Benzine
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Everything posted by Benzine
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@liambesaw That looks quite realistic, nice work!
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Wait! How does that work? Have you not seen, or been in contact with the person? What do they say when asked about the wheel? -
Finally got power back on this morning, after 8-1/2 days without due to the "derecho" that hit last Monday.
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Denice,
Little to no damage to our home or garage to speak of. We lost half of our front tree, which is our only tree, and it kind of fell on our front porch. However, it just managed to dent part of the gutter.
We also lost a single shingle.
This definitely gave us confidence in the strength and durability of our Century old home!
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I was a decorator for 20 years and potted on weekends and evenings. I had one of my regular customer's new home wiped off the face of the earth, her old home was next door and it just got shifted off the foundation. It was still a loss but they didn't lose everything in the home. We bought a 100 years old house shortly after the wind damage we had. We lived there for 13 years and had four tornadoes pass over our house. Usually the corners of our house would get broken off, we had one tornado that hit a school and shopping center near us. It dropped part of the shopping center roof in our back yard, we were very lucky. My husband was in the shower on the third floor when it passed over he came running down the stairs naked hollering about the tornado. For some reason the tornado sirens didn't go off. We had to move because of my MS, we built our new house to be solid and of course a basement. Denice
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There was definitely a lot of that in College. A lot of new media and techniques, that were different and in some cases those things were vastly different depending on which of the instructors you had, even if they were the same class. For instance, I had the same instructor for both my Painting classes, and his classes didn't not operate as the other painting classes did. We had to do twelve paintings a week. That may seem insane, but it should be noted, that he never said what size the paintings had to be. So most of the class would do several smaller, experimental paintings, and continue to work on a larger one each week. Some of my classmates hated that approach, I liked it. It allowed us to experiment and refine our skills multiple times over. Currently my strolls into unfamiliar territory are when I try a new lesson. I would say the stakes are higher, because if I try something new and run into unforeseen issues, I can shrug it off or adapt. If an entire class runs into unforeseen issues, that's way more of a problem.
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@Callie Beller Diesel Should have pinned it on a fictional student. "Oh no, I didn't load the kiln, that was Bradjelina!" @LinR That story, "Yikes!"
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Does anyone else not like their handles during the making and attachment process, but then really like how they look once they've set up a bit?
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I find doing handles a real pain so I only do them occasionally and even then, most of the time, they are just OK...
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And sometimes that concern, doesn't even involve us. I was talking to a teacher, at a nearby District, during our Conference Art Show. Her students had some nice Raku pieces and I asked about the set up they used. She informed me that she used their normal electric classroom kiln, and had a nearby exterior door, where they carried the wares for reduction. I asked, "So you turn the kiln *OFF* before reaching in with the *METAL* tongs right?!" She kind of chuckled and said, that she hadn't thought about that. Now she could have been using sarcasm. However, know that I've known her for several years, I'm honestly not sure she was...
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You could make your own... What's another project right?
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Hmmmm, off the top of my head, I'm going to go with this one: During my fifth year teaching, I had a Ceramics I class, in which I also had a couple "helpers". I forget what that District called them, but essentially they got a credit for helping a teacher, with whatever they needed. Generally I would only have one per class, but for some reason, I accepted both at the same time. Anyway, the way we recycled clay, was by having the students hand mix the wet reclaim, with a dry clay powder. I realize now, this was it's own level of stupid, and it was just something I did, because that's how it had been done by the previous instructor. I had a couple students, who needed more clay, and the clay powder was out. So I sent my helpers to get another bag from storage. The students mixed it with the reclaim, and that was that... UNTIL, some of the projects made with that clay were fired. Said projects partially melted. Unlike several of the other stories, this was not a Low Fire/ Mid-High Fire issue, because we only used Low Fire. Instead, it was a label reading issue. The helper students grabbed a bag of dry GLAZE powder, without looking at what it was. Am I partially to blame? Absolutely! I should have double checked, and in their defense, the bags looked identical, minus the stamped label, which is partially abbreviated. Luckily, there wasn't enough glaze mixed with the clay, to damage anything. The projects didn't even stick to the shelf. Basically they were large scale Egyptian Paste sculptures. And fortunately, the contaminated clay was easy to find, and dispose of. The worst part was that the students lost a project that they worked on. They still got a proper grade for it, they just had nothing to take home.
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A sugar jar, that looks like it's coated in sugary glaze!
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Don't you love that! As a longtime teacher, I'm surprised you let anyone borrow anything. Teachers, especially Art teachers get pretty jaded about loaning stuff out. We usually get emails every month or two, about someone missing something that wasn't returned. In some cases it's a very specific piece of P.E. equipment, and I'm thinking, "Who would even take that?!"
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One of the worst sounds, I've ever heard, was when I tried to sharpen an underglaze stick, in a hand sharpener. Normally high pitched noises don't get me, but this one did...
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Love those @liambesaw ! My first thought was, that they looked industrial/ like something automotive related. In regards to the topic question, I think it is best to err on the side of caution. Like many have pointed out, we don't know the actual numbers, due to the lack of testing. I live in a relatively rural State, and in a very tiny town, yet we still have cases. My Father, initially thought this whole thing was overblown, and now the County he lives in, has one of the highest case numbers in the State. As a teacher, the repercussions are just tragic, especially for the Seniors, the retiring teachers, those in activities and athletics, and worst of all, those "At Risk" students who depend on School for structure and a sense of normalcy. My District is currently only doing "Voluntary Learning". We provide optional resources for students, and don't have to make up the days. We may yet go to "Required Learning", at least for High School, but that will obviously present even more obstacles. My Three-Dimensional class, was half way through a project, with at least two left. That class is mostly clay work, so obviously it will be difficult to give them the same experience, at home. I don't think a lot of it has set in yet. I'm just kind of numb to it all, as this is indeed unprecedented.
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QotW: When do you decide?
Benzine replied to Pres's topic in Int'l Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) Operations and Benefits
I require my students to have a sketch, that shows their general idea, for the form, and an approximate width and height. Just hopping on the wheel, and stating "I'm make a bowl, mug, etc" tells me little. How big of a bowl or mug? What do you plan to use if for? How are you going to finish the bottom? It annoys them, that I ask these questions, but I tell them, I can't help them, unless I see their vision. -
QotW: When do you decide?
Benzine replied to Pres's topic in Int'l Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) Operations and Benefits
I *generally* have a really good idea, of what I'm making well before I start. I champion sketching, to all my students, and I try to practice what I preach. There was a time, at home, that I had a specific form that I wanted to make. I had done something like it before, and had it pictured in my head. Once I got past the initial stages, to the forming, it just wasn't working for me. So I got some new clay, and before I restarted, I grabbed some chalk, from my daughter's Art easel, and made a rough sketch on it. That's all it took, and I knocked it out, no problem. The only time I kind of wing it, is when doing demos, where I don't have a final product, that I am trying to achieve, and when I'm making a lot of random forms, like for an "Empty Bowls" donation. -
That's some Gale Boetticher level coffee brewing, right there!
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@Marcia Selsor Nope, that's too early for that weather!... @liambesaw Love the form and glazing. My Dad has a "birdbath" shape he made in college, where he sprayed some oxides, similar to that. He still has it, though it probably has some damage from the dang kids!... What is the exact function and usage of that form? Is it like a pour over coffee carafe?
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Finally got a new splash pan, for my classroom Shimpo RK-2. The old yellow one, has probably been on there, since the Carter Administration. It had been cracked, since I started in the District, and I have been meaning to replace it. Finally, last year a bat flew off, and shatter one of the sides. So that forced my hand.
The wheel head *really* didn't want to come off. I actually had to remove the entire axle, just to get leverage, from the underside of the wheel head, to remove it. Half a can of "Liquid Wrench" didn't really help, until that point.
Now, I just have to remove as much as possible, from the frame, so I can remove the rust and old paint, and give it a fresh coat.
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You might be better off salvaging gold from circuit boards and other such electronics.
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Have you struck it rich yet?
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I've got a pile of rocks, that I am "decomposing", to create some new clay. I am a patient person...
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That's a very tough question. It's a great question, just tough to answer. I would say the thing, I am currently most proud of, is having myself and my Art Club make mugs for all the Staff, in our Building. It ended up being about 90 mugs. I did most the heavy lifting, in regards to throwing, as I wanted them to be consistent, but the kids added handles and a raised mascot head, that we press molded. They also glazed everything. The Staff seemed very appreciative, especially the Associated, Kitchen Staff, and Custodians, who don't get a lot of credit and recognition. The Head Custodian, came up and gave me a hug! We are still making them for new Staff as well, as a Welcome. The goal was only to do a few here and there, but we've had quite a bit of turnover, for various reasons, so we've been busy...
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Best of luck Liam!
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As I noted, in my recent Status Update, my cat Mari, hangs out in the studio, sometimes more than I do. The past couple months, she was sleeping against my tool storage bag, and it was matted with her fur. She used to get into my throwing water bucket, and steal my sponge. I'd have to follow the trail, to figure out what she did with it. My daughter will occasionally come in, as she has an easel in there. When she was younger,she used to come in, when I was trimming, and collect all my scraps to throw in my reclaim container. She doesn't do that anymore...
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Cleaned my studio/ workshop Sunday. My workbench was overflowing with materials from numerous projects, not just clay work, but home improvement projects, my daughter's school project, etc.
Oddly enough, there wasn't a lot of clay scraps and residue, but a ridiculous amount of cat hair, from a certain feline, who thinks she owns the place...
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