Denice

Your wiring from your outlet to the circuit breaker may not be heavy enough. When I was building my studio my electrician used a little heavier wire than what was required. It has been 15 years and never had a circuit breaker trip. Denice

I was taking a community sculpture class and decided to make a lions head sculpture for a fountain. My teacher thought it was so beautiful that we should make a silicone mold of it, I don't think she knew anymore about it than I did. I bought the expensive spray separator and sprayed it according to directions and covered the head with several tubs of silicone. I couldn't get it off, I asked my teacher what should I do and she said to burn off the silicone in my kiln. That turned out to be a smokey disaster, the smoke went up 3 stories in the stair well. My son and I hung out on the balcony until it cleared up, I am glad it was dark our neighbors probably would have called the fire department with all of the smoke coming out of a 3rd floor window. My kitchen ceiling was the only thing smoke damaged, I prime and painted it the next day, my husband had was out of town. I didn't tell him what happened, he did comment on how clean the house looked when he got home. I had dusted every inch of it, even the ceilings. Denice

My son is the chef, I will mention it to him, they are moving to Costa Rica in a month and putting everything in storage. I might try using it myself, I will have to cut it down it is too big for my oven. I am hoping that they want to move back after a year or two, it is a bummer not having any family. Denice

You can go to some estate sales and find one, my mother in-laws sale had two of them. People would give them to her as gifts, she wouldn't use them. She preferred her method of baking, she was 98. I bought a big rectangular one for my son who is a chef, before I could give it to him his wife decided she was gluten intolerant. It just sits in my closet! Denice

I also wanted to mention that you buy the lowest fire clay you can find. A low fire Raku clay is the lowest I know of, most people don't realize how important it is to work with a clay that fires to the same temperature your kiln does. Denice

I would let it dry another week, that is a thick ball of clay, you might also get a clean up tool and remove the jagged and sharp areas of clay. Once it is fired those pieces of clay become little knives, you also can grind them off in the bisque stage easily with a Dremel tool. I always candle sculptural work even if I think it is totally dry. Denice

I have done a lot of colorful majolica with black liner around the design. I prefer the liner bushes, I have several different ones, thicker, thinner, shorter longer. If I am not getting the right flow I try a different liner. I tried using a dagger that I bought at a auto supply store, It didn't work well the oxides mix I was using. I could work well with the metallic glaze, if you buy one talk to someone who uses them. Bigger car show have strippers working at them, they use a dragger to paint stripes on show cars. Denice

That is amazing that you have her old tools, old tools are my favorite tools to use. I have bought several at estate sales, I also did some research on some of her glazes. Denice

Your right people who wander into my studio would be thrilled if I gave them a pot. But they aren't so thrilled when you give them a price. Denice

I decided a couple of days ago it is time to get started on rejuvenating our house. The carpet in the office is worn out and the misc. furniture is old and was old when we bought it We spent the last two days looking for real wood flooring to match the wood in the rest of the house. No more carpet, we think we found it today now all we have to do is get the samples. The rest of the carpeted areas will get new floor and paint this fall. I have to shop now for office furniture and a sofa, our old furniture will be donated. Denice

Staying home this summer, I have a new dog that is a year old and needs more training. My sister is coming from August, I don't know why anyone would visit Kansas in August. HOT HOT HOT. We are planning a vacation in November and December. My son and his wife are moving to Costa Rica in August, we won't have family for the holidays. Taking a long holiday trip sounds better than sitting around the pouting because we don't have a family. Last year we had Thanksgiving dinner at a IHOP in Galvenston, the only restaurant we could find open. Denice

I prefer to work alone, every time I take a class I end up teaching. One summer I enrolled my son and his best friend in a throwing class, I enrolled also so I could teach them how to throw. The first day of class the teacher showed up with her hands and arms covered in bandages, she had tried to break up a dog fight. I didn't get to work with my son that much, busy teaching the class to throw. He did throw a bowl by the end of the class. The next class I tried to take was tile making, I had been making tile for a few years. From reading the brochure I thought I would learn some new methods. First class the teacher told us that the class had been doubled booked accidently and the teacher who was suppose to help was sick. The students were suppose to bring their tile design and something from nature to work with. I was the only one who did that out of 30 people, the teacher asked me if could help teach the class. I agreed the summer college class was nothing but chaos. I had my tiles made in less than a day, didn't have anything else to do. The college was a two hour drive from my home, the fees for the class included a dorm room for the week. I stayed thinking that it would get better. Denice

When I bought my Bailey I just ordered the main unit and my husband built the table for me. Request information and plans on building the table when you order it you will need them. My husband used a metal bracing set and 4x4 lumber, the metal bracing L brackets was a kit to build a work bench from. You can get them at any lumber yard. I have a old solid core door for the top and it has Formica on it now, a better top; might have been a old Formica counter that you can cut to width and length. Building my own table save me a lot, the shipping alone for the table was expensive. Buying the canvas for the unit is also necessary, I tried using heavy canvas it would just pull and wrinkle up. I have two slab roller canvas from Bailey one is for red clay the other white. If you have any questions just ask. Denice

Lots of people want to pay more, they think it has better quality and design when it cost more. You could mark a teapot for 80 dollars and it would just sit there, mark it 150 dollars and it would sell. You might even give them a 10 percent discount, the discount makes them feel like an wheeler dealer and often becomes a loyal customer. I had a wallpaper\paint store for twenty years and quickly figured out what type of customer I wanted to sell to. Denice

When I was a decorator I worked for some very rich people, I was with a regular customer and she was talking about having a sale to get rid of some things or just throwing them away. She pointed out a Maria blackware and another local artist that sold high end work. I could of offered her a few dollars, she would have given them to me. Instead I told her who the artist were and how much the work was worth. She thanked me profusely and I went home empty handed but happy with myself. Denice

I also stumbled across a online store called Cool Tools, I think they have good prices and a lot of selection. Denice

Thank you for the information, I will probably try the file and dremel, I have a lot of tools to practice on. Denice

Pres what color of stone do you use on your Dremel for sharpening. I haven't tried sharpening a trimming tool, I have a bunch of old ones in a bin. Now and then I will have someone show a interest in working with clay and want me to give them lessons. I will give them a few basic tools (old ones) and a bag of clay, after teaching them a few basic hand building techniques I tell them to make a pot and bring it back to me. I have never had anyone return with a pot for me to fire. I fell in love with clay when I was 12 and my art teacher gave us a ball of clay. She said we could make anything we wanted with it. I squished and rolled the clay around and discovered it was magic, I could make anything. Denice

Many years ago I put some pots that I had made in the Anazai research group. I had a friend that sold beautiful handmade furniture there and told me it was a great place. I had left a few pots there, when I went back to check on them I heard her tell a customer who was looking at my work that they could buy it much cheaper in Taos. I grabbed my work and left, I found out later that they had stolen the business from their daughter. She was in the hospital, they told her she was dying and had here sign the business over to them. They cheated everyone they could, never did pay our friend for a $2000 cabinet they sold just before they skipped town. Like Marc I have sold work at more good galleries than bad. Denice

If you have an area that you can't get clean you can always avoid setting a piece in that area. I have a shelf that has some impurities in the shelf material that has come to the surface, I can't grind it out so I just avoid that area. Denice

You need to have a long firing with black clay it does a lot of off gassing, you also should bisque at 04. Which brand of black clay are you using? I use black clay for small projects but I am about to run out. The clay I used was made locally but was discontinued when the factory was sold. A small fan blowing on the controller box might help, you probably need the controller checked out. Denice

Interesting subject, I sold my most interesting cup a year ago to a customer who broke one of a set. I made them for valentines day. The top was heart shaped, to create that shape one side had deep crease down it. For some reason people ignored the heart shape and liked the crease area calling it a butt mug. Just for fun I put a tattoo on the bottom of the cup, so the person sitting across from you gets a glimpse. Conversation starter. They didn't sell well because they were a 6oz coffee cup size, the people who did like them were into very strong and very hot coffee. They told me that the curve of the cup helped keep it hot and it was small enough that to refill frequently with hot coffee. I am not much of a coffee drinker I didn't realize that people wanted to buy large mugs. Denice

It would be nice if the school system did a little research and did things right and safe. The high school I attended had a fire in the pottery classroom, several years after I graduated I was there visiting one of my teachers. I stopped by the pottery class to see what had changed, there was a small closet added in a corner of the room. My teacher smiling opened the door and there was a large front loader gas kiln that filled the space. It looked like a dangerous location to me, I don't know how they made that decision. Denice

If you don't have a vent you should fire it on a weekend or free days, that is what my teacher did in high school. Denice

Sorry about using the word clay instead of brick, I guess my mind wasn't working this morning. Paragon makes a sealer for kiln lids, I don't think you will need it. It sounds like you need to scrap this kiln. Neil knows his stuff so I would listen to him, I just bought a new LL kiln a few months ago from him, he was a lot of help. If you look around on Craigslist and estate sales you can find a pretty nice used kiln. I found a small one a few years ago that was old but had only been fired once, I had to repair the kiln sitter. Some how they broke it on the first firing. it costs me $50 for the part, I paid $250 for the kiln. Do some research on kilns and find out what the specs are on the size and firing range of the kiln you will need for your work. I have met people who bought a low fire kiln when they need a high fire kiln. Be prepared to rewire any kiln you buy, if the kiln has shelves and stilts will save you money. Denice