Roberta12

Hi and welcome to the forum! 
I’d wait for some more sparky forum members to chime in to be sure, but Skutt and L and L kiln’s websites both recommend against GFCI because kiln brick’s electrical resistance reduces with heat, which can indeed trip a GFCI at the wrong time. ConeArt recommends having most models direct wired into the electrical box, and suggests consulting a licensed electrician who knows kilns. (Not all electricians are familiar: my own journeyman cousin wouldn’t touch my install because it wasn’t his area of expertise.)
Edited to add: I’m shifting this thread to the Equipment Use and Repair section so it gets more eyes on it. 

Different types of plaster are available for ceramics. General purpose good quality plaster for throwing on and making wedging tables or drying surfaces is called #1 Pottery Plaster. Some people prefer to make throwing batts from Hydrostone which is a stronger plaster than #1 Pottery Plaster but it doesn't dry out clay as quickly.
Whatever you use make sure you use the correct amount of water, it's important to the strength of the finished plaster.

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

I think a few people have suggested similar methods over the years, although I can’t remember who would have suggested selling under 2 different names for the lines. 
Most of us who make dinnerware and other functional stuff do some form of more art based work at some point, although not everyone goes with 2 separate and concurrently produced product lines. I see more jewellers and graphic artists have 2 different names for their bread and butter vs art lines like this, but it’s not unheard of. 
I think getting in with an established interior design firm with a wealthy clientele is a very good way of finding someone who can help you realize a higher price point. I can see it having some positives, in that they’ll be used to a certain set of professionalism rules, and payment timelines. I think being familiar with the business and their reputation both on the client and vendor end is a really smart idea. 

Someone on this board once gave me the idea of having a "gallery" line in addition to my production line.  I've sold a few higher priced pieces since that time.   For me that's $200 - $450.   Ok, I am going with this interior designer in Atlanta.    They will just put my pieces in houses they do and add the price, itemized.   The deal is that I will do hand built only for them.   At the moment, they only want 2 colors, both white matte with accent colors.    Currently they get a 30% discount from places like Restoration Hardware.    They are just adding one piece per house, and are taking a 30% commission, at a price that is way way above what I would ever mark my items here.   I'll post a picture of the first sale I made.   I picked Atlanta because my family travels to Atlanta at least once a month.     I've leaving 4 or 5 pieces with them and they will send me a check upon sale.    They just mailed me a check for this item (check to avoid cc fees) and it will be delivered when someone goes to Atlanta.    I'm confident this is a trustworthy source, due to the houses I've been in that they have done.  I have agreed to just sign the items Sharon A. Grimes (no Dirt Roads).   And I will do a small bio poster to put with the work and a website SharonAGrimesartist.com for their exclusive promotion.   I will refer all calls to them.    Let me go take a picture.

Thanks Roberta!

If you only need a few of these circles or you don’t want to order a bunch of stuff, you can also make a poor man’s sticker.  Lay strips of masking tape onto a piece of wax paper and cut out your desired shape. Peel the shape off the wax paper backing and use as you would masking tape. 

Hoping to renovate the bath/shower in our main bathroom. I really want to be rid of some ugly tile and 1970s blue bathtub! Depends on how much I can bring in from the farmer’s market though.
Other than that, I think we’ll spend a week camping out in BC at a spot we know and love to go to every year.  Other than that, I think we’re just going to lay low a bit. We’ve had a crazy spring with family events and husband’s work travel. 

I haven't taken a vacation since before the pandemic and I'm not up for flying anywhere. What I do is travel by myself or w/a friend, on day trips where there's not tons of people. I may go to the ocean along NH or ME, for a couple of days, off season.
This summer, my primary plan is to use the time to accomplish two things.  One, I will sell an entire room-full of good quality "yard sale" type items. That is actually a lot of work, as it all goes online-not allowed to hold sales where I live.  Two, I will streamline my studio .  There's a good bit of materials, tools, supplies, equipment, the wheel, etc. that I will sell (will just do handbuilding).  I am  freeing up space so I can get back to painting/other media--so that counts as non-ceramics LOL. 

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

Big plan for this summer is to get my partner fit and well and back out doing stuff after 18  months of surgery/partial recovery/surgery/partial recovery/surgery.
I'm going for a week's "summer school" with the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers - There will be with 300 people spread over 18 different courses.  I will be dyeing with natural dyes.  We will be staying at an agricultural university in Shropshire.
The rest will be filled with hiding from the sun - sun rash is really irriting - in all senses, gardening, spinning, weaving, dyeing and volunteering.  Oh, and some pottery.

Wow @Hulk Lots of home projects for sure!  My husband and mom have had some recent health issues but those are getting sorted out now.  Our camping plans have been delayed so that is probably what we will be doing in July and August as well as going to NM to see kids.  We only have an outdoor pool in town for swimming so I am enjoying swimming laps as much as I can.  I am also leaving in a few days to go to a workshop at Idyllwild Arts.  The presenter will be Ruth Easterbrook.  It should be fun.  They have a great facility there.  Ooops, that is sort of a ceramic plan, isn't it!?  
Roberta

@Roberta12 - I have not, standard art brushes that you prefer to paint with probably. filberts, flats, liner, limited use of mops, daggers, etc..  Typically synthetic - nothing special really. More about what you would use to paint. Donna Dewberry brushes were cheap at one point. Paul Lexington has a decent book: “ China paint and Overglaze” finding the right medium to match your preference probably most time consuming. Clove and lavender!
Stuff seems to seep under stencils due to adhesion and cohesion. The pin stripe masking tape is an easy way to stop this movement for me.

Wow @Hulk Lots of home projects for sure!  My husband and mom have had some recent health issues but those are getting sorted out now.  Our camping plans have been delayed so that is probably what we will be doing in July and August as well as going to NM to see kids.  We only have an outdoor pool in town for swimming so I am enjoying swimming laps as much as I can.  I am also leaving in a few days to go to a workshop at Idyllwild Arts.  The presenter will be Ruth Easterbrook.  It should be fun.  They have a great facility there.  Ooops, that is sort of a ceramic plan, isn't it!?  
Roberta

Wow @Hulk Lots of home projects for sure!  My husband and mom have had some recent health issues but those are getting sorted out now.  Our camping plans have been delayed so that is probably what we will be doing in July and August as well as going to NM to see kids.  We only have an outdoor pool in town for swimming so I am enjoying swimming laps as much as I can.  I am also leaving in a few days to go to a workshop at Idyllwild Arts.  The presenter will be Ruth Easterbrook.  It should be fun.  They have a great facility there.  Ooops, that is sort of a ceramic plan, isn't it!?  
Roberta

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

My experience, it’s hard to keep it from flowing under the stencil so depending on size and shape this may prove to have its issues. Precise brushwork is a thing with multiple coats over the top. Real automotive pinstripe masking tape does allow for very precise lines, especially1/8” and will keep the media from flowing beyond its boundary. Gold needs to be fairly thick (else fires ugly) so often multiple coats are the answer for me which often means more freehand work. If it’s tape masked, then no worries for me.

Ahhhh. The best solution. Find something that works and stick with it.
No one can say you didn’t try, that’s for sure! I appreciate you sharing that journey. 

Besides the obvious issue with firing large slabs flat (dunting), the other issue is uneven heat. The side exposed to ambient kiln temperature can vary to the temperature under the slab in direct contact with the shelf; further adding to the warp issue. I have fire porcelain slabs up to 30” square by bisq firing them on edge. Use tile setters as shown, or prop them up using other wares. 
Tom

Most if not all of your pieces will probably be fine. Some glaze melting will start at bisque temps, but shutting down at those temps usually doesn't cause any problems. Start it back up and fire to cone 5.

Hi Carol and welcome to the forum!
What I used was computer paper and a circle cutter punch. Cut out the circle and used the surrounding paper with the hole cut out of it as a stencil. Dipped the paper into water, let it sit a couple minutes then applied it to the leatherhard clay with a damp sponge, let the surface water dry off a little bit then brushed the underglaze on.  (porcelain with spectrum underglazes)

I really like the off register look @neilestrick
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Well, for those following this thread... I joined an Amaco ^5/6 glaze group on Facebook and searched for mentions of this Blue Spark glaze there. A lot of people struggle to get it to behave as advertised. Lots of bubbles and pinholes, lots of colors not as expected. To the point that Amaco support posted a document called Troubleshooting Blue Spark Glaze, and one forum member was so frustrated he told Amaco support he is switching to Mayco glazes!  
I'll play around with it more based on insights provided here and also on the Amaco group ... 
Thanks again for all the expert feedback! It's very educational for me.

@MKG001 the MSDS doesn’t give anything that screams out “this clay has a bunch of stuff in it that needs to burn off.” It could be the feldspar, could be they used a plastic but dirty kaolin, could have been another ingredient that isn’t listed, but contributes disproportionately to the Loss On Igniton numbers. 

If the pitting is showing up on the same clay but with a different glaze, that’s a strong indication the clay body is part of the problem.
An interesting observation: I went to the website link Peter posted to see if I could find a more detailed MSD sheet. I wanted to see if there was any mention of any material that might be off-gassing. When I zoomed in on the pictures of the glazed bowls, that glaze also shows signs of pitting. So that’s a pretty strong indication.
I didn’t look too hard for the MSD sheet after that, but I’m pretty confident there’s an inexpensive ingredient, or one that makes the clay easier to use that has a lot of sulphites or other organics. If you’ve got any of this clay left and you’re doing your own firing, you might try using the slow bisque cycle if you’re not already. If you are, program a bit of an extra 15-20 mini soak in the 250-600 C/ 480-1110 F range to allow some more burn off time.