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Denice

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  1. Like
    Denice got a reaction from kswan in Safe storage for glaze chemicals   
    I am looking at storing some of my glaze chemicals in a safer cabinet.    I have two small heavy metal cabinets  that can be locked with a padlock,  I thought maybe I should keep my cobalt,  chromium, lithium and barium in it.   The tornado that passed by my house a few weeks ago got me thinking about the hazard of them being blown everywhere.   Hundred of volunteers are clearing the damaged houses,  I want to keep them safe.   I know there isn't any way to  prevent tornado destruction  but I want to try.   My question is there any other chemicals that I might have in my studio that should be included or excluded from my list.   I have a lot of jars of glaze chemicals  that I  have purchased over the last 50 years,  if you think of something it is probably sitting on a shelf.      Denice
  2. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pyewackette in Safe storage for glaze chemicals   
    On my small container shelf  I found Nickle oxide,  Iron Chromate and  White Lead.   I will put them in the cabinet until our next trip to hazard waste.    When I am glazing I wash my hands and equipment in a separate dish pan.   I let it dry up and put it in a container,  when it is full I take it to hazardous waste facility.   My husband and I drove through a damaged area close by yesterday.   Some houses were completely gone, others had the kitchens left standing,  if garage doors were still there the fire department painted the number people who lived there,  if they got out and were OK.   When you live in Kansas you have tornado season every spring and hide  in the basement.   You never get use to the sheer force and damage of a tornado.    Denice
  3. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Roberta12 in Safe storage for glaze chemicals   
    On my small container shelf  I found Nickle oxide,  Iron Chromate and  White Lead.   I will put them in the cabinet until our next trip to hazard waste.    When I am glazing I wash my hands and equipment in a separate dish pan.   I let it dry up and put it in a container,  when it is full I take it to hazardous waste facility.   My husband and I drove through a damaged area close by yesterday.   Some houses were completely gone, others had the kitchens left standing,  if garage doors were still there the fire department painted the number people who lived there,  if they got out and were OK.   When you live in Kansas you have tornado season every spring and hide  in the basement.   You never get use to the sheer force and damage of a tornado.    Denice
  4. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Hulk in Safe storage for glaze chemicals   
    I am looking at storing some of my glaze chemicals in a safer cabinet.    I have two small heavy metal cabinets  that can be locked with a padlock,  I thought maybe I should keep my cobalt,  chromium, lithium and barium in it.   The tornado that passed by my house a few weeks ago got me thinking about the hazard of them being blown everywhere.   Hundred of volunteers are clearing the damaged houses,  I want to keep them safe.   I know there isn't any way to  prevent tornado destruction  but I want to try.   My question is there any other chemicals that I might have in my studio that should be included or excluded from my list.   I have a lot of jars of glaze chemicals  that I  have purchased over the last 50 years,  if you think of something it is probably sitting on a shelf.      Denice
  5. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Roberta12 in Safe storage for glaze chemicals   
    I am looking at storing some of my glaze chemicals in a safer cabinet.    I have two small heavy metal cabinets  that can be locked with a padlock,  I thought maybe I should keep my cobalt,  chromium, lithium and barium in it.   The tornado that passed by my house a few weeks ago got me thinking about the hazard of them being blown everywhere.   Hundred of volunteers are clearing the damaged houses,  I want to keep them safe.   I know there isn't any way to  prevent tornado destruction  but I want to try.   My question is there any other chemicals that I might have in my studio that should be included or excluded from my list.   I have a lot of jars of glaze chemicals  that I  have purchased over the last 50 years,  if you think of something it is probably sitting on a shelf.      Denice
  6. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Hulk in QothW: Which intrigues you and motivates you most when working with or looking at pots: Form or Surface?    
    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
  7. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pres in QothW: Which intrigues you and motivates you most when working with or looking at pots: Form or Surface?    
    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
  8. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Rae Reich in QotW: Do you have any pottery secrets that you do not share? If so how has your outlook on sharing with others changed over the years?   
    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.   
  9. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Trevor in Texture   
    I have used a black clay that would trim that rough if the piece was a little to dry to be trimming.   Black glazes worked well on it,  it was a C5/6 clay.    Denice
  10. Like
    Denice got a reaction from JohnnyK in QotW: Do you have any pottery secrets that you do not share? If so how has your outlook on sharing with others changed over the years?   
    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.   
  11. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pres in QotW: Do you have any pottery secrets that you do not share? If so how has your outlook on sharing with others changed over the years?   
    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.   
  12. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Hulk in Bisque firing issues   
    I have manual kilns,  I put a C5 cone in my kiln sitter when firing to C6.   Most of the glazes I use need a hold at the end,  I can get my C6 firing and also have a long hold without over firing  my glazes from heat work.   I monitor the temperature with a Skutt digital thermocouple  set.    Have fun while you are testing and  learning about your kiln.     Denice
  13. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Hulk in Currently in my Studio...   
    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
  14. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pyewackette in Currently in my Studio...   
    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
  15. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Hyn Patty in Currently in my Studio...   
    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
  16. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Hyn Patty in Currently in my Studio...   
    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
  17. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pyewackette in New kiln - Furniture?   
    Posts tend to chip at the edges,  eventually they get too broken up to work.   This is when I get our my tile saw and cut the post just a little shorter,  you need to cut off several so you will a matching lengths for a firing.  I have a rubber mat in my kiln room when I load the kiln this helps reduce breakage.    It is just a section of the gray exercise mat that fits together.   I remove it  when I start  the firing.   Our $40 tile saw was from Harbor Freight was our only saw for years,  we recently bought a big tile saw but still use the small one for odd jobs.  Denice
  18. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pyewackette in New kiln - Furniture?   
    Years ago I bought a crummy used kiln because it came with boxes and boxes of new  6 and 8 inch posts and a couple of shelves.   I used our tile saw and cut the posts into lengths that I needed  and threw away the kiln.     I have a test kiln that I ordered,  it has a interior dimension of 6"x6" square,  the kit had 2 shelves and eight small posts for $90.00.  This was twenty years ago,  the kiln was only $300.   I  bought a rectangular shelf from my local Ceramic supplier for $30 and cut it into 4 full and 4 half shelf's.   You can find posts at estate sales,  often they sell them separately from the kiln.     Denice
  19. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pyewackette in QotW: Is trimming just a clean-up job for you, or do you use it to enhance the bottom of the pot in some way?   
    Harbor Freight has some big blue plastic tarps  that are inexpensive,  sometimes they have a sidewalk sale and give them away.   Put your wheel on one and hang a  couple on the wall,  clean up everyday so you don't track clay around.   Throw a little drier by just wetting your hands not the clay,  keep a small wet sponge in your hand to squeeze some water on the clay.    I had a professor teach my class to throw this way.    When I trim clay that is starting to get too dry I have a bigger mess.   Winter is many months away,  you have plenty of time to plan your throwing inside.      Denice
  20. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pyewackette in QotW: Is trimming just a clean-up job for you, or do you use it to enhance the bottom of the pot in some way?   
    I was taught that trimming the bottom of the pot was part of the balance, stand and overall design of the piece.  I enjoy trimming,  if I was a high production potter I am sure I would find it tedious after awhile.    Denice
  21. Like
    Denice reacted to Mark C. in Bending extruded tubes   
    You could cap the ends and air would hold it-or wait till its firmer (the just right moisture point) to bend it. Thats what I have done in past-let it firm up a bit
  22. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Chilly in QotW: Is trimming just a clean-up job for you, or do you use it to enhance the bottom of the pot in some way?   
    I was taught that trimming the bottom of the pot was part of the balance, stand and overall design of the piece.  I enjoy trimming,  if I was a high production potter I am sure I would find it tedious after awhile.    Denice
  23. Like
    Denice got a reaction from shawnhar in View from the studio.   
    Must be nice to have all those trees,   not many trees in Kansas.   I have tried planting them a couple of times and the deer manage to kill them.   We have a creek about 3 blocks from our house with a large population  on deer.  Did anyone else get snow yesterday,  it looked like Christmas card snow.    Denice
  24. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Pres in QotW: Is trimming just a clean-up job for you, or do you use it to enhance the bottom of the pot in some way?   
    I was taught that trimming the bottom of the pot was part of the balance, stand and overall design of the piece.  I enjoy trimming,  if I was a high production potter I am sure I would find it tedious after awhile.    Denice
  25. Like
    Denice got a reaction from Ben10 in Bone china glazing problems   
    Years ago I made several nativity sets out of bone slip that I purchased.   I made the molds myself and had a lot of joints which made  many seams on the pieces.   I bisque fired them and clean up the seams with a Dremel tool,  then I fired them to C5 using setters where they were needed.    I heated them in the oven before I glazed,  I know three firings is excessive but the process of cleaning the seams was very easy.   I used a Celadon type  low fire glaze and you couldn't find a joining seam on the pieces.    Denice
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