Denice

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

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.   

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

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.   

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.   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We haven't had large group of deer hanging around across the street for awhile.  We probably won't see them again for several years,  a large development of houses is being built on the other side of the creek.   Their is a shortage of houses in our area so the big fields we drive by are turning in apartment complexes and houses.   We will still have our view it is owned by the county.   There is a heron rookery in the same area I imagine all of the heavy equipment will scare them away.  Denice

I have had a Christmas cactus in a south window in my shop for years.   I love it,  you can forget to water it for a month and it comes back to life when you do.  It has double blooms that appear in December.             Denice

I have had a Christmas cactus in a south window in my shop for years.   I love it,  you can forget to water it for a month and it comes back to life when you do.  It has double blooms that appear in December.             Denice

I have a small fan in front of my heating/air conditioning vents,  they  tucked beneath a countertop and need some help .   I put a fan in the kiln room window to exhaust some of the heat out side when I fire .   I don't even open the windows in the summer,  I live in Kansas more dust  outside than inside my studio.  I clean the area I am working in but I don't tackle every area of the studio.    Denice

I have a small fan in front of my heating/air conditioning vents,  they  tucked beneath a countertop and need some help .   I put a fan in the kiln room window to exhaust some of the heat out side when I fire .   I don't even open the windows in the summer,  I live in Kansas more dust  outside than inside my studio.  I clean the area I am working in but I don't tackle every area of the studio.    Denice

I bought a used Brent off of E Bay  four or five years ago.   The previous owner had replaced the motor but still couldn't throw very well on it,  he was a newbie.  When I got it home I noticed the foot pedal was out of adjustment.   It was so bad I thought I would have to buy another,  while researching on the internet I found easy directions to repair it.  It only took a few minutes,  I wonder if  he really needed that new motor he spent $400 on.     Denice

I bought a used Brent off of E Bay  four or five years ago.   The previous owner had replaced the motor but still couldn't throw very well on it,  he was a newbie.  When I got it home I noticed the foot pedal was out of adjustment.   It was so bad I thought I would have to buy another,  while researching on the internet I found easy directions to repair it.  It only took a few minutes,  I wonder if  he really needed that new motor he spent $400 on.     Denice

I am lucky,  I  have a supplier that is about a 20 minute drive.  The next closest supplier is in Kansas City which 175 miles from my house.   I needed a bag of Flinthill Clay to complete a project, my supplier didn't carry it anymore  so I had to order it from Kansas City.   They had bought the  Flinthill Clay Co.,  I paid 25$ for one 25lb bag of clay and 25$ freight on it.   My local ceramic shop doesn't have much clay in stock right now.   I hope what I have in my shop will last me until they get more clay in.    Denice