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Pres

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About Pres

  • Birthday 08/20/1949

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    bisquefire06@hotmail.com
  • Website URL
    http://picworkspottery.blogspot.com/

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  • Location
    Central, PA
  • Interests
    Camping, kayaking, family, travel, Art in general. I have a small studio in my garage. Two electric kilns, two wheels, wedging table etc. I am primarily interested in cone 6 Ox. but like to see what is going on at all ranges. Read about ceramics voraciously and love the feel of the clay and throwing. Have to admit that my greatest joy is in the making, not the glazing. That said I do mix my own glazes, some of my own formulas, some borrowed. Retired from teaching art, in 2009 after 36 years, taught ceramics 34 of those years.

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  1. @HulkI just attach a fishing float to the chamois, and it gives me a handle when my fingers are slippery. best, Pres
  2. I was recently at NCECA, and notices some interesting throwing buckets at one booth selling wheels. They were paint trim buckets, hanging over the splash pan edge by their handles! Some wheels had two, some only one. I could never use that size of a bucket while throwing as I use water in the beginning to center the hump, and gradually taper off till almost dry. I see a lot of beginners with small bucket with about 3-4 inches of water in the bottom. They often have to reach in deep to even get to the water. I like a one gallon bucket that is full, so that I can get to the water easily/quickly. I usually throw with water, not slurry. In the early days I had been told to try hand cream in the water to protect chapping, and to make the water lubricate the hands against the clay. Tried it, and discarded it within a week or so. My idea about pulling is that the smaller the area of drag on the clay the easier to pull and keep from corkscrewing. When throwing larger, I pull with the rt hand pointer supported by the thumb and the second finger, on the inside the first supports the second against the third. I have tried the edge of the thumb on the left, but no more as it doesn't bend in the first joint. QotW: Large or Small, creamed , slurry or water to lube your throwing? best, Pres
  3. The kiln looks to be in pretty good shape for used. There are a few bricks that are chipped, and that is problematic, but fixable. You will notice that one of the elements has been pinned due to the broken book in the one area. I would also ask the seller if it has a setter/controller to aid in firing it. I am sure others will horn in on this, and I would pay attention to their comments as spending that amount for a student is dedication to the craft. . . .good luck. best, Pres
  4. If no one in the family would want them @Mark C., I would look for a museum, organization, or other that would want them in their collection/s. Otherwise gift them to some young potters you have met. best, Pres
  5. I know that a lot of us are getting older. . . . slightly! However these disappearances to our living circles bring about times of uncertainty and concern that everything will not be alright when it comes to us. Worrisome is it not? Then again, I come to wonder after @Mark C.'s post will there still be a need or interest in pottery in the future? It does me well however to see NCECA this year, with all of the vendors, and I did a bunch of galleries today within walking distance and saw a lot of nice pots/sculptures/Objects. best, Pres
  6. If your basement is a finished area with no studs or joists exposed, I would think that a window fan would be the best option, along with a door open to the basement so that you have air moving through the basement out the window. I am assuming that you are following the precautions needed for a kiln, including distance from walls and ceilings, proper wiring, and general safety. I you still have the odor issue you may want to look into a fan with duct for a hood that is over the kiln and ducts out the window. best, Pres
  7. Hi folks, Some of you may know that I recently lost my father. He had all of his ducks lined up and as executor, I had little to do other than notify banks. His wife notified the SS, military ret., and others. It got me to thinking about what I should be doing. . . Oh, I have the will and living will etc. However, that does not cover the pottery equipment. I have thought to leave my pottery equipment to the HS I taught at, if no one in the family wants it, along with my library of art books. So once again, the QotW: What are your plans for passing it on when you pass on? best, Pres
  8. I also think that your worst enemy in this firing will be the shrinkage factor. I have fired flat slabs in the past using several extruded biqued "rollers" 1/4 " thick. They crack sometimes during firing, but difference in length is not a problem lay them out in the area where the slab will set. Another option is a layer of grog. This can be sprinkled well with a spice shaker with larger holes. Use one of these on your glaze firing also. best, Pres
  9. Hi folks, I was helping in the Ceramics for Adults class today at the HS I used to teach in. I had taken my wedding room off as I always do to work during the 3 hr class. I noticed someone else had taken off her engagement/wedding rings the same and set them on the table. I kindly admonished her for being careless and told her about a student of mine who had accused an entire class of stealing her engagement ring she had just gotten last weekend. We went through all sorts of investigations, questioning, and a very distraught student and class over the loss. The ring was never found until several years later I heard a grinding sound in the Walker Pug mill. Taking off the top cover of the auger tube revealed after so search a mangled gold ring setting without a stone. We searched everything, and still did not find the stone. but lots of clay had been pugged out of and old barrel mixed with newer slop. What a surprise . I also remember when in college finding parts of a metal kidney rib in the clay while wedging it. . . cut me up! QotW: What surprise have you found in your clay, either fresh or recycled? best, Pres
  10. Tried this years ago, and found it was indeed easier to just throw them. I tried mine throwing the flattened slab on a plaster form with a flat bottom and the sides shaped for a plate. while shaping it I threw the foot ring. Alas 2-3 out of 10 would warp. I decided it was because of the shaping of the form while on the wheel would cause particles to become circular in motion as opposed to the center being non aligned from the rolling out. Just my thinking at the time, but now I throw much faster plates using large slightly curved ribs. best, Pres
  11. When pulling mugs or cups or any cylindrical piece off of the hump make a pancake larger than the defined bottom of the piece then draw up the sides to form the walls of the pot. This keeps the alignment of clay particles even as opposed to pulling the walls up as in a normal piece thrown off of the wheel head or bat. The difference is that you are unable to compress the floor of the pot sufficiently off the hump leading to unaligned particles where the wall meets the floor, best, Pres
  12. Hi folks, I have been thinking about my tools. . . most of my favorites are now at the HS until I bring them home. It got me to thinking though about what I would really miss or not be able to replace if it were lost. What tool would be the most difficult to replace? For me as I throw a lot, I use the standard kit: needle tool, sponge, knife style rib, and a spoon shaped rib along with an egote style throwing stick. I use this stick on small and large to inflate the form. I bought it at a NC Potters Conference a few years back and at the time Jack Troy was demonstrating with it. It looked like a great tool, and well crafted so I had to have it, even though at the time I was tight on my budget. . . and still am! At any rate it was a great tool, and with careful use I have had it for many years till it is like and old friend. QotW: What special tool that you work with would your really hate to lose? best, Pres
  13. My bad, my E28M kit came with 6 half shelves. So adding the extra two would allow me to have 12 to 16 depending on the size of patens and whether I use a broken shelf to raise two of the patens to fit 4. I am using the kit shelves that are pretty heavy, but the half is light enough. I will get the lighter shelves for the second layer from bottom as that is the furthest bend/reach. Next two layers are easier. best, Pres
  14. Im hoping to snag some lighter half shelves at NCECA this year. I need a few more shelves to pack a few more patens into the kiln. Kit came with only 8 half shelves. One more witll allow me to fire 16 patens to a firing. best, Pres
  15. @Kelly in AK, I became a much better potter after teaching others, and a much better potter also. I look at teaching ceramics more like coaching, because we are teaching a skill that requires certain movements and body positions along with assembly of parts. I believe shop managers/supervisors of last century were much like coaches also. best, Pres
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