “thick”, “medium”, and “thin” –  and that all workshops start with students finding the numbers on their pasta machine that are closest to these settings.

You can of course use all your settings not just these three. I could, for example, say “Sheet the clay at your medium-thick setting.”  You would know to sheet it between your thick and medium settings.

If you have more than one pasta machine put labels on all of them. Here’s the chart for my four Atlas 150′s. As you can see they are all different.

I like to identify my pasta machines with a letter so that I can easily make notes when I’m working on a project. A is my motorized pasta machine. B is my old Atlas that I only use for its very thin setting, C and D are my traveling pasta machines.

With all the new pasta machines on the market the variations in thickness are extreme. The Dream Machine has a #1 setting where 8 sheets = well over 1″. Compare that to one of my Atlas 150′s where 8 sheets = 3/4″ and you can see how hard it is for artists spread out all over the world to get the same results. Standardizing the settings would make it much easier to teach/follow instructions and get consistent results no matter what pasta machine you are using!

The Smashing Color Retreats in 2012 will take place in the ArtSpace at TaborSpace in Portland, Oregon. Located in the historic Mount Tabor neighborhood, TaborSpace is an innovative grassroots community center sharing sacred space with a 100 year old stone church.

The ArtSpace is on the second floor of the Parish House. Its a comfortable, quiet, spacious, well-lit room with a large wooden table and stunning views of Portland.  A perfect spot for immersing ourselves in color!

The coffeehouse at TaborSpace serves gourmet coffee, local pastries, handmade sandwiches and fresh soup. The baristas are volunteers from all around Portland. Its a non-profit so payment is by donation.  Here’s a picture I took of the Commons this afternoon after the rush – note the stocking up on the mantel for all the volunteers.

There is plenty of parking and a bus stop on the corner. A pod of Portland’s famous food carts is within walking distance, and nearby B&B’s are warm and welcoming. If you are coming from out of town for one of the retreats, we can find you an affordable place to stay.

Here’s a little bit of the history of TaborSpace and of my involvement there.

Three years ago Mount Tabor Presbyterian church was almost empty except for a few hours on Sunday mornings. In the spring of 2009, I started noticing activity centered on the bell tower. A sandwich board appeared on the corner saying “TaborSpace: A Gathering Place. Elegant Coffee. Coming Soon.”

I wondered what could be going on? Was a new church moving in? Or was the building sold to a business?  At the end of June, I saw that the the bell tower doors were wide open. The sign had changed to read “TaborSpace -Now Open.” I went up the steps and into a whole new phase of my life.

Don’t get me wrong. I have a church. I go every Sunday. Its a 20 minute drive. I love the progressive community and the constant challenge to activism and social justice. I have many friends there and spend lots of time volunteering. I did not need a church. What I needed was a community closer to home. A place I could walk to and get involved in.

I have a great neighborhood. We do lots of things together. The usual block parties and holiday parties of course but much more. For the last 13 years we have gathered every Wednesday night in the summer in someone’s backyard to share dessert, wine and good conversation until the stars come out. We share tools, help each other out and offer space in each other’s homes for overflow guests when someone has a big family event. We know each other pretty well, and I wanted to share that feeling with more people.

What I longed for was to ripple out from our close knit neighborhood and build community at the next level. Ten years ago I worked for the Northwest Earth Institute coordinating the Neighborhood Sense of Place Program. What we learned was that strengthening the connections between people who lived close to each other enriched their lives in very natural ways. Ways that were simple, affordable, and did not use up the resources of the earth.

The TaborSpace project was founded in 2009 by church members and a committed team of neighbors in order to build community and to offer this beautiful, historic building as a resource for the neighborhood. Just five blocks from my house, TaborSpace is now at the heart of my local community.

The new coffee house welcomed the neighborhood to come in, enjoy locally roasted Ristretto coffee and pastries from Nuvrei Bakery in the Pearl District, and relax in the Commons surrounded by stained glass and good company. I was drawn by the beauty of the architecture, the spirit of welcoming, and the fun of working together on something brand new – a unique overlapping of church and neighborhood.

Do the congregation and the neighbors always see eye to eye? No. Sometimes its a little bit tense as we work together to build trust and share this beautiful building. But it is working. There are new events and activities happening every day – and more and more people of all ages coming through the doors, for yoga, music, art, and healing. Though the TaborSpace project is intentionally non-denominational, the Church’s coffee-house service on Sunday is growing. Its a classic win-win.

What started as a partnership between the church and the neighborhood is becoming a thriving grassroots community center.  I am so happy to be there and to offer the 2012 Color Retreats in this place that is now my second home. Please consider coming to experience it for yourself!

For more information on TaborSpace.

PDF of tri-fold with information on the SmashingColorRetreats2012