oldlady

i eat things in the studio. not clay, plaster or any other silly thing, just something i can hold in my hand. cookies are a favorite. and i drink water, too. maybe even a ginger ale!

thanks, hulk. i think the beginners who have visited my studio overlook the things that are important to me and just think i am mean or wacky. i am probably viewed as overly fussy about keeping the work under my hand clean by avoiding the tiny bits of clay that have separated from the actual piece being worked on. if you have ever picked up a piece of handwork that has a dozen tiny bits stuck to the bottom, you see what i mean. there are 2 small boxes attached to the table holding my slab roller so i can brush those bits into the box nearest my hand. they sit there for months out of the way and not getting turned into dust on the floor. those tiny stuck on bits make me unhappy, they call attention to the lack of care that i think we owe ourselves, not just for whoever picks up that piece in future. and tools need to have a place to be when not in my hand. not scattered all over the room just because i moved the piece or walked to another spot to pick up another tool. so i provide a space for tools. unfortunately, i keep adding more tools and the really generous space i started with now resembles a dump. but exactly where i work is clean and it stays clean and i leave the space clean when the session is over so the next time the space is welcoming. (funny, i can't seem to work that way in the kitchen)

trying one of the many, many differing ways of using clay and glaze in your own way. or not, now that you have tried it, that might be enough to send you into another direction.

two whose postcards hang in my studio for inspiration are melissa greene, of maine's deer isle and carol gellner levin at the alexandria, va torpedo factory art center. the fabulous horses of susan greenleaf, who was at the torpedo factory and teaches through their school. another workshop with both of the colemans, tom and elaine from nevada. never enough, 100 times would not be enough. glenn woods, chicago and palm harbor, fl, shapes, not the gorgeous crystalline glazes. i'm agog every visit. kim kirchman, teaches at st. petersburg college, clearwater, maybe i can learn to paint! though i think it is hopeless. lots of members here whose photos of their work make me drool. POST MORE PHOTOS, PLEASE! BTW if anyone wants to visit bill van gilder, come here and i will take you to his gorgeous studio just across the river. well, if we go over the bridges in a car, it is about 10 miles or so. lots more, love workshops, love pottery. love learning something new!

it is very hard to explain that i do not mean drown the pot and hold it underwater until it screams. a quick dip will not get the pot wet, it will not even shine. but the moisture will prevent the pot from greedily sucking up the wet glaze leaving an uneven surface. and that quick dip takes less time than tediously wiping all surfaces. usually there were more than 20 pots to glaze each time at my studio, they were dipped in water first and lined up before stirring and sieving the glaze. by the time each pot was glazed, some time had gone by and they were never "wet". there are many words to describe moisture content, dry, damp, moist, wet, dripping. it worked for me for many years until i started spraying glaze on greenware and single firing. might work for someone else.

pir, a slightly damp cloth is not enough preparation for dipping. depending on how many pots you are glazing, dipping the entire pot quickly, into a bucket of clean water works well. letting the first few sit while you dip them all gives enough time for the bisque to even out the moisture content if you have several to do. otherwise, the glaze will not go on evenly. powdering should not happen, check the archives for that problem.

good, joseph, i miss your photos of what you are currently working on.

could you please name the exact clay body?

small suggestion. if you have rolled out the slab of clay to make your form, add the pieces to the slab while it is still flat on the table surface. folding the slab around your internal form maker will allow the whole thing to be a more consistent construction. much easier to add pieces when it is flat than working on a standing cube.

don't forget running hot water, heating and cooling in the studio, windows for natural light and all the basics we usually overlook because most of us have always had them. no, i like my advantages and would not give them up.

congratulations! the ultimate dream material to make life easier. it's good to be happy for you. (my original comment on the status report came from the silly internet inclination to go the the most obvious thing and reported that i meant thermal light illumination bulbs and lighting accessories so i never knew they could be kiln shelves.)

no, except that i have a bookcase about 7 feet high and 6 feet wide full of old ceramic monthly magazines if anyone wants to search out what was going on in the 70s re moving down from cone 10 after the gas shortage.

need to be able to use more "likes" at the same time. BTW, liam, you are also using bat inserts. i have tried for 3 days to get my photo of bat and inserts onto my post re versa bats.

thanks, bill, that is what i meant.

agree with all this. does make me wonder if Wedgewood would have liked plastic bags or tubs for storing clay.