moondoggie66
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I took pottery in school and college but life had other plans for me. I'm now retired and I'm trying to pick it up again. I have 2 wheels and a very old and in bad condition kiln. Tons of clay, all of these were gifted to me. Along with a Peter pugger pug mill. Everything is in mint condition except the kiln. Trying to figure out which direction to take.
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I think I would spend some time just throwing like you did in college. The teacher would have you throw and cut it in half to check thickness. You could keep some pieces that you really like, trim and dry, they will keep until you decide what you want to do. Wait and buy a kiln until you have spent some time with the clay. When I am in my studio the day just flies by, I even forget to each lunch. A studio is a lot of work with cleaning, reclaiming clay and making glazes, the throwing is the fun part. I am 71 and purchased a couple of new kilns with controllers two years ago. My kilns were forty years old and needed repaired. I decided to spend the money because I was worried about memory problems, the controller would keep handling the firing even if I forgot about it.
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Welcome to the forum moondoggie66! I think you can find several throwing tips and exercises in the "In the Studio" collection of posts.
best,
Pres
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I'm doing the same. Finally able to devote to pottery full time now that I'm retired. I'm lucky that there is a studio that has open time that I go to once a month even though I have all the equipment at my house. You get a lot of inspiration from others, plus in my case it gives me access to a salt and cone 10 gas kiln firings. Here are a few bullets
- LOT of the safety items have changed. Wear a respirator when mixing clay and spraying glazes.
- If you mix your own glazes, there's also more information out there about safety with those ingredients. Don't be paranoid, but I remember in college we were only really worried about lead. And I had a professor that was concerned about safety.
- And wow, there is so much information now at your fingertips now. In addition to Ceramic Arts Network, check out Glazy and Digial fire for techical info. I'm finally learning Instagram and its a great place to browse for inspiration. There are also some great Facebook groups. Ones I recommend include: Exploring mid Range Glazes together using John Britt's Book (his book is great and a wonderful way to relearn all the stuff we forgot!), Understanding Glazes with Sue, And if you want something fun to do with your old kiln look at The Woodfired Rocket Kiln Project.
- Go to a workshop or conference. I know it's a big expense but it is really worth it!
Good luck on your journey. Sandi
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