Roberta12

@BeebopI have used that clear from MC6 for years. I have one I like better right now, but the MC6 is really good and I take it to 6 all the time on all different clay bodies. I have not mixed any of the others you mentioned. It sounds like you have a good attitude!

Read read read and read more. I started in clay in 2006 and the internet was not quite as full of info as it is now. I have a lot of resource books. You can find them in used bookstores, physical or online. Self taught here too, but I do continue my clay education as best I can. I save my pennies and go to workshops, and continue to read read read.

@Bailey_rae_clay I keep my crazed pieces in my cupboard as well. Or give them to family who understand what is going on. I have switched glazes and clays in order to find clay bodies that work for me and glazes that work for me. And even when you think you have it dialed in, you don't. Stuff happens and you might spend a lonnngggg time trying to diagnose whether it was the clay, the glaze, change of materials, something with your kiln. The very best piece of advice I got when I started was "there are no precious pots" I took that to heart. I am not afraid to wield a hammer like Thor on

Small Batch Potter. I like that one. It's a step between hobby and production, don't you think???

I have not used either of those Laguna clays. For the most part, Laguna does have their clay bodies dialed in, but like Chilly and Neil said, you are going to have to test in order to know. Sometimes my test pieces are just that, pieces I have trimmed through the bottom or have some flaw and I glaze them. Better information at times than a small test tile. I fire to cone 6 with Laguna Speckled Buff, #16 porcelain, and RSMC. My glazes are all mid fire range that I mix myself. What glazes out of John's book did you mix? You may have to consider this first load a test load. You could sta

I put a full shelf on the bottom because I am certain that is what the L&L manual told me to do. Obedient, I am.

One of the big shows in a ski area close to me is going ahead. Fewer vendors and seems like there may be some monitoring of numbers of shoppers, but they are definitely going ahead. That is Art in the Park in July at Steamboat Springs. I may do another driveway sale here at my house this summer, but I have a number of other ceramic projects ongoing. And my group of organizers will be going forth with planning for our Holiday show. I cannot make people wear a mask or get a vaccine, but I will take care of myself. And I think it will be fine! Roberta

Upon reflection, I am a little more structured with regular cleaning and maintenance than I would have given myself credit for. I clean the glazing/firing area after a glaze cycle and I clean my little studio top to bottom once a year (pulling everything out and purging things I have not used and really getting in the corners) and then of course I clean after throwing/trimming cycle. As far as kiln maintenance, that is a once a year task and I do try to time it so it is not happening in the middle of show season. Unless of course I get glaze on an element and it burns through or a relay b

I agree with everything written, other than letting someone else fire my kiln (sorry @liambesaw) If there is a screw up on firing, I would rather it be my screw up. I have fired for a couple of friends who were in a jam, but it was only a couple of times. And I give them the 3rd degree concerning the clay and glaze. Other than that, I just say no. If you have a kiln that you fire regularly, you also have regular maintenance which is expensive. Roberta

It's not quite spring here yet, but I did clean both the glaze/kiln area and my little studio. Throwing out and cleaning and rearranging. I usually do that right after the Holidays, but it was pushed to March this year. That indeed was a slow boat @LeeU! Wow!!

I tend towards cautious in those matters. I have to agree with @Denice. I had some pieces that were fired in the community studio that I know were not vitrified, and I used them in my cupboard. If for no other reason, to see how they held up. But most of those things have gone away. When I helped my daughter move a few years ago I noticed that several bowls I had made and given her were growing mold on the bottom. Horrified, I was. And it did not happen right away. It was years after the bowl was made. Roberta

When I was in London a few years ago, I visited a pottery in Clapham, North Street Potters. I was amazed at how they had utilized every single inch of space in that vintage building. The kiln was in the basement (cellar? coal shed?) and everything had to be taken down the short stairs with little headroom for the bearers of pots. They definitely made it work. Perhaps find a pottery you could visit to get ideas on how to set up your workspace? It is a luxury to have your own workspace at home. I have been very grateful for that this last year. Roberta

I have actually thought about that @Hulk The one I haven't used forever in a day is the big tub o Alberta Slip. Maybe I need to explore more Alberta Slip recipes?

@HaleyChoice This will be a fun venture for you!! I agree with Callie's comments and advice. I followed that path almost exactly. I didn't have a shed/shop/outbuilding for a kiln so I continued to fire at a local studio for about 2 years. I bought all my equipment a piece at a time. The only mistake I made was overbuying on dry chemicals for glaze mixing. I made a list using the glaze supplies that were in the community studio and now I have a couple of large tubs of dry chemicals that I have barely used. But that is the only misstep I feel that I made as far as setting up my studio. W

Wow! It melted!! Sorry Lee for being late to the party, I just now saw this whole thread. Do you think the copper strip was too thin? Would copper wire like 12 or 10 or 8 Gauge produce effects like in Peter's posts above?? What if you layered up the copper strips?? Very interesting!!