elaine clapper

"is that the domed lid shrinks MORE because it shrinks in a dome shape, whereas the casserole only shrinks in one direction." Thanks liambesaw , I have always been disappointed that my domed teapot lids do not fit tighter. Now I know why and can make adjustments.

Liambesaw, I am curious... if I glaze fire a piece at cone 6 and then refire at cone 04 (my bisque firing), will the surface still be good for dinnerware?

thanks all

Yesterday my husband and I successfully replaced all the elements in my Skutt KM-1027 kiln. Unfortunately we chipped some of the firebrick as the old elements were brittle and tough to remove. Photos attached. Do I need to repair those chips? if so what do you use to repair (kiln cement? what type?). I saved the chips that came out. Thank for your help.

If it is a Skutt kiln, they have great tutorials on their website. You also have to have the correct wiring for your kiln. Hopefully you checked with your school maintanence people before getting the kiln. If not, the voltage amp info should be listed on the outside of the kiln. Are there other art teachers in the area that might be able to help you? good luck

When I was teaching high school I was just always dusty, it was a given. But I did have a student who kept a set of mechanics overalls he put on over his clothes when it was his day on the wheel. That was the best overall solution.

I would be interested in seeing ideas on teapots, fuctional and decorative.

I have had some success with brushing on one coat of underglaze, let that dry ( takes a long time to dry) and then redipping the glaze. It is still 50/50 chance but if the piece is unusable...

When submitting jury slides, what is the correct way to note the dimensions? ZAPP always asks for width, height, depth.. never positive...... if I should include the handles, spouts or knobs. For example, on a teapot : do you measure height from the top of the knob to the base? the width from the tip of the spout to the widest point of the handle? depth is obvious the widest point of the the piece. What I refer to as my 6" teapot refers to the main body which is 6" x 6" x 6", should it 10" w x 6.5" h x 6" d ? When I have a slide with a teapot set ( teapot and 4 small japan

I dip my plates vertical, using a split bucket meant for mops. Then you have a deep narrow bucket that can be filled with less glaze. You can also consider doing something different on the edges. You can apply glaze with a brush just on the rims, then wax over the brushed rim. The waxed rim gives you have a place to hold the plate.

When i was whining about my poor golf game for lack of better eye hand coordination, my husband asked "How can you throw pots on the wheel and have poor eye hand coordination?" I explained to him that I did not really use my eyes much when throwing, it is all body and hands with me. Maybe I will try golf with my eyes closed ??

I fire cone 5 with and electric kiln, leave all the plugs in and wait until the kiln is room temperature. i put too much time into my pieces to ruin the glaze just because of my impatience. When I was teaching, the kids who procrastinated and did not get their work in on schedule where up against grade deadlines. I would warn them if I opened the kiln early they risked fine cracks in the glaze. The times that I gave in and unloaded at 120 degrees almost ended with the "pings" of cracking glaze.

Thanks for the ideas. I ended up firing at cone 022 ( I think that is close to 1000 degrees). Since I had 10 pieces it was the fastest and cleanest solution. worked fine

I am working with Laguna B mix stoneware, bisque firing at cone 04 and glaze firing at cone 5. I use Columbus Clay wax resist on the bottoms of each piece and often in resist design between layers of glaze. Sometimes I will get wax resist on an unintended area of bisque ware and want to remove it. I ususally just put that piece back in the kiln with my next bisque firing at cone 04 and the wax burns off. Any other suggestions to remove the unwanted wax? At what temperature does the wax burn off? If I had several pieces could I fire them at cone 022? or even lower? I ask because, (in a br

i mostly colored in the lines. But I remember have great fun within the lines blending one color into another. One space was never just one color