Denice
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Posts posted by Denice
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On 8/29/2022 at 1:31 PM, Pres said:
@Denice I understand being in the zone! For years it was detrimental to my health as I would go to the shop at 6, and think I was going in at 10. . . . when it was really 2am. Even setting an alarm didn't work as I would turn it off and have to finish what I started, and then find something new!
@HulkSounds like a round of news snaps and social issues and I enjoy much of those also along with the Natl. Geographic, and history channels. Much ado about the next vacation trip or weekend getaway.
best,
Pres
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
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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
- Bill Kielb and Rae Reich
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
- Jeff Longtin and Pres
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I fired a bunch of test glazes at cone 6 on a black clay, all but two of them boiled and blister. Flaky Lime Green turned into a metallic pewter and the clear was okay, I decided not to work with it. I still have some of the black clay in my studio. I am going to use some of it for black rocks in the landscape mural I am working on. Good Luck! Denice
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I was working on my bachelors degree in ceramics at Wichita State University in the seventies. WSU was the sister university to Alfred, all of the students working on their masters came from Alfred. So most of my instructor's were students from Alfred, many of the WSU students working on their masters ended up at Alfred. Every spring the department would get around 25 application for 6 openings in the masters course. Rick St. John would set up a projector and show the slides of applicants, he would show them for a week giving all students a opportunity to see them. It was quiet exciting to be in school when ceramic studies were evolving and changing with the times, it felt like a new beginning. I feel sorry for younger generations we had great ideals, music,clothing and exciting art. My son's generation had whiny music and the borrowed our hippie clothing style. One time my son asked how I knew about the cool clothes I bought him for school. When I told him it was the clothes we use to wear he didn't believe me. Denice
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Can you change the delivery address and have it delivered to a storage unit in the city you are moving to? Denice
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I still have to disagree with someone watching a video and then wiring a kiln. There use to be a new potter on another forum that had his neighbor wire in his kiln. The first time he fired it the wires inside his walls caught fire. It was a old house with knob and tube wiring, he had to have the lathe and plaster stripped off and the house rewired and sheet rocked. He decided to quit clay, he didn't want to take the time to get the knowledge he needed to be a potter. Denice
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I think trying to learn pottery without proper education is like the people who think they can rebuild a house without any experience or training in the trades. Plumbers, electrician and carpenters have gone to school and spent years of training , the same goes for potters. I wouldn't dream of telling my electrician that I can wire my own kiln because I watched a couple of video's. I have even had a few people asked me if they spent a couple of hours in my studio they could learn how to make tile they way I do. The first thing someone told me to do when I decided to get serious about clay was to buy some books they recommended and study them. That was 50 years ago and they are extremely out of date now but I am sure there has to be some books out there that would be a good start for a aspiring potter. Denice
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It seems to me that your firing time is appropriate for the cone you are firing to. I have been firing manual kilns for 50 years and replace my elements when my glaze firing time is around twelve hours. Some potters have a firing schedule of twelve hours and consider a 7/9 too fast. I usually end up between 9/10 hours, it depends on loaded the kiln is and also how much soaking, hold and down firing I do. Denice
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I think designing and making a surface decorations that goes with that form is the most important part of the process for me. I make a lot of coiled and slab type pieces and for some reason after they are fired they don't look as well balanced as they did in the green ware stage. A good design on it distracts from many imperfections, I am usually the only one who notices them or cares. Some people call me a perfectionist, I have gotten better at tolerating imperfection. I use to go through my shop and throw away all of my work and start anew on a regular basis. Denice
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I will share with anyone who asks, I decided that even before I had any knowledge. It is very hard to copy someone's work, your own personality comes through. I did have someone copy my work in college, I felt sorry for him. I was working on my bachelor's degree and he was working on his masters. I didn't know him, a friend of mine had seen the work at the masters show and thought it was mine. I was working at home and only coming in for critiques, I had to fire my babysitter for mistreating my newborn son. I had some of the pots in a soda fire, he probably unloaded it. His piece had a little more detailed work on it and was more refined. His personality came through and improved the design.
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We have dined at several of our local restaurants and been charged credit card fees. We have also been charged on quite a few of our online purchases. I have a 2 percent back credit card, as long as you keep your credit card paid off every month you are only paying 1 percent. Denice
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My next project is a landscape mural, I haven't started rolling out clay yet. I am waiting for my knee to get better before I lift a bag of clay, I have the drawing blown up to the correct size and all of my clay. I am working with 6 different clay's they are different colors and textures. There will be very little glaze on the mural, I am going to make up some new test tiles to make sure everything works together. This is my smallest mural so far, it is only 3x5 feet, it is a exterior mural so I am using stoneware clay fired until it is vitrified. I don't know if I will ever start working small again. I have big hands and starting to get arthritis in them. Taking zoom photo's of your work is a great idea, I haul a tall ladder into my studio and climb to the top and take photos of the mural I am working on. It gives me a idea of what it looks like from a distance. Denice
- Hyn Patty, Pyewackette and Hulk
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I love your photos of the progression of your work. Years ago I made small pieces of sculpture, I sculpted the work out of plastilene and made my own plaster molds, I buy the 25lb plaster bags. I used a C5 porcelain type slip. I like working with it because you could bisque fire it and then clean off the molds lines with a Dremel tool, the mold line would totally disappear. They also had the slip in black , the main reason I started working with it. Glad you are back in the studio. Denice
QotW: How well do you represent yourself and how much do you tolerate when dealing with your suppliers?
in Int'l Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) Operations and Benefits
Posted
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