A volunteer at a dig in New Mexico told me my brush strokes were too hard

I was helping clean a ceramic sherd at a public dig near Santa Fe, and an older volunteer leaned over and said, 'You're scrubbing it like a dirty dish, you'll wear the design right off.' I realized I was pressing way too hard, trying to get it perfectly clean. Now I use the softest part of the brush and let the dirt fall away with gentle taps. Has anyone else had to completely relearn a basic technique like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

lucas_carr249d ago

Happens all the time with things we think we know. We push too hard on a saw and bind the blade, or scrub a pan and ruin the coating. It's like our default setting is force, when most tasks need a light touch and some patience. I had to relearn how to sharpen a knife because I was using way too much pressure and just making it worse.

jesse_burns89d ago

Disagree, honestly. My first pottery class the teacher had us grip the brush like a pencil and really work the clay slip into the grooves. A light touch just left the surface looking dusty and unfinished. Sometimes you need that firm, even pressure to get a clean result, depends entirely on the material.