Denice

This morning I felt like a great big steaming hot mug of coffee, I dug around in my cups and found the huge mug I got from Marc. I know that he has made thousands of these mugs in the last fifty years but it still felt very personal and comforting. Denice

My pots remind me of the different stages of my life and phases of my life working in clay. I have displayed are the ones I considered the best of that phase. More coiled pots were put out this year. Believe it or not, I have visitors complain that I don't have enough of my work displayed. I have some smaller bowls and mugs that I have purchased from other potters. They are scattered around the house, when I come across one it triggers a pleasant memory of that person and their work. We recently put away the stoneware set of dishes I made 15 years ago. They are to heavy for my arthritic hands to lift, fortunately working with clay loosens up my hands. When my hands are hurting I head out to my studio, it is hard for me to think about the day I will have to give up clay. Denice

I stored my clay in a giant old refrigerator in my first studio 43 years ago. It worked great, but it was a very small studio and finally got rid of it and stored the clay and 5 gal buckets, I still store recycled clay in 5 gal buckets. Denice

I don't belong to the forum for help but I do learn something new now and then, I also like to help people learn. I am not a theory/formulae/graphs and numbers potter, I am a simple potter who loves clay. I like to fill in the missing areas of answers with common sense knowledge that I had gained over the last 52 years as a potter. All of my new studio equipment I have purchased has been recommended by potters on the forum. Twenty five years ago I was wanting to purchase a slab roller. Marcia Selsor and several other potters recommended a Bailey, my new L&L kiln was purchased from Neil after all the raving reviews. Even my electric pottery wheel was found by Mark, I have always had a kick wheel. He thought I was getting to old to still be kicking. He found one on Ebay for sale. a 15 minute drive and close to the area I grew up in. The owner was so excited that I was a long time potter and I from the area he took my offer that Mark recommended immediately. Amazing people on the forum, a potter in California finding a wheel for a potter in Kansas. Denice

One last thing use a backer board that is concrete, Hardy Backer first line was made of pressed paper. I understand they have some made with concrete now.. I have concrete backer on the walls of my kiln room. My kiln room is in the garage but backs up to a wall in the house. It isn't necessary but this is the first time I have ever had a kiln that close to our living quarters, most of them have been in a garage or basement. If you have a concrete floor and your kiln on a stand you won't need the backer board. Denice

Our garage is insulated and sheet rocked with one window and two garage doors. When we built our house we were required to insulate and use fire resistant sheet rock on the wall connected to the house and the ceiling by county code. Since we both work in our shops all year long we decided to sheet rock my studio and the rest of his garage. My husband and son did the hanging and I taped and mudded. I also painted and wallpapered my studio, vinyl wallpaper doesn't stain and is easier to clean than paint. Denice

My studio is next door to my husbands garage, there is a whole house fan in west window. My studio kiln room is on the east side of the house, I open all of the windows in my studio and turn the fan on exhaust. The windows are 60 feet apart, they would have to be closer together if it was a smaller fan. One time he decided to paint a car with the fan blowing in and my windows open in my shop. It was a good thing I had a dusty shop, it was covered with orange paint and we had to replace the window screens. Denice

I have been around kilns that had low fire clay and high fire glaze. One was a electric the pots melted into a puddle, the other was a gas firing C10 the pots turned into a liquid and dripped all over the other work and shelves. Denice

I don't make anything practical anymore unless you consider murals and tile practical. I am working on a life size sculpture of my dog right now. Denice

It is a nice shot. but it doesn't give you that wow factor when you realize how it was configured. I still miss my Cannon and my son developing and printing them for me. He made me some great prints from photos he took of my work. My son is a techno geek so he left the stone age printing behind and creates on a 3D printer. Denice

I consider it a new type of art, it is just one evolutionary step towards man's development into a big head, tiny body in a space suit. I watched a commercial for new shoes that you slip on and didn't have to bend over. They have had fake tied shoes for years, I have seen a lot of other products come out that eliminate the use of your hands, legs or arms. I realized how fast this is happening the other day. I was visiting my neighbor she is 45 years old, she had to leave to get her daughters school clothes hemmed. They had never owned a sewing machine or knew how to hand hem. I grew up with four sisters, there was a waiting line for the sewing machine we made our own clothes. This couple doesn't know how to do anything themselves, everything is hired out. This must mean their parents were clueless, and they are raising clueless children. In my youth a song by Zager&Evans IN THE YEAR 2525 was on the radio, I had a feeling then they were predicting the future. I better end this now before my arms are hanging useless at my side. Denice

I use a flexible duct that is metal not plastic like the ones for dryers. The only store we have found it at is Menard's, the duct got brittle after using it for 10 years and had to be replaced. I fired a kiln in a basement with no windows or ventilation system. This was before the Enviorvent systems were manufactured. I would find something else to do and only go to the basement to turn up the kiln. Denice

I usually took criticism well at critiques and tried to learn from them. One time my professor told me that I made perfect work but I didn't have enough soul in them. He couldn't explain to me what that mean't by that criticism. The only criticism I have gotten from the public is that I didn't have the colors they wanted. Denice