Marcia Selsor

Pop said catawampus (an' a few other things, ahem).
Nice pot!
Also cattywampus. Origin of catawampus
1830–40 for earlier sense “utterly”; cata- diagonally (see cater-cornered) + -wampus, perhaps akin to wampish Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

My wheel is a Bailey that I got about 20 years ago. It is my 4th studio wheel since 1971. It is slower than Brents. I like that. Most important to me is the control of the form. I have been throwing some larger orbs. I had several go catty-wompus (sp?). I took them off the wheel,  jiggled them to straighten and hung them out until they stiffened a bit. Then put them back on the wheel and and continued throwing. I do give up on some and just re-wedge them.  Very excited about my new work with soluble salts.
Marcia
 

My wheel is a Bailey that I got about 20 years ago. It is my 4th studio wheel since 1971. It is slower than Brents. I like that. Most important to me is the control of the form. I have been throwing some larger orbs. I had several go catty-wompus (sp?). I took them off the wheel,  jiggled them to straighten and hung them out until they stiffened a bit. Then put them back on the wheel and and continued throwing. I do give up on some and just re-wedge them.  Very excited about my new work with soluble salts.
Marcia
 

My wheel is a Bailey that I got about 20 years ago. It is my 4th studio wheel since 1971. It is slower than Brents. I like that. Most important to me is the control of the form. I have been throwing some larger orbs. I had several go catty-wompus (sp?). I took them off the wheel,  jiggled them to straighten and hung them out until they stiffened a bit. Then put them back on the wheel and and continued throwing. I do give up on some and just re-wedge them.  Very excited about my new work with soluble salts.
Marcia
 

It took 3 months to get centering right. I was a 90lb weakling ( really 87 pound). I thought my forearms developed Popeye muscles after 3 months. As for learning to throw, I think I am really getting pretty good now, and that has taken 50+ years but I don't usually end up fighting that lump. I have a plan and execute it. Without struggling.

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Yes, I'm very sore... Mostly shoulders and knees.  The knees are all bruised up from crawling, didnt think to get some knee pads til I was far too gone for it to matter.  My wife is already tired of hearing my groaning haha

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Been firing some more tests soluble salts and consecutive followups on good leads from tests. Pots on the left were fired at various temperatures in saggars and foil saggars. pots on the right were retired at 1700F. Additional coats on salts were added.
 

Drill bits are less likely to crack the piece, since they remove material as they make the hole. Hole cutters force the clay to expand to make room for the wall thickness of the cutter. If the clay is too firm, or the hole is too close to an edge, it will crack.
The biggest problem with all holes, and one that many, many people do not address, is the sharpness of the edge of the hole. Rubbing out the edge with a sponge or finger takes forever. The simplest solution I've learned is to use a countersink LIKE THIS ONE. Just twist it lightly in the hole once it's just past leather hard, and it will knock off the sharp edge. I use this on all my colanders, and I can do all the holes in a matter of a minute. It puts a nice little bevel that looks rounded once it's glazed.

Doug Baldwin , long time educator at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, passed away in Dec 2018 also. Below is the piece from MICA newsletter as it appeared on the NCECA blog. Doug was born in Missoula, Montana and retired to Missoula. He continued working at the Clay Studio in Missoula.
Marcia
http://blog.nceca.net/remembering-doug-baldwin-1939-2018
 

we lost several of the best last  year.   
mitch lyons gave a lot of workshops introducing people to the broomstick method of making cylinders.   i attended a meeting where he explained how he made his  monoprints  and showed the making of one print.    he was a kind and gentle man.
we should not take for granted the continued  presence of the potters we know of but do not have direct contact.

Tis article was in the Billings gazette promoting a few local potters. There are many more in the immediate area. https://billingsgazette.com/entertainment/community/a-livelihood-in-clay-local-potters-carve-out-space-to/article_54a9e213-721a-53dc-bcf4-b418cab194e2.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 
BTW my husband is home for the holidays teleworking. He retires in 279 days.The article makes it sound like I left him in Texas. What comes across in the articles are common ideas of the versatility and satisfaction we find in the clay and our sense of community, curiosity, and joy. Happy Holidays everyone.
 
Marcia

I had very long hair until the early 80s-Being raised in turbulent times(60's)We set out to change the world-my part is with clay.I have had a beard since 18-only have shaved twice in my life.Not much of a hippy since 81-more a worker bee-my midwestern parents work drive kicked in as I grew up.
My Long Beach years where 53-71 minus almost one year in Nashua New Hampshire when I was 15 (ran away with a girl-long story but I have a New Hampshire soc security number from my 1st job working for 6 months in a cemetery .Brutal outside labor job from frozen to beyond  humid.That climate is like a rath much of the year.
 

As far as magic, I really believe there is some magic in the clay, every time I unload a glaze load, or make a pull.
 
 
best,
Pres

Tis article was in the Billings gazette promoting a few local potters. There are many more in the immediate area. https://billingsgazette.com/entertainment/community/a-livelihood-in-clay-local-potters-carve-out-space-to/article_54a9e213-721a-53dc-bcf4-b418cab194e2.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 
BTW my husband is home for the holidays teleworking. He retires in 279 days.The article makes it sound like I left him in Texas. What comes across in the articles are common ideas of the versatility and satisfaction we find in the clay and our sense of community, curiosity, and joy. Happy Holidays everyone.
 
Marcia

100% agree, it gets downright creepy sometimes. No, I don't want to be checked out after telling someone what I do for a living and they make the Ghost comment. Creepy creepy creepy!!!!!

I cannot wait until ghost is gone in all customers memories-Its been a sore spot with unrealistic pottery talk in my booth for decades.The romance of pottery-ya right-getting dirty-living heavy things- sure it romantic
Johnny we have a different take on that.I cannot count the comments on that move years ago but they are now very much fading.

The pottery scene from "Ghost"...I was fascinated by what she was doing with the clay on the tall vase, and when it collapsed, the total sensuousness of handling the wet clay... At that point I said to my wife, "Someday I'm going to do that" That was 28 years ago. I was 43,  Having grown up on the mean streets of NYC, I had never seen a potter's wheel, never touched clay. Then about 10 years ago, I was remodeling a bathroom for an 87 year old ceramist. She was still holding classes and teach 4H kids how to pour, fire and finish molded pieces. We got to talking about ceramics and she showed me the first mug she had ever made more than 50 years prior.  As we continued the conversations over the week that I had worked for her, she encouraged me to take a Learning Exchange class at our local ceramics supplier, Alpha Fired Arts in Sacramento. She also gave me an, old, tired kiln (she had another newer kiln) that she wanted to get out of her workspace.
I took that class and got hooked. Since then I've taken Ceramics 1, 2, and Raku classes at a local JC, was given my CI wheel by a friend who found it in a barn on a piece of property he just bought; Bought a newer used ^10 kiln which will never see ^10; sold the old kiln; remodeled a studio apartment I own into my own studio and have finally been making a little money to support my habit. 
I would say that what interested me most about ceramics is the malleability of clay and the myriad forms it can be shaped into. The possibilities are endless and I feel that I am just starting my journey...
JohnnyK