Qotw: What Do You Wear When Throwing Or Working In The Shop?

[Pres]

I am a Dirt Magnet to the 10th degree. There is no getting around it, I get clay everywhere when I work in the shop, on my shirt, on my arms, my legs or shorts or pants. . . whatever I wear. You get the picture. I can walk into the shop to check on a drying lid and come out with dirty clothes. My wife knows it, my kids too. They all accept it and accept the fact that I probably am tough on washing machines also. I have had rubberized aprons. . . to hot, and no place to wipe my hands. I have thrown in a water shorts in grad school and hosed off outside before driving home. . . lots of us did. I have always looked for the perfect apron, and never found one, even though the split leg types have been pretty good. I just purchased a new apron that I love, it protects my clothes, has a set of clips for a small towel, latches securely, is thin, light weight, and allows lots of movement. Throwing or pulling handles, handbuilding or trimming, no matter what it works great. 

 

So what do you wear in the shop/studio, are you a Dirt Magnet, or a neatnik? Horn in folks.

 

 

Running a little low on questions in the pool so this one is on me.

 

best, 

Pres

 

 

[aperhapshand]

You can see my apron in my avatar photo - just a simple split front apron I made out of some free denim. I actually made myself 2 of them - one for dark clay one for light clay. 

 

The apron works pretty well - it is thick enough that I can wipe my hands - I hose it down once and a while before throwing it in the wash. But It isn't the best design - I slapped it together and I still get clay on my clothes when I throw . . . I needed to add a "bib" part to it and the apron panels should be wider.

 

I have recently have been researching some simple overall patterns that I can make oversize to put on over my clothes. . . I have to stop staining my shirts with the high iron clay. 

 

(that is not my studio - that was a community studio that I was just posing in)

[Judith B]

I usually wear an apron that covers my legs, but mostly I just wear clothes dedicated to clay because I know I will get all dirty anyway. I'm like you Res, no matter how careful I am, I get dirty anyway. SO I gave up and just accept that I'm going to be covered in clay ^^.

I brush the clay off when dry before doing the laundry though

[oldlady]

my only clothes since i left corporate america consist of jeans and either a tee shirt or a long sleeved tee shirt, some with turtlenecks.  no aprons.  i do have a stack of old kitchen towels and if i expect to get messy while throwing, a dry one goes on the left leg and another one goes on the right.  used them today while throwing some empty bowls and they stayed clean.  

 

sorry, i guess i am just not that messy.  maybe throwing soft clay very dry and using white clay helps.

[Pugaboo]

In my personal studio I wear old workout clothes with a simple chefs style apron over them and crocs. When I do wheel I use a bath towel positioned as I need it. I dry the aprons and towels out, bang them, then hose them down or let the rain do it before hanging them on my fence to let the, dry. My clothes usually have a few smudges, but nothing major.

 

When teaching I have a prettier bibbed apron I wear since I am always wiping my hands off as I move from student to student and found out wiping my hands on my pants led to some pretty awful stains with brown clay and glazes. I wear crocs also for teaching.

 

I have more trouble with clay on my face and in my hair that I get told is there by other people since I do not have a mirror in either studio.

 

T

[LeeU]

 

I wear my Crocs Special Edition Jackson Pollack Studio clogs (washable), old pants, old T's and an old denim apron. As needed I also wear my safety glasses, my respirator, and a really light touch of patchouli oil. I wear my music like a cape and my incense like a cloud. I wear the sun or the rain as my mood-extender and sometimes wear my calendar like an albatross 'round my neck. Sometimes I wear thin, but mostly I am good at not wearing out. And I wear my ware as a fine silk scarf, which feels good, looks good, is good, and is a pleasure to parade around with.

[Denice]

I wear Grapes of Wrath clothes, they don't start out that way.  I am a handbuilder  and I tend to grind the front of my shirts away, too much belly and I  splatter stain on them.  I guess that's why they call it stain,  I wear short sleeve shirts most of the time, long sleeves just drag on things.  Tennis shoes when I throw and sandals the rest of the time.  If I am going to do something really messy I wear a chef style apron.  Sometimes I look so bad I change clothes before my husband gets home from work.   Denice

[Mark C.]

I wear clay clothes-old pants-old glaze tee shirts(stained with iron spots)-full covered crocs (no holes as glaze stains the socks)

I have special old clay clothes and only use them-same with clay towels . All washed in outside special only clay cloths washer-no soap drain to berry patch.I have other old shoes as well when winter sets in. Clay eats up stuff-shoes -clothes-towels-only the worst will do-I save them for this use.I do not wear an apron.I wash them all every week and change to clean ones every day.

[Sputty]

.

[Kellykopp]

In the BBRRRR! of a winter afternoon, sweatpants and maybe a couple of layers on top with the ever-present thermal underwear under it all.....summertime I wear a one piece bathing suit and maybe a calico skirt....when I get all "muddy" it is easy to take the garden hose to myself to clean up...and an apron on both summer and winter to catch most of the mess.  Dedicated "studio" sandals in the summer, and dedicated tennis shoes in the winter with thick socks.  Any clay covered clothing items are rinsed out in a sink outside before being brought inside to be washed, both summer and winter.  

[Marcia Selsor]

I wear loose comfortable pants. I have apron chaps I got at NCECA decades ago, Also have several aprons. towel on the side of the table by my wheel, old shoes.

My new studio is right off the kitchen and laundry room. I have several small rugs for wiping the dust off on the way back to the living area.And then as shown in my avatar,  I sometimes look like a disco Darth Vadar when I am firing.

Marcia

[Joy pots]

While throwing I wear yoga pants & t shirts with a cloth over my left knee to wipe my hands. These clothes take very little room in the darks load. When I trim & hand build attachments I usually put an apron on as I normally don't get dirty at that time. I wear runners & sometimes sandles. I always change footwear when I leave the studio as it's in the basement. I use miracle clothes as they wash out quickly after each use.

Joy

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I wear an apron and worn out Birkenstocks, short sleeves and comfortable pants according to the weather. In summer, i need a bandanna to keep my long hair out of my clay, and in the winter it's a toque. (it's flipping cold in there when the weather hits -20 outside).

I use a lot of thrift store towels to protect my clothes: a bath sheet over my knees when I throw, plus a hand towel for, well, hands. I don't usually come out of the studio with a lot of clay on my clothes, but white isn't a colour I wear much of.

[hantremmer]

I just purchased a new apron that I love, it protects my clothes, has a set of clips for a small towel, latches securely, is thin, light weight, and allows lots of movement. Throwing or pulling handles, handbuilding or trimming, no matter what it works great. 

It sounds like a PotApron, made here in the UK.  Same one?  I rinse mine off in the sink and it dries very quickly.

 

I wear a boilersuit.  I bought a size large enough that I can step into it and not have to change out of my every day clothes.

[Benzine]

In my studio, I dress for "the weather". It's a basement space with radiator pipes on the ceiling. So it can be chilly in the Winter... And Fall, and all year long.

So in the Winter I'm wearing jeans, and a couple long sleeve layers. In the other months, I can get away with short sleeves and even shorts.

 

I generally don't care what clothes I'm wearing. Unlike things like paint, clay washes out well enough, so I don't need to have "Dirty" clothes. If I'm doing a lot of work, over the course of a few days, I'll have a set of clothes I'll wear for those few days.

In my classroom, it's generally khakis and button up shirts. I tell the students the great thing about khakis is that the clay dries about the same color, so it doesn't stand out too much...

[Pres]

 

I just purchased a new apron that I love, it protects my clothes, has a set of clips for a small towel, latches securely, is thin, light weight, and allows lots of movement. Throwing or pulling handles, handbuilding or trimming, no matter what it works great. 

It sounds like a PotApron, made here in the UK.  Same one?  I rinse mine off in the sink and it dries very quickly.

 

I wear a boilersuit.  I bought a size large enough that I can step into it and not have to change out of my every day clothes.

 

Yeah, I have to admit it is the PotApron. . So far it has been really fantastic. I think it is made well enough to hold up for a long time. Sold in the US now by a famous name potter company.

 

best,

Pres

[Evelyne Schoenmann]

Yes, I am dirt magnet too. I wear old jeans and t-shirt (sweatshirt in the winter) and I have a collection of aprons from lots of ceramics schools. They don't cover much while throwing, so I have to wash my cloth pretty often. We unfortunately can't buy the split leg type aprons here, so Marci (hint hint) could you bring me one next year to our Symposium?   I of course will pay for it!

[terrim8]

PJ's that can go right into the wash. I always look for PJ's on sale for this purpose. Flannelette is best as my basement is pretty cool.

[Joseph Fireborn]

I wear pants with patches in the knees because I tear them up so much. My wife quilts so she always fixes my 10 dollar walmart pants. Even though she insist that I am being to cheap and should just replace them.    But I don't see the need in replacing something that isn't broken! I wear a UV50 long sleeve shirts(coolibar) and a UV50 headwrap (buff) as seen in my profile picture. My bald head burns pretty easy, which is why I grow a beard, but I always have to shave it once a week before I spray ( most of the time im lazy and just pretend I shaved, bad bad I know )!

 

Since I have no running water in my studio I work out of buckets, which means a lot of time outside with the hose! My dog loves it though. Squirt gun fights which are one sided are the best!

 

I don't get very dirty throwing though unless I am throwing really tall things. In the winter I throw with a hoodie on and 2 pairs of pants and underarmor! Chilly!

[Pres]

I too Tyler wear my head covered most of the time. Those of the Council when they first met me did not know me as we were indoors, and I was obviously not wearing one. . . only carrying it. Learned my lesson years ago when demonstrating in mid Summer throwing outdoors. Three days later, I had blisters the size of quarters to half dollars. . . never again, always wear a hat outside, even when spraying.

 

 

best,

Pres

[Roberta12]

Old previously stained, comfy clothes.  Stained shoes, comfy ones, and apron which is used much like a handtowel!  I cannot stand to have my hair in my face, so bandana or buff pulls it back.  It does sound like we are a fashion conscious bunch!

 

Roberta