Denice
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why did my plaster set so suddenly and unevenly?
Denice replied to Frogesan's topic in Mold Making and Slip Casting
I did a little research and found that old plaster sets up fast, a bag that is 4 to 6 months may to old. And the big hard lumps are from adding to much plaster at one time and not getting well mixed. The plastic bag might have made it harder to mix, I use a pretty old bucket and pop off the cured plaster and wash it. When it gets to the point it won't clean up anymore I find another old bucket. To make sure my water is really cold I put ice cubes in my water, when they are melted I am ready to mix. I never slake my plaster slab plaster, I haven't had trouble with bubbles. I set the edge of the bucket in the bottom of the mold and pour it out letting the plaster fill in the corners. Sometimes I need two buckets of plaster so I find a friend to help mix a second bucket while I empty the first one. I made two to four piece molds for a while, and used the finger flip method on ornate pieces to eliminate bubbles. I was train dental lab technician and spent the first couple of years making plaster molds off the forms the dentist sent us. You should be alright on you next slab, just one of those days. Denice -
Extreme Cracking/Shrinkage in Tiles
Denice replied to Caroline E's topic in Clay and Glaze Chemistry
I see that there are some cracks running from one lump to another. I make a lot of tile, a thicker area next to a thinner slab can cause cracks to form. She might try removing the clay from the back of the tile in the thick areas and try to keep the clay a even thickness. Denice -
Bisque Firing Porcelain - What Cone?
Denice replied to Katie S's topic in Studio Operations and Making Work
Are you firing a electric kiln? A lot of kilns won't make it to cone 10 if it does it will shorten the life of your elements. I had a friend who thought she made some dishes out of a Cone 10 porcelain. she put them in the last firing of the year at the university. When they unbricked the kiln they found out her dishes had melted all over the kiln and the rest of the work. I don't have any low fire clay in my studio or fire another persons work, this type of accident happens a lot. Denice -
My husband also used calipers in his job as a technical writer, illustrator and drafter fifty years ago and then the evolution to computers happened . He still uses to calipers when he is restoring a car but they are digital. He tries to give them to me when they are broken, I don't think he has figured out my measurements need to be as accurate as his. Denice
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Fingers are your best tools but not ones you can replace. That was the only tools I had until our teacher had everyone purchase a set. I have people ask me what tools should they start with, I always tell them that their fingers are a good place to begin. Then I give them a list of a few basic tools, I wish someone could help me with the arthritis in my fingers with a list. Denice
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I am glad you are getting better, I know that eight weeks is a long break for you. I finished my radiation therapy on my skin cancer a month ago and it has finally healed. I need to go buy a big straw hat for the summer. Don't overdo it. Denice
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Test tiles didn't work out but I have another slip idea rattling around in my head. I decided to take a break and make new address plagues for my mailbox, I made the original ones 5 years ago but someone decide to break them up with a tire iron. I had made a press mold for the plague so the only thing that will require some skill is the decorative glaze work. Living on a rural road you have teenagers drive by mailboxes and hit them with a baseball bat or run over them. Denice
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I am afraid I have already lost my favorite tool. I bought several handmade tools at a potters estate sale. One of them was a trimmer with wire wrapped around it, the wire was heavier than the factory made ones. It was fast at trimming and you could make some great lines and grooves with it. It is lost because it got old and fell apart, it was old when I purchase it, I used it for 20 years I don't think it owed me anything. May it rest in peace. Denice
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I also use my lighter shelves on the bottom and the heavier one on top. I would like to find someone to mentor, they could learn from me and help with heavy lifting. I had a couple of people in mind who started in clay during Covid. Once things got back to semi normal they lost interest in it. It would also be good to have someone that could put the studio equipment to good use when I am no longer around. I would rather give it to someone who is a serious clay person than sell it. Denice
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Loading my test kiln tomorrow with my red calico clay and slip test. My husband is still down and out, thought is was a bad cold. Now he has no energy or spark, I think it might have been Covid. Suppose to be warm tomorrow great day to be in the studio. Denice
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I taught a summer ceramic class one time, it was a level two throwing class. I was surprise that most of the students didn't know about body movement and the type of tension in the hands and arms. I was just filling in the regular teacher was there with injured hands she guided them with the assembly of parts and glazing. Denice
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If I see a brush on sale I usually buy it, the brushes I get at my ceramic supplier usually end up my favorite. I recently finished a couple of handmade brushes for slip work, I think I need a sidewalk to practice on. I didn't have any bamboo available in this area, even Ebay didn't have any listed. I decided to get some cheap Chinese brushes and use the handles, worked great. Between the cost of the handle, deer fur and glue I have about $7 in each one. Etsy had them finished and ready to buy between $75 and $100. I will stick to my homemade ones, I still have enough supplies to make more. Denice
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Sorry you can't hang on to your equipment, if anything I would sell the slab roller. When my son was in his teens he wanted to play the drums, so we bought him a nice set. We knew other drummers and they said at one point he will quit playing but don't let him sell him drums. They said he would want to drum again someday, twenty three years later and he went back to the drums. Denice
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When my husband started repairing my kilns he would watch the Skutt repair video's just to make sure he did everything right. My dryer quit working several months ago, he didn't want to work on it just wanted to buy new one. We bought Speed Queens because they were so easy to fix, I look up a video and check it out. There is a hidden door on the machine, open it up and there is two parts right in front of you that could cause the problem. He went to the supply store and told them what he was working on, the clerk grabs a part out of big box and says you want one of these they break all of the time. Fixed the dryer for twelve dollars instead of spending three thousand on a new set. Denice
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Oil Clay Sculpting for Slip Casting Molds
Denice replied to Hyn Patty's topic in Studio Operations and Making Work
Hyn I love the lego's being used for the walls of your mold. The old shoe boxes I use don't make a very pretty mold on the outside. I gave away my son's lego's to a child with learning disabilities. I gave him all of my son's educational toy's, I was saving them in case I got grandchildren. That isn't going to happen so I found a new home for them. I never new the back end of a horse could be so beautiful. Congratulation great work. Denice -
Hairline cracks along seams on slab built peices
Denice replied to Seesee's topic in Studio Operations and Making Work
Remake it is the only answer, a crack like that will only widen when it is fired, You might have had a chance if it was smaller but the twisting and movement of the clay will separate it. Denice -
I am sure I could learn how to repair my kiln if I could just get over my electricity phobia. When I was eight years old I attended girl scout camp, the next week a girl with my name was struck by lighting and killed at the same camp. My parents received sympathy calls for a week. Between my dad's bad wiring and the death of the girl I felt like some day electricity would be the end of me. Denice
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firing without glazing in an electric kiln
Denice replied to moogie's topic in Studio Operations and Making Work
Christmas lights are a great idea. I only try to save one plant every year. It is a Whale's tongue agave, it will tolerate down to 11 degrees unfortunately it will get down to -10. My husband built a huge 2 inch thick styrofoam box and we put two lights inside of it. The plant is 7x7x4 feet, we are hoping to live long enough to see it bloom. We have had it 10 years and it takes 25 years to bloom. Denice -
I have some test tiles on my work table with different white slip formulas on black clay. Not happy with them. picked us some Laguna brown clay that fires black and Red Calico to test fire with some more slips. Next week will be warmer I will be able to get out there and get some work done. Denice
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I am pretty good at maintaining the shelves, stilts and vacuuming out the kilns. I use to have my kiln repaired for me by the local ceramic supply store, now that my husband has retire he has taken over that job. Now that I think about he didn't start encouraging me to buy new kilns until he took over the kiln technician job. Hmmm I probably could of done it but I have a problem dealing with electricity. My dad had our house wire badly, you could get suddenly shocked anywhere anytime. One time I got a bad shock washing dishes. When I was young the fire department would safety check houses in the neighborhood. My dad would make us hide and not open the door. Denice
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Isn't it annoying how life gets in the way or working in the studio. I wanted to test some more slip recipes, I was getting my glaze materials together and realized I was out of it. The next formula I was missing a material for it. I decided to go pick them up the next day. It was such a beautiful day we ran errands and went out for a nice Valentines dinner. Today my husband woke up with a terrible cold, I got up and discovered the home we left in a mess. Grocery that we had pick up were all over the counters, the dishwasher needed to filled and ran and the laundry I had started was all over the laundry room. To top it off it was trash day. I spent the day putting the house back together. Maybe tomorrow life will give me a break. Denice
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I would estimate around 30 times a year, I have past that number and my year starts in another 3 months. I bought some clay Friday and started some hard blocks softening, I hope to get some work done tomorrow. I don't know if there is any football fans out there but it sounds like the 4th of July here. My husband and I aren't sports fans but we watched the last 5 minutes of the Super Bowl. The entire state of Kansas are fans of the Kansas City Chiefs. Denice