Roberta12

My class took place yesterday. The women and a few children had a fine time! 
Gave each a lumo of clay, got them to form into a ball, then hands under the table to shape for a few minutes, then pass to nneighbour, no peeking, x4 so clay now back with original owner, reveal all, keep, or squash.
Lits of laughs, then slab building, or pinching ,  or any of the above, coliured slips, or not..
I had a big bit of paper and they gave their name, drew a sketch of their pots and what glaze they would like listed.
Whew, did they have fun. Exhausted Babs trundled home.
Now to return topack and collect the pots, and home to dry , bisque and glaze. What gutsy folk are out there

@Jeff Longtin                            Wow, didn't think of making slabs for them.!! 
I have a lot of straight preserving "bottles".
I find beginners, unless taught properly, hmm, have quite a lot of failure re coils not squushed, scored and slipped.
Thickish slabs would give the choice of shaping,or/ and texturing.
Thank you Jeff.

If the recipe call for volume, then do it that way.
Measuring by weight will generally give you a more accurate, repeatable mix. Because powders can be fluffy or compacted, you can get different amounts each time you measure by volume. Measuring by weight eliminates that variable. This is why so many baking recipes call for 'sifted' flour (sifting gives the flour a more consistent density for measuring by volume), and why professional bakers measure everything in grams.

What would you recommend? My local supplier is also having some issues with Frit 3134. It’s marginally cheaper, but still not cheap. Right now, they keep a waiting list of everyone who wants it, and anytime they receive any, it’s sold out before it hits the shelves. They told me I can get on this waiting list too, if I want. Are there other options?

Thank you, Roberta

Beautiful @Mudfish ! Nice work!
 

This is a one off slab construction based on an idea inspired by a bunch of weeds, Preliminary sketches were similar, but I made the thrown rim and lid a little larger than planned. Of greatest importance here was the texture in the slabs that wraps around the piece. Glazing was done by staining the piece with iron oxide and cobalt stains, with wash off.  The inside was glazed after washing off the stains as was the top with and upside down dip. Them areas of the piece were glazed with brown, blue and off white glazes sponged and dry brushed on. Then an atomizer was used to spray  a rutile green glaze over large areas emphasizing the natural landscape look of weeds in dark forest.  I am very happy with the way the textures and the rest of the piece turned out. This was originally made as a demo/door prize piece two years ago, glazed this year. It was given away as a door prize along with some chalices, and vases to folks taking the adult Ceramics class a the HS I used to teach at.
 
 
best,
Pres

Just unloaded the kiln today and to my great relief these platters have NO cracks ! I'm so happy to be batting a thousand this go-around. I hope these results continue. What I did was to lift the bottom edge while throwing these forms to round out that area, omitted the grog, paid more attention to closing up damper for the cool down, and I fired on a fairly thick bed of silica. Thank you all so much

One thing I forgot to add was it's a good idea to place some weight in the middle of the base as the pot is drying. (I use a rectangular kiln brick and leave it there until the pot is dry) I use a very thick slip made with magic water and my claybody for the joining slip.

Ferro frits 3134 and 3124 were designed as replacements for Gerstley Borate too. The drawback to using the frits are that you loose the trace amounts of  phosphorus, titanium and iron that add more visual interest. Which was the gripe 20 years ago: the substitutes were boring by themselves, and you couldn’t just swap 1:1.
 
Edited to add: the price of freight has been going through the roof for quite some time. I’d imagine that accounts for at least a portion of the price increase. Probably not all of it, but at least some.

Better stock up now as its going to go away is my thought

Definitely get a one hp.  I bought a used Brent a few years ago and it had a new half hp.  motor.    I don't consider myself a strong thrower but I find myself wanting a little more horse power now and then.   I am mostly a handbuilder  so this wheel will work for me.    Denice

The Shimpo Whisper and Pacifica GT wheels all are within your budget, and are good wheels that will work for what 99% of potters make.
IMO, Brent wheels last forever, but so do most wheels, and most wheels have better control than Brent. I own 9 Skutt wheels and they all have far better pedal control than Brent. And Brent replacement parts are pricey.

I started my pottery life with a Brent C. That was 50 years ago. Now I have 5 Brents-CXC, 2 model A's and a model B and that C
Tomas Stuart (now skutts) also makes quality wheels
Brents hold the resale value as well

Mason stains can be incorporated, but with caveats.
Stain particles are larger than ball clay ones, so you have to add stain to Sig after it’s been siphoned.  If you add stain before, most of it winds up in the discard sludge. Be aware you will likely have to mix frequently during application to keep everything evenly suspended. But it does give nice results. 
Also, if you use any sig methods involving ball milling, that can alter several stain colours. It isn’t recommended for encapsulated ones at all.
 

It was the Spodumene Substitute that I emailed them twice about and didn't get a reply. My email was forwarded to a tech and that was the last I heard from them. I then contacted  Pottery Supply House in Ontario (same company as Euclids) and asked about their Spodumene Blend and they confirmed it was the Laguna Substitute product and quickly gave me the analysis which I posted in the thread above that Mark linked. Still haven't heard anything from Laguna.
We've been down this road before with Gerstley, lots of subs already developed, I think it's just a question of finding one and tweaking the chem to use one of the alternatives. Quick google search, Laguna Borate at Sheffields, $34- for 50 lb bag. Main differences are Laguna Borate has more boron, alumina and silica.

@GEP I just checked online with my supplier and Denver for pricing on GB.  It seems a lot less that what you paid. 
https://stoneleafpottery.com/clay-raw-materials/?page=7

Holy moly!!!!!!

It's $516 / 22.68kg here, so a little over twice what you paid.
I've contacted Laguna twice in the past month asking about an analysis for a different material, still haven't heard back from them. Call me sceptical but I doubt they would disclose any info on the Gerstley Borate situation.

Thanks Mark,  have we come far from this time?
Let's honour these brave souls!
How could one purchase such pot and claim to "own" them?

I think the idea is to get their hands on clay for therapeuticexperience . Ad to that gathering withwomen of like experience, food and wine. BUT maybe I'll make them little cups to decorate.
Thinking ofgiving them a bit of clay to pinch whilst I introduce stuff, or to play with for 5mins and pass to the one on your left...just for fun...
And then????  Give them.a lump to pinch a mug / receptacle, then dry and decorate.
I was learnig to say no but y'know these women have been  strong for their families, many home alone when the fire front engulfed their homes, men ,and women ,  away fighting fire on a different front when the change came.

I read this book every year at school to many of the classes I worked with.  And he worked on a kick wheel with one leg, the other had been amputated.  My sincere hope is that his family is able to own one of his pots.  And that some good can come of his work.  Thanks for sharing this @Mark C.

Just call Skutt and talk story (have all your plate info ready) and know the brick thickness. Or order online from them

I think Roberta has the better suggestion. The depth of the fabric makes it very challenging to plaster. Rather than have that challenge just roll the fabric into a soft clay slab first and see if you like that. 
 

What about making a bisque mold of the fabric?  Roll the fabric into clay, dry and bisque, then make a plaster mold?  That would work if you are trying to get the texture of the pillow.    You could even drape the clay over the pillow to get the shape, roll the clay into the pillow and peel it off, retaining not only the texture but you could manipulate the clay to keep the shape of the pillow.  Just an idea.