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 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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

For sharpening, I use the blue green (silicone carbide) bits for grinding, and i have a very light touch. I do not grind hard, and always touch up with a wet stone well oiled. Some of the tools I really like are bent in a question mark shape on one end with a square spade on the other. These are hardened, but thin and when sharpening you have to be very careful with them.  One big things to realize is angle. You have to be particular about the angle you grind to as a poor angle does not do the job as well.
 
best,
Pres

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

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

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

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