oldlady
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Posts posted by oldlady
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john wrote several articles on keeping your back from damage for the magazine Ceramics Monthly. you might check with them. this forum lists staff members, a good place to find someone who can look it up.
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fawn, there is something you can do to make your slab roller more useful. look at my album showing a northstar, (i think) in the series on the florida studio. there are 2 shots showing the extension on the slab roller to provide table space, something very important in a small studio. to see it, go to my avatar and see a choice for Profile. click that and go to albums. look for a title re florida studio and see the 2 pics showing the extended tabletop on one side of the machine. there is another showing it in use in the album 2017 long lovebirds........
if you notice the sharpie lines on the knurled roller, that was for a particular size slab width for cracker trays, one of my best sellers. i am fortunate to have a 24 inch bailey here in wv though the one in the photos in florida is now gone. i was also 24 inch. it is about as large as i would want to handle, 30 inches seems a little big for me.
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locosan, very nice design with appropriate sizing of the scallops. to prevent the cracks forming, do not cut the scallop low point with a knife alone. when you get to that area, make a curve not a point and then use a dowel, pencil or something of the right diameter to press the lowest point straight down. the rounded edge becomes thicker and stronger with that compression and is much less likely to break.
edit the bottom sharp angle can be eliminated by cutting it into a round shape with a metal tube, something like a 3/8 inch copper water line for a refrigerator ice maker or one of the round tube cutters with a handle sold for making holes in pots.
- Rae Reich and Bill Kielb
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all of the above works for the folks who use those methods. they may be exactly what you need, dookie. i just want to make a comment on the fear of using an oven with heat on greenware.
there seems to be an opinion that heat in an oven is detrimental. heat is only changing the state of the clay from wet, or moist, or damp or whatever stage it is in to drier. and warmer for awhile. that does not mean it cannot be returned to damp, moist or even wetter than moist. i have been using the oven in some cases for years with no bad effects.
potters should know their clay. its qualities and its limits. some clay likes to be thrown but will fight being made into a slab and bent to a shape. others are the opposite. it is your job to seek its limits. the very easiest thing to learn is how does it react to water. it will not hurt the potter to simply dry out a piece of clay and test it. a piece about the size of a business card allows a lot of tests. totally dry it. use a cup of water and dip the short end in deep enough for half an inch of wet to show on the clay. pull it out fairly fast. look at the surface to see if it still shines or not. remember that. now, scrape the wet area with a sharp tool to see how deeply wet that part is. probably not very deep. remember that. try the opposite end of the clay and dip it longer. remember that. scrape it and see how much more the wet has grown. remember that. dip the alternate end in long enough to make it separate from the original shape. remember that as too much. anything before destruction can be reversed with heat or time. just try it!
by now, you might have realized that it does take a LOT of water entering a totally dry piece of clay to destroy the original piece. so many folks think just getting something wet will kill their piece and they might be surprised to learn that was just fear and they need not believe it anymore. i know a potter who thinks if she is interrupted while working, she has to start again from the beginning. to her, there is just a short window to have the "flow" of making a piece work. nonsense?
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is there a reason you want to make everything so thick? i cannot imagine anyone wanting to use something so heavy. a lot of beginner potters learned that they HAD to make wheel pieces 1/4 inch thick. i guess that was ok as a complete beginner but that is nonsense after learning the skill of handling the shape on the wheel. look at fine china in a store or your china cabinet. quarter of an inch? i don't think so. even terra cotta is not usually so thick.
many people use sand or fine grog under flat pieces to allow the clay to shrink as it fires as bill says above. if your shelves are perfectly flat that is probably all you need with a thinner plate. if your shelves are not flat, level them off with a metal yardstick and fine grog. flat pots do not stay flat on a warped shelf. be careful not to go too close to the edge of a shelf, some might fall onto a shelf below.
your firing schedule seems very short to me, especially for some very heavy work. are you aiming for a short firing period? can you say why? what is a "collar" ? that is a new term for me.
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the problem i had was not opening at the very center. i wound up with a nice, round pot that had a thin section somewhere. it could only be seen from above and directly at the center of the wheel. i worked at making sure i marked the absolute center when i had finished attaching the ball to the bat using the methods above, round the bottom, roll it just enough to make sure it was tapered and not flat as i put it down. when i centered with both hands acting like steel rods attached to my body, i finished by not flattening the top but putting a slight point at the center.
at that point, i knew where the opening had to start and i did it with a pointed wooden tool. just enough to get a finger inside so i could push straight down and start the first pull. sounds complicated but it is not and it is no longer necessary to open with a stick.
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i thought the huge, black platter with a pink swirl would be my most visible piece at a show back in the 90s. visibility counts in a 2 day show where there are many crafts available for the buyers.
when i set it up on the top shelf, i turned around to get another pot and saw a man about 50 feet away look at it and begin to walk fast toward me. he bought it before i had a chance for a photo. fortunately, he set the tone for that event and i sold most of my work.
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i can't imagine why you use soap at all. just paper and stroke & coat works fine. i use the SC33 fruit of the vine color for a dark purple. the light lavender you show on the first example is very nice, what color is it?
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callie, i love your new avatar and admire the swear words mugs. plan to make round boxes this year, yours are just right.
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that previous life went by at 100 miles and hour, you were too busy to notice all the things you do now as separate from the old daily rat race. now you have a few more minutes to notice that you still have to work. the new work is called "chores" and are with us forever.
we all need time to look around at how beautiful life can be if we just sit down and breathe once in a while.
- Marcia Selsor, Babs and Pres
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i do not use plaster often. i just found a bucket that has plaster in it. dumb question, can plaster be dried out sufficiently to work again if it is heated to remove water? i have a few dixie cups that i carved into stamps from years ago. can i make more or is it a waste of time?
i have no plans to use this very old plaster except in the yard. any suggestions for that use?
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welcome to the usa, randall. this is a great group. if you can nail a piece of 5/8 clear plywood to the top, you will have a great wedging table again.
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thanks, marcia, i wrote this in my glaze book but have not used it in a long time. the reminder is timely,
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bam, my studio is full of things i made years ago and liked then. when something else caught my attention i moved on to that style for awhile. i think everyone goes through that scenario before finding a solution that becomes their own "signature style". there are several very large bowls which i made for mashed potatoes on thanksgiving. flowerpots for particular plants, candlesticks, lidded jars, teapots, baskets, vases big and small, etc.
the experiments with clays and glazes happened along with the style. i love white clay, the red and speckeled clays were too messy and took the focus off the design.
i think i have found my sweet spot in slabs that have plant materials as the focus. oops, i almost forgot the dragonfly that makes the pot sell well. next step is finding a way to make slab bowls, maybe a mug, some other circular pieces with plants and dragonflies. getting the bottoms attached so they do not leak is the difficult part and seams that are hardly visible present a challenge.
so much clay, so little time i hardly ever need motivation but a warm studio would keep me out there all winter.
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elaine, sounds fine to me. i have found that when i carve things into the face up area that sometimes some sharp bits are left from the edge of the cutting tool. i use a stylus for most of the work but to eliminate the possibility of leaving something sharp i lay a finely woven curtain fabric on top and slide my thumb over the whole piece. adding slight pressure flattens those sharp bits and lets me see if something needs more attention. the fabric i use does not transfer thread marks to the work and prevents obvious thumb prints.
have fun with slabs, they do amazing things because you can catch them at just the right moisture level to do about anything you can think of.
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it never occurred to me that you might work so wet. i save things for later to carve into slips but i use a plastic bag from walmart or somewhere and cut off the handles. that leaves me with a bag that will sit with its bottom up in the air and the edge that i cut surrounding the pot. like putting a domed lid on a cooking pot. some of those bags are 20 years old. they are for saving overnight. if i know i won't get to it for several days, the bag goes on its bottom with the top edge pushed down inside the pot. never tight.
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liat, you might try some drywall. i use the 5/8 stuff for shelves and work and drying surfaces. some people put tape on the edges, my main storage shelves are in a bakers' rack like you see in the supermarket bakery section. since i work alone in my own studio i have never wasted time with tape. cutting drywall correctly is so simple that once you learn it, the tape is not necessary.
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i have been using colored slips with mason stains for many years. my clay is white, highwater's little loafers. i have colored some of the clay as well but prefer to use slip made of my clay and distilled water plus stain or a carbonate. i am lucky enough to have quantities of some colors, cerulean blue is my favorite color and if it runs out, t i know it is made from a recipe using 2 other stains. staining slip is so simple and the strong colors come out so well that you might try it. sieving the slip first and after the stain is mixed in makes a reliable color. saving slurry gives a great foundation for the slips. pansy purple works well.
purchasing underglaze has not proved valuable to me. the bottles dry up before i can use the entire 2 ounces. i do use some underglaze colors to make slip, brilliant yellow and some others.
my albums show a number of tests of slips.
- Rae Reich and Jeff Longtin
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which of the washingtons ?
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on this subject, i was told that i should dip glaze for 6 seconds before firing. there must be more than that since a watery glaze is completely different from a thicker one? anyone?
Expected Kiln Longevity
in Equipment Use and Repair
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dick, if you do not have a brick available to you, i will get one to you. it would be a great demonstration if it can be handled by whoever makes the decision. it can be sent to wherever the meeting of the group takes place. tell them to press a fingernail into the brick and see how "soft" a softbrick is. that demo should do a great deal of good for your side if they pass it around to everyone who is involved in the decision.