oldlady

Simple hand building project if anyone is looking for something different to try for a change of pace. My soft slab (olive) boat, it's an easy project, would be good for kids to make too. Turn it into a viking ship or ? I don't have any glazed right now but a couple bisqued ones in the last image.
Supplies needed:
Soft clay
Rolling pin 
1 1/4 - 2 1/2” diameter dowel wrapped in newspaper (or long thin rolling pin, diameter isn’t critical)
Pony roller or piece of plastic
Cornstarch (optional)
Supports if you use soft clay
1 - Template is 19” overall length, 4 1/4” wide. Each side measures 15 1/2”. Soft slab, cut out the pattern. Don’t worry about getting the ends exactly as I have them, you can just use one gentle curve from the point to the opposite side. If you want texture on the outside of the boat do it now.
2 - On the long edges use a pony roller and soften the edge. If you don’t have a pony roller just use a piece of thin plastic, hold it taunt and run your finger along the edge. (2a)
2a- Flip the piece over, if you want texture on the inside do it now. Soften the long edges on this side too.
3 - Cover up the ends and lightly dust the clay with cornstarch. Since my clay is very wet I don’t like to use a pounce, I just load a brush with cornstarch and tap the brush over, but not touching, the clay.
4 - Lift the slab and lay it cornstarch side down over the dowel wrapped in newsprint. 
5 - Press the clay around the dowel then flatten the bottom with a small rolling pin or pony roller. The dowel I use is a bit narrow so I lift one end up while doing this so I don’t crush the long edges of the slab.
6 - Moisten the ends with just a few drops of water if you are using soft clay. If you use firmer clay then use a tiny bit of slip. Bring the long edges together at the ends of the slab and pinch the lower edges together. I keep a slight overlap so I can fold the overlap over and work it in with a rib so the boat doesn’t leak. 
7 - Roll the top pointed ends into spirals, covering the join.  One ends rolls to the left, the other to the right. Transfer the boat to a drying board.
8 - Straighten out the rim, flute the edges if you like. I use bendable hair rollers to support the sides while drying. Clay coils would work too. I’ve found with my clay I need to dry these slowly or they lift up in the centre. You could also put a small weight in the centre to help prevent it lifting. 
Would love to see some other projects here!
(Sorry but I can't get the numbers to show up on the images, read left to right 1-8)


 

neil, did you notice how much your ductwork looks like a sculpture?   just add arms to reach the snow shovel.

neil, did you notice how much your ductwork looks like a sculpture?   just add arms to reach the snow shovel.

Work in progress, mugs for a soda firing that is postponed. Flashing slip sprayed on then bisqued then underglazed, complete with pencil lines and wax resist over the underglaze brushwork so kind of messy looking. Getting boxed up today and put away until who knows when to be fired.

my world has ended with the total closure of the library system.   usually i read constantly but i was caught on a day when i only had 3 books out.   have only 40 pages left on the last one.   i have a kindle fire and have had it for several years.   does anyone know of a tutorial on using it that i can find online?   i turned it on several times but there are always things that show up unannounced and look as though i will have to pay for something.   can't do that.
watching a lot of youtube but never found a definition of "subscriber".  is that something you pay to be or what?   and facebook and instagram shut me down. 
planting flowers in bigger pots was  today's big event. and washing the 22 saranwrap windows on the porch will happen tomorrow .  whoopee!  then i will be able to see more of the very odd birds that strut around in the yard.   ibis that are not in a zoo!  and sometimes green parrots fly overhead.  

thank you, liam.  

You don't pay to subscribe to a YouTube channel, it just means it'll show up in your suggested videos when new ones come out from that channel.

i live like a hermit anyway but i am upset that the library is closing early and the huge walmart and its two grocery walmarts have empty shelves and freezers.   it took 3 trips to get 32 bottles of water.  i only got it because i arrived just as a huge pallet of my brand water was delivered to the area of the store where the shelves were totally empty.
no frozen food, few fresh vegetables and fruit, no cereal in that aisle.   about the only things left were the odd brands and strange kinds of foods.  the other supermarkets have the same problem.  fortunately, i do not need much but my dog is going to miss his treats.   and i am out of ICE CREAM!

today i had things on my workbench i would be happy to let anyone see.  hope they all make it through the next steps to finished product.
i would be happy if i could capture in the final firing that soft color of the slip.  who knows how it will look when it is finished?

i rely on recipes from books and other potters but mix my own buckets of glaze.   i do not remember any true failures that were disasters except one recipe from a book that came out looking like the lava glaze someone here was trying for recently.   one other was my failure to remove the 1000 gram weight from my scale and that resulted in a much larger quantity of glaze than i wanted.
the only commercial glaze that i use is the entire color choice in duncan stroke and coat.   these are for small parts of decorations on the empty bowls i make each year.   i use their purple for the dragonflies that go on most of my other work.  i have to say that the stroke and coat "hot tamale" red makes a big bang when i spray it on the outside of some of the bowls.   i almost want to do a series of them and call them " Lucy's Kitchen" as they remind me of the 1950s TV show most of you only saw as reruns.

i rely on recipes from books and other potters but mix my own buckets of glaze.   i do not remember any true failures that were disasters except one recipe from a book that came out looking like the lava glaze someone here was trying for recently.   one other was my failure to remove the 1000 gram weight from my scale and that resulted in a much larger quantity of glaze than i wanted.
the only commercial glaze that i use is the entire color choice in duncan stroke and coat.   these are for small parts of decorations on the empty bowls i make each year.   i use their purple for the dragonflies that go on most of my other work.  i have to say that the stroke and coat "hot tamale" red makes a big bang when i spray it on the outside of some of the bowls.   i almost want to do a series of them and call them " Lucy's Kitchen" as they remind me of the 1950s TV show most of you only saw as reruns.

i rely on recipes from books and other potters but mix my own buckets of glaze.   i do not remember any true failures that were disasters except one recipe from a book that came out looking like the lava glaze someone here was trying for recently.   one other was my failure to remove the 1000 gram weight from my scale and that resulted in a much larger quantity of glaze than i wanted.
the only commercial glaze that i use is the entire color choice in duncan stroke and coat.   these are for small parts of decorations on the empty bowls i make each year.   i use their purple for the dragonflies that go on most of my other work.  i have to say that the stroke and coat "hot tamale" red makes a big bang when i spray it on the outside of some of the bowls.   i almost want to do a series of them and call them " Lucy's Kitchen" as they remind me of the 1950s TV show most of you only saw as reruns.

denice, i bet you could get your husband to turn that wheel if you promise to make him something wonderful for dinner when you are completely healed.

Around the house or for ceramic equipment etc between my husband and myself we don’t ever hire anyone to do anything. It just goes against the grain to think of hiring someone to do work that we can do ourselves. I think it started when we lived in a very remote place where materials had to get either flown or barged in. if you needed something done you either did it yourself or chances were it didn’t get done. Same with making do with what you have, adapting scrap materials whenever possible to repurpose into something else.

hulk, may i suggest a simple replacement for the cutting wire??    i have always hated the ones with wooden toggle handles because they are too long and i have never gotten one out of its package without crimping it.   years ago i got some leader wires from walmart's fishing gear section.   i think at that time there were 6 of various sizes for about $1.   they have ends that fit on a key ring.   one without keys, of course.   the round rings are sold lots of places, walmart wants too much for the ones in the automotive section.   hardware stores are better value.
i can use the longer ones but find i really like the 9 inch size and the 12 inch one is perfect for slicing slabs from a new bag of clay.  AND THEY DO NOT TANGLE UP!

yes, and that is all i am saying.

one other thing to check is the pins themselves.  i had a problem years ago because the hole in the wheelhead was just a little bigger than the shaft of the bat pin.  i used a new bat to find the correct spacing and just unscrewed the bat pin enough to slide it over to the correct place.  tightened it up HARD and have never had another problem with it.

i have hot and cold water in west va with a normal size laundry tub.  it had a gleco trap but when the plumber moved the sink he did not connect it.  so i use a bucket inside to catch most of the clay residue.   this is connected to a septic tank so i know someday i will have to have it drained.  being there only 7 months a year and using minimum water, i have had no problems.   i also had it raised to a comfortable level so i do not hurt my back leaning over it.
in florida, the sink is a deep one that drains to a barrel outside.  i still use a bucket for the first rinse.  that water is only cold but i have an electric tea kettle right next to the sink.  it is also higher than normal.
just a note for those of you considering a sink but have little room, the average size laundry tub is a lot bigger than the small one i have in my tiny trailer home in florida.   it came from a mobile home supply company and is only 18 inches wide.   it is also set higher than the standard legs that come with these sinks.  
your sink, make it comfortable for your height.

i have hot and cold water in west va with a normal size laundry tub.  it had a gleco trap but when the plumber moved the sink he did not connect it.  so i use a bucket inside to catch most of the clay residue.   this is connected to a septic tank so i know someday i will have to have it drained.  being there only 7 months a year and using minimum water, i have had no problems.   i also had it raised to a comfortable level so i do not hurt my back leaning over it.
in florida, the sink is a deep one that drains to a barrel outside.  i still use a bucket for the first rinse.  that water is only cold but i have an electric tea kettle right next to the sink.  it is also higher than normal.
just a note for those of you considering a sink but have little room, the average size laundry tub is a lot bigger than the small one i have in my tiny trailer home in florida.   it came from a mobile home supply company and is only 18 inches wide.   it is also set higher than the standard legs that come with these sinks.  
your sink, make it comfortable for your height.

mark, please mail me a bucket of your energy.   i have run out  and need some.  

Still down and out with my hand  I hope the hand doctor gives me good news next week.  Big excitement today was going grocery shopping,  my husband scours the store for meals that are easy to make.  He use to complain when I bought them but now that he is the cook  those meals are pretty good.     Denice

mark, please mail me a bucket of your energy.   i have run out  and need some.  

thanks, min.   sometimes reading the first answer is more confusing than the original question.   my suggestion is that if you want to answer a question, read it at least twice so the intent of the person can be determined.   none of us is perfect but if the reader looks at EVERYTHING, the time, the language, the vocabulary, the answer will probably be more appropriate.  someone who asks a question at what would be your 3 in the morning might not live in your part of the world or speak your language.

It was sad but I have accepted that life doesn't always come out the way you think it will.  You have to accept the bumps and turns in life and find joy in other moments,  I have the memories of past Christmas and that is enough.   I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and appreciates every second of it.      Denice

I got commissioned to make a couple of things for friends for their family, but most of my fam has what they want from me already. 
 
I got to make a couple of fun commissions for others though. One lady got three stacking sets in different colours, one for each of her daughters. My favourite though, was a sugar jar that one of the sweetest boys I might have ever met was getting for his boyfriend for their first Christmas in their new apartment. 
 
I have some bowls that haven’t been selling as well as I wanted them to that I will take down to the Drop In Centre. They have a transitional housing program, and are always in need of cookware and dishes to supply a kitchen with.