Chilly

Just glazed two kiln loads  (35 cubic car kiln and 12 cubic updraft kiln) and loaded them for a 5 am start.Been glazing for a day and a half. Just like last week and the 6 before.
Been at this for 6-7 weeks straight now in a row. Just received my largest  natural gas bill I have ever had in a 30 day period in 49 years. That means I'm working  way to much
I brush (skunk and deer hair brushes) and dip the glazes and use a ear syringe as well. Dipping is faster and with this many wares its all that makes sense.
I am using aboiut 15 different glazes now-firing to a soft cone 11 gas reduction.
Only  28 days left until clay vacation  starts-that means stay out of studio and do paperwork and trim fruit trees

this post was useless in the discussion so i removed it.

It depends. Some colors will probably survive just fine, others will burn out, others will darken or change color. The glaze you're using could also affect the colors. You'll have to test to know for sure.

Found myself coming back to this thread, as ideas were/are resonating, particularly, comparing/contrasting the times in my life when a) I've learned under the direct and focused tutelage of others vs. b) being in a situation where there's opportunity to observe and practice, but no direct teaching going on with me.
A few points float up from the gurgling goop o' my recollectin':
  There are many many more instances o' the latter than the former, first off.
   Second, of the cases where I was getting focused individualized instruction - whether straight one on one, or one of many where I got slices of "me" time - a subset o' those cases were actually worth a da... uhm, any good (hence, some o' were not good).
  Back to the latter, that's how my two semesters of wheel was, mostly - short demonstration, now you all try it - with one on one for those asking for help and/or obviously struggling, otherwise, left to practice and learn. I'm not complaining (in case the teacher reads this!); no, really - time at the wheel, that's what it takes. Being right there in among'm vs. being alone, though, big huge difference! I could see and hear what was working and what fails, also see and hear variation in effective technique. There's also the opportunity to examine hundreds of other people's work and progression throughout the semester. There's also the social aspect, which I miss so very much. The dust, mess, smells (I can't be around some perfumes, body sprays, hair products, and such), the time required to get back and forth, the vindictive secretly breaking stuff, the grating musical choices (I did change the channel some...), heh, don' miss that.
Well, finding a teacher whose a gonna teach ya, and teach effectively what you want to learn (and/or what you need to learn, mind, especially where want and need aren't same), that doesn't happen often in life, in my experience.
Well II, finding a situation where one may effectively learn, oh, aye, good chance o' finding that, also good chance on making that happen. The big bang explosion o' e media can be part of that. A common/group/social situation can be huge difference maker.
Any road, enjoy the ride an' please post back on what you find.

I'm in the Netherlands (Europe) and I'm trying to get my hands on a wooden clay mallet as seen in the video below... but so far I haven't found any retailers selling them.
Best I can get is a generic wooden mallet but those are not the correct shape. 
Any ideas? I'm getting the impression people on here are mostly from the U.S. so I don't have high hopes.
 
 

Oh yes, so true.  Really sharpens the learning.
 
As for books, they are easier to hold open on a page while you are looking at the kiln programmer, or fixing the shower tap, or knitting a row of complicated stitches.  But, sometime words just cannot describe what needs to be done - if a picture tells a thousand words, then a video must tell a million.  But only a good video, correctly edited, good background, no errs and umms.

Well, Primal came out looking less exciting than I hoped so I am going for a refire. Not Broken broke a little bit again and did not get the super colorful treatment I'd planned---I decided to keep it simple. Here is the finished wall piece. 

Are you joking?!? Coffee is the source of all life on earth.   
Graybeard 

Hi folks, not much in the way of activity in the QotW pool of late so I am STUCK once again. Not to give away any trade secrets as I am sure that some of you know or guess that there is communication between moderators on their own forum category. Put this together with a posting in the marketplace of late targeting a web site or app  for renting out kiln space. There was a bit of back and forth over whether to post it, and where. As you can see, the issue is resolved and it is posted. However, is it really resolved? My response from in the moderators "dungeon" was: 
Interesting concept, not that I would join, but interesting. I would not want to be responsible for a "precious object" being ruined some way, either perceived or actual, as I would  not want to be privy to a piece that would damage my kiln either by wrong clay, glaze, or application. Too many uncontrollable factors for me. Much different than in a classroom where everything was controlled by me.
To put this into a question: QotW: Would you be willing to participate in a kiln space rental that would bring in a little extra cash, and supply a service to potters without a kiln in your area, and if so why?  If you would not want to participate also tell us why.
You can thank @Min for this question as she saw my response and thought it would be a good QotW,
 
best,
Pres
 

My answer is “no” as well, for the exact reasons that you explained so clearly. 
I’ve had a few people approach me about firing their work at my house. In every case, the person was trying to avoid the expense of using a community studio. Community studios need to charge what they charge for a reason. A person who doesn’t see those reasons is generally going to be difficult to work with. In one case, a neighbor got angry with me when I said no. Very entitled person. Imagine how she would have complained if a firing didn’t turn out the way she was expecting!

No
I have fired a few items for people over my 47 years. I stopped doing it about 20 yaers ago. No much risk. The last person said clay was high fire but it was cone 6 and bloated badly and made a mess.Never again.
That said I also have fired the local elementry school kids work twice using my clay and my glaze (onece was unglazed planters)

No for glaze fires but I would consider bisque firing if I knew the person and they were okay with my ^05 bisque firing schedule for white claybodies. Probably not a huge demand for bisque only so it's probably a moot point.

No.  I have fired for friends but they are interrogated and vetted fully.  I have to know exactly what clay and glaze they are using.  No exceptions.  Everyone will get in a pinch at times and I am glad to help, but the maintenance and upkeep on a kiln is expensive.  And as mentioned if something doesn't turn out or if someone doesn't know the difference between low fire and mid fire, disaster could ensue.  
Roberta

I would have to say no,  I have seen to many disasters where a low fire piece was stuck in a high fire.  The person swore it was high fire clay,  I have fired a few pots made with my clay  by friends and neighbors,  but I am usually unhappy with glaze applications and do some clean up before I fire them.   Denice

No no no no no no no no no no. In addition to all the issues for potential damage to my kilns and kiln furniture, there are the problems of storing the work before and after it's fired, and conflicts over the results of the firing. It's too easy for people to blame the kiln owner for something not coming out like they expected- "it didn't look like that when I had it fired at another studio"- or to blame the firing for the glaze running and damaging a shelf/kiln- "it never ran like that at the other studio". Chances are if they don't have a kiln they don't understand the variation that exists from kiln to kiln. Too much potential for arguments and unhappy people and unpaid invoices. My opinion is that if you want to work in clay then you need to either invest in being part of a community studio or invest in your own equipment. Both are costly, but most hobbies are.
That said, I do have two people for whom I fire. One is a very good sculptor I have known for years who makes unglazed figurative forms, so no firing trouble there. The other is a former student whom I totally trust, and who understands that she has to work around my schedule. She brings stuff in on the day I can load the kiln, and picks it up on the day it comes out.

@neilestrick, I get it, respected friends, those who know, I wouldn't mind. I'm lucky in that there are very few around me involved in Ceramics of any sort, that do not have a kiln.
 
best,
Pres

Not as a side business, no. You’d have to be able to vet someone’s capabilities somehow.  A bunch of that leads to me doing teaching, even if it’s only about kiln firing, and I don’t have the time or physical space for that. If someone I already know needs a firing, (emergency bisque or whatever) and I don’t have something scheduled myself for that timeframe, I have no problem helping out.
Honestly, electricity costs in my area are pretty reasonable, and there’s 2 privately run clay studios that do beginner classes, 2 city run facilities that teach beginner and intermediate courses, and a handful of paint your own places that you can fire the odd piece at. There *could* have been some room for me to do some kiln for hire stuff during the pandemic, but I did NOT have the emotional wherewithal to be able to put a system together for that at the time. 

Sooo Cool!!
For the first: From the couple of classes I took in hot glass, if you’re making your own pate de verre or glass frit, usually you’re pounding it out by hand somehow. At school they had a 4” steel tube with another really heavy capped off steel tube that fit inside it that acted as a very analog piston, or a tube shaped mortar and pestle. If you wanted, you could create powders out of rod or found glass. It’s a LOT of elbow grease. I don’t know if that was a tool specific to the shop I was in, or if they’re commonplace in other hot glass shops.
The good news is that from looking at the tech data, if you were to place the rod into this style of crusher, you could probably pound it out without any issues around exposure. It seems like it takes a very strong UV exposure, or 2 days under incandescent or fluorescent lights to create the exposure. I don’t think you have to do it blind.
For #2:
I don’t know of an adhesive that would survive the strike fire to 575 C that’s needed to reveal the image, so the powder that you’d make from this bar would have to be fully adhered to whatever surface via the heat by the end of the firing process. This is possible if your substrate is glass, but I don’t think you’ll be able to get this to adhere to the surface of a ceramic object. Glazes don’t melt that low, and according to the spec sheet, Gaffer produces this bar to be compatible with most studio soda lime glass batch. While it does vary by manufacturer, glass batch COE is usually around 96 X10 to the negative 7. Calculated COE’s on a glossy glaze is somewhere around 7x10 to the negative 7.  That is a really big difference, and it’s one of the reasons why I tend to go on rants when people ask how to melt marbles into the bottom of bowls. Glass at a 96 COE is incompatible with glass at an 88 COE, and will separate if you try and slump or fuse them together. 
That said. If you’re looking to just do exposures on a flat piece of glass, creating a powder from this bar would definitely be a genius way to go!
 
 

Very little shrinkage between bone dry and bisque so it's probably okay not bisque firing it if you were just going to ^04 but since you bisque to ^1 there probably will be more shrinkage so to be safe I'ld bisque it. Measure it before and after bisquing so you know for next time what the actual shrinkage is.
That's what I would do.
Grog or sand will help the slab move on the shelf so yes I would. Some people use even coils of clay spanning the base of the work, spacing them fairly close together instead of waster slabs and grog (or sand). 
Welcome to the forum.

@Mark C. in a recent Qotw mentioned attitude being everything, but then went on: attitude is everything unless the customer crosses the line (been there as well) Refusing service always is a last resort but I have done it more than once-this may be another topic? Good topic I would think as people get into doing more shows(if Covid allows).  
Attitude is everything when dealing with customers, and I have had some interesting interplays with customers as I am sure if you do shows you have also. I can always relate to the folks that could never find the right colors with my pots to match their decors, or those that wanted me to pull out all of my stored pots so that they could find the perfect piece and yet leave with nothing. I have also had those that seemed to want to get out of the sun and just stand in my booth. . . making me request that they move along. Then there have been the young people that got into an argument that was about some non festival related topic that I feared would get violent, so I asked them to take their problem elsewhere.
I do remember one very particular person that came down the Penn State Festival booths with a bucket of water and a ladle. He stopped at every potter and wanted to test their teapots for pourability!  Some potters turned him down as it was a very busy day, sometimes crowds 4-5 deep at my booth. He had not bought a thing, and had tested out some pots up from me maybe 4 booths before he got to me. He had a daughter with him in her 20's he appeared to be in his early 50's. He introduced himself and asked if he could test out my teapots. Big crowd, do you turn him down? I didn't. He poured water into a teapot, and put the lid back on, noticing the rim notch. then he poured form the pot a few times with quick and slow angle stops. He repeated this for 6 teapots (all I had out), setting all aside and not saying a word. When finished he and his daughter looked at each talking about aesthetics and color etc. In the end he bought 3 teapots from me, and he proclaimed to the crowd that all were excellent!  I was relieved, but better yet by the end of the day I had sole 4-5 more. Attitude is everything, whether on the part of the customer or the vendor.
QotW: Attitude being everything; how do you deal with customers that cross a line of sorts, and have you ever denied service to someone?
 
best,
Pres

In my former life, I used to be middle management in a health food/grocery store in an area with a pretty diverse cross section of humanity. Specifically, I was a Cashier Supervisor, and I have management training.  In working the customer service desk there, I couldn’t even make up the things that happened! I have witnessed someone drop $1200 in vitamins and bulk items on the same day we had to remove someone tripping balls on crack from the store who was trying to shoplift very, very poorly. I have kept a straight face while witnessing someone checking the “energy signature” on a day-old muffin by holding it to her forehead (she bought it), and while someone was shopping with a pyramid on his head without a trace of irony. The guy returning 7 organic cabbages that had spent a week in his car in August did manage to bust my poker face though. It wasn’t hot by southern US standards, but 30*C was involved.
So my threshold for weird is probably a bit broken!
Serving demanding customers can pay off when they’re in earnest, but it’s helpful to ask a few screening questions to see what they’re after and to establish if you’re able to help them now, in the future, or not at all. To do this, you have to have your boundaries and service offerings defined for yourself.
If someone is in earnest, I would have no issue with them wanting to check teapot pour, and would probably aid and abet this with my own water bottle. If someone is looking for a specific pot, I’ll ask a few clarifying questions and produce the best available options for them to choose from. It helps them pick faster if the choices are limited. If I know I don’t have the options, I’ll say so. I’ll either offer to put them on a list for when the right thing is back in stock, or send them to another potter who might have something that suits better. My philosophy is to help people find what they want as efficiently as possible, and to be of service to customers in my booth. People seeking things like discounts or to not pay tax are met with a professional responses (“I only offer price breaks on wholesale quantities” or “I do some nice things for repeat customers and my email list subscribers,”  or “The price for cash sale is the same.”). Being of service does not mean undervaluing yourself.
I do not tolerate abuse or cruelty though. 
I have only asked 2 people to leave my booth. One person made an exceptionally crude sexual comment that he then tried to say was “just a joke.” I replied “Jokes are supposed to be funny,” and gave him Mom Look Number 32b (Arched Eyebrow Variant). He backed away in embarrassment. The second lady I think didn’t have any idea what a fine craft market entailed, and had a very loud sticker shock response to a $35 mug. Like..REALLY loud. And rude. And angry. And personal. She used the words “Who the $%^& do you think you are!?” I walked up to her and said in a calm quiet voice pitched for her and no one else “This item is possibly not for you, but there is nneed to make a spectacle of yourself over it. You should leave my booth now.” Anyone being rude or mean to me does not mean I have to stoop to their level.
 

Absolutely.  Too cold/damp in winter.  Too hot/bright in summer.  But then my studio is in a greenhouse.  I make do as best I can.  I have insulating mats on the floor.  I wear rubber gloves most of the time while hand-building and always while glazing.  Last summer I put a gazebo up in front of the greenhouse to provide shade and worked outside.
 

Great product,  it has inspired me to try a  idea that has been rattling around in my head.   I have a electric rotating disc from a window display when I owned  a store.  It will spin at the pace you set it at for years.   I have  a old banding wheel that doesn't spin anymore,  I am going to try taping them together and see how it works.   If it works I will anchor them together permanently.   I love putting together old junky items and making them use able again.  The older I get the less I want to buy and the madder I get about companies making junk products that have to go directly in the landfill.   Old hippie venting!    Denice

I was before covid hit and sales went thru the roof. I have not done an art show in 18 months and still, have a best year of my life sales wise.
slowing down got kicked out the studio door with orders thru the moon. I have said no to some lately.
The kiln buy has been in the  brain works for 3 years now and I still am on the fence-a smaller kiln sounds good at times

@CharliesRadio, seems like nobody here uses that glaze.  If you have time it would be best to fire a test tile with the glaze on it before using it for your dragon tea pot.