Denice

My first purchase was a kiln, I was doing some hand building work and had no place to fire it. A lady that worked in the same building decided to sell her Paragon, I was 20 years old. My husband and I had bought our first house and we were getting ready to install central air conditioning in the garage. It was easy to add the electrical needed for the kiln to the job. I didn't get a wheel until the college I was attending wanted to sell a old kick wheel. I was 40 when I went back to finish my degree, I will be 70 Saturday and still working in my studio everyday. Denice

Thank you for the help, I think I have figured it out. This is my second test kiln, I had a AIM for twenty years. It had thinner firebricks and cooled way to fast for some of the test. When the AIM was needing rewired I decided to get the Caldera because of the new Genesis controller and the thick firebrick. I have a large Skutt and a medium size Duncan that I fire using a digital dual Skutt thermocouple. My husband has been bugging me for years to buy a new kiln with a controller, he said this is a good start but I should think about replacing the old Skutt.

I just opened my Cone 5 test in the Caldera test kiln. The Genesis 2.0 Mini Controller was set to Cone 5, this is my first test in this cone range. The first one was empty kiln 01, large cone melted perfectly, the same with 04 bisque. This firing the 4 and 5 were over fired and the 6 had a perfect curve for a C6 firing. Unfortunately I was doing a Cone 5 test on some picky glazes, so I need to test again but I have to find out what went wrong. Any suggestion would be appreciated. Denice

Min my work table looks exactly like yours, my drying/wet cabinet is filled with tile and two other work tables. This mural is only 3x5 feet but it seems to be covering my studio. I said this was my last mural but I am enjoying the dimensional aspect so much I can see myself making another. Denice

I did a test firing today, love my new Caldera test kiln. I found the copper rod I was wanting to use in my latest mural. I spent the afternoon making yucca flowers with backs that can connect to the rod easily. I am just about to lay it out and make some of the background sections. The mural is very dimensional and has seven different clay's in it, several types of glaze and the copper stems. Looking forward firing it. Denice

I don't know is water counts as a tool but it is the only thing I can think of that I use for different material. I soften a bag of clay in a 5 gal bucket of water. revive dry clay with water, mix glaze, slip, oxides and plaster with water, throw on the wheel with water, wash my hands with water. I could list some more, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have it. Denice

I visited a well know potter's home, she had made 12x12 C5 tiles for her home and had them professionally installed. Several months later about a fourth of them had cracked, they kept cracking and she had to have them removed. At the time I was thinking of making some floor tile, I decided to stick with wall tiles. Denice

I forgot about it the pots being carefully stacked and pieces of metal were placed carefully to protect the pottery before the dung was used. In our Anazai research class they dug a long trench and filled the trench with broken pallets. They came out a nice black and white, 80 percent were broken into a million pieces, I had a dozen pots in the firing most of them very large and only had a break in one handle. The pieces were so underfired that I refired mine to cone 04, I under stood how you make strong coiled pots. Denice

Before you go to the trouble of processing your own clay I would buy some low fire Raku clay and try pit firing it. Maria's black ware is a secret formula that is made from clay's dug and mixed from their property and fired with cow dung. The clay you use and how you fire it is very important. The Anazai made lots of pottery because it wasn't quite vitrified and food poisoning was a problem after the dishes were used. They would break or punch a hole in them to release the evil spirit, archaeologist are still debating this theory. Denice

Great firing, I have never considered how hard it is to read the color at C11. I learned to read the color when firing 50 years ago, the manual that came with my paragon kiln suggested you learn that skill. Sometimes my husband will be hanging around when I am firing, he usually wants me to turn off the kiln, he thinks it is firing to long. I explain to him it is a packed kiln and the color isn't close. You would think after 50 years he would trust my firing skills. Denice

I have a local supplier so I will tolerate a lot. The owner treated his customers like stupid children, I thought it was just me he treated that way. One day I took my mother in-law was with me, she decided to buy me a gift certificate. I was in the back and had no idea what was going on, when we left she was furious and told me what happened. I cut back on my spending there and if I need a new kiln I would order it from someone else. I have been shopping there since 1968 when his dad opened it. The current owner retired and his children are running it, at first they were rude to the customers. The daughter has softened and is friendly now, her brother is just like his dad. Years ago I talked to him about mixing a batch of custom clay, he said that they could do it but they charge a lot because they don't want to. It didn't matter how many facts, figures and organized plans you had he didn't listen. They do have a woman who has worked there forever, she can knows everything about the business and even gives me a discount. Denice

I did the same thing, my studio was in the back yard and my husband would throw rocks at it at 2 in the morning. I had been wanting a telephone installed (before cell phone), he finally decided that was a good idea. Denice

I read Richard Zakins Cone 5/6 glazes and clay in the early 70's. I was in college helping load and unload gas kilns, the professors would be wringing their hands about the gas bill. Neighbors would call the city and complain about the kilns for call the fire department. I didn't care for low fire glazes and didn't see how I could ever own a gas kiln. Richard's book was a Ta Da! moment for me. Cone 5/6 glazes caught on like a wildfire, basement potters like me loved them. I like Cone 6 glazes they usually have a gas fired look to them. You have to work harder to work with C5/6 glazes, lots of testing and finding the right clay. I just ordered a new test kiln that is computerized, my old one isn't and I want and need better test results. Den ice

The radio stations have gone down hill in our town so I have started listening to Sirrus music on my television. Sometimes I listen to a movie or television show I have already seen. When I designed my studio I put some nice big windows in it for light and the view. I enjoy the light but I rarely look out the window, I am usually so focused on what I am working on I don't look up. Denice

I play around with glaze layering off and on, I usually have some small bisque ware on my shelves. I coat them with SCM and then add two or three layers of glaze that I have sitting around. I even use my miss mixes. I have gotten some good looking pots and some real dogs, it is a lot of fun to experiment. Denice

A computerized wheel, you have a library of shapes, designs, size, you choose one and send it to your wheel. That would be great if you just want to make work to design and glaze. I would miss the sensuality of throwing and intensity of trimming. Denice

I had to mix clay in college but that doesn't answer the question. When I put together my first studio it was in a old 20x20 building with a bathroom in it. I didn't have room to make clay in it so I made it outside. I would buy the bags of dry clay I needed and dump them in a large heavy duty plastic trash can with the garden hose running. I would stop occasionally and mix it up with a drill and paint mixer, and then add some more clay and water. I would let it sit until there was very little water to drain off. I had a old solid core door that I would dump the clay on, I would let it dry in the until it was the right consistency for stomping around on it, kind of like crushing grape with your feet to make wine. This would make me enough clay to last the winter. Bagged clay was just starting to show up on Ceramic stores shelves but it was pricey. When the price of bagged clay was just a little more than making it yourself, I switched to bag clay. I still recycle all of my scrap clay, I was glad I had all of those buckets or recycled clay when it was hard to fine new recently. Denice

I had mine in a old program on my computer, when I bought a new computer the tech said we might loose some info if the program wasn't compatible with Windows 10. I printed out all of my formula's and put them in a notebook. I lost the formula's in the transfer, I think I am going to stick to the notebook for now, I think we need a new computer. Denice

Pres, I have two programmed Roomba's that clean our main floor and one that cleans the basement. I clean the hepa filter every week, fine dust is a big problem in my home (I wonder where it came from). Irobot made a garage Roomba at one time, it was suppose to big up objects like screws. I think we are out of luck when it comes to a Roomba that can handle dust. Denice

I have used a throwing stick to throw tall slender jars. I have these huge hands that struggle with that type of jar. I have to buy men's gloves and sometimes shoes if I am desperate, most men have smaller hands than me including my husband. Denice

My Ohaus went crazy one day when I was doing a bunch of glaze testing. Every time I tried to adjust it the arm would start bouncing up and down, I called Ohaus to see what was going on. The technician said I either had a ghost in my house or my scale was having problems with the magnets. My house was haunted so I thought his comment that was funny, I also have trouble with excessive magnetism in my body. I can kill a watch in 30 minutes. Still not sure what my problem was I ordered a digital scale, it would work good and then start to act up. I decided to buy a more expensive scale and the same thing happen so I order a larger scale. Same problem with it, I decided my magnetism must be the problem. After some testing I found that If I limited the amount of time I can use a digital scale. I just switch scales when I am making up tests, I needed all of those scales after all. Denice

I hope you need more shelves soon. Denice

Clay and Glazes for the Potter was required reading when I was in college. We even had to write some essays about the subjects we read about. I still have my worn and tattered book. Denice