Marcia Selsor

back in 1971 I was a caretaker on a religious estate.I had a pottery set up in a cabin and I mixed clay every morning in the basement of the mansion. There was an abandoned greenhouse with lots of earthenware flowerpots. I lined the pots with a little piece of newspaper over the drain hole and cheese cloth inside the whole pot. I had shelves of ware boards facing the boiler lined with these flower pots. The would dry to workable consistency in 3 days.I just kept a steady pipeline of clay coming from these flower pot. My slop was in a 50 gallon garbage can. This method makes the most plastic clay. - Slop too workable. I bought a used Peter Pugger around 1980. It was badly rusted with big chips of rust coming out in the clay. They went to stainless. Today I have an old Soldner mixer formerly belonging to Tom Coleman, then his apprentice. I got a nice de-airing Bailey pug mill at NCECA reduced as a floor model. (when I drove it back to Montana from Portland , I had it wrapped in newspaper and started the heater in my van several time at night to keep it from freezing on the way home. It was full of demo clay) you can get good deals at NCECA (National Council on Education of Ceramic Arts) the trade show. Coming to Richmond, Va march 25th to 28th of March in Richmond, Va. Great trade show is part of it. Tool vendors from all over. Marcia

18th Pennsylvania Dutch Pottery https://www.berksmontnews.com/opinion/a-look-back-in-history-earthenware-of-early-pa-dutch/article_6144ea74-f43f-11e8-ad4b-331f958de9c6.html http://selftaughtgenius.org/reads/pennsylvania-german-pottery

I have built 2 tile presses from Frank Giogini's Tile book design. One for me and one for the classroom. They are especially good for pressed plaster molds with incised designs. Marcia

I put 2 foot rings on porcelain dinner plates. Probably serves the same function as Liam's button. I also trim when the clay is a bit stiff. Cut off the plate. I place a soft piece foam the keep the center from slumping if the clay is soft. Sandwich the plate with another bat and flip. Put it on the wheel trim and start drying. I flip the plates several times during the drying and dry them in a bakers rack wrapped with plastic. In Texas it was humid. In Montana it is dry. All depends on your studio atmosphere. Avoid drafts. Marcia

I add alumina hydrate to my wax resist for bottoms of porcelain AND flanges on lids. I put about a cup in a jar and stir in about a tablespoon of alumina hydrate. Porcelain can flux enough to "pluck" or stick to shelves and where bare clay touches bare clay as in flanges. Alumina in the wax prevents that. Marcia

As Liam says, follow the reference codes on the mason Stain http://www.masoncolor.com/reference-guide. You need to use a slip base that accommodates which ever stain you are using AND use a glaze that will enhance the color. Mason stains are expensive. You need to use them according to Mason's guidelines. One size does NOT fit all. Val Cushing base for low temperature underglaze use was Frit 3134 33%, EPK 33%, silica 33% then add stain 10-25% depending on the intensity of the stain and the hue you want. This is for low fire 06-04. You could possible re-formulate for what ever temperature you are looking for. Marcia

Interesting affect. Marcia

I am not familiar with Gary Holt.s work. The haloes are from salt migrations.

I dry my large slabs between sheetrock boards lined with newsprint. I get end rolls from the local newspaper and have it on a gift wrap paper dispenser. I also was the edges as someone mentioned earlier that edges drying out first can cause warping. Marcia

Franks sent me his 32 page Frits html that doesn't work. I also put it into a PDF. Not allowed. We need a tech person to let it get posted. Frank says enjoy! Marcia

Frank Gaydos changed his website but he sent me the Frits.html. I have converted it to a 32 page pdf which is an unacceptable format. link buttons are dysfunctional on the old html. Can any of the techie's recommend how to post a pdf format? If sent as a jpg, each page was 298 k. Marcia

Liam said "I'd say the biggest risk involved with barium for the Potter is inhalation of vapor during firing and inhalation of the raw material, this is a direct pathway to our internal organs. The occupational safety limit for airborne barium oxide is under half a milligram per cubic meter which is an extremely tiny amount, wear your respirator!" Dave Shaner attributes his decline to the fumes from his kiln. Hans Coper who also used manganese extensively, declined so much towards the end that he needed a rope alone the walk to his studio. Nervous system deterioration. Marcia