Stellaria

Do you just color it on?

You won't want your shelves to be made of just drywall - you'll end up with boards full of ware broken on the floor, because the wallboard doesn't have a ton of structural integrity, and it gets even weaker when it's damp. At least have plywood shelves to put your drywall boards on, if not something even sturdier. I'm one of those people that likes to turn my work over as soon as I can, because it keeps it from drying out too fast on the rim. I pretty much hate dealing with using plastic or damp paper towels, so I try to time my stuff right so once a mug is put together, I can just let it go.

If it were me, I'd try not covering the edges with plastic on a couple pieces. See if it makes any difference. It might not, and you could eliminate a step.

I use drywall boards with the edges duct taped. Because I spend time in a shared studio and have to bring work there for firing, I made sure I taped my boards with a patterned duct tape as an identifier. Once a piece is cut from the bat (as soon as it has set up enough to handle without leaving marks,) it is moved to a board. The board will either stay out on the table for immediate drying, or put into my old, unplugged refrigerator if I need it to stay damp. Pieces are turned upside-down once firm enough to do so. I like that I can cut the drywall easily to any size I need, so I always have boards that fit on my shelves and benches, I have boards with measurements for pulled handles, and boards the right size to transport work on the seat of my van. So far I've just used scrap that other people have given me. The only thing I use newspaper for is protecting surfaces from glaze drips, and wrapping up fired pieces for packing.

Thank you!

When I was playing with yo-yo pots, I just left them on the bat until firm enough to trim. I also cut at the bottom of the flange rather than the top, so the lid had the flange, not the jar. It could be just me, but I thought it was easier to thin the wall of the jar than the wall of the lid.

....and now I just realized that I could throw my own darning tools. Holycow.

Kind of like a darning mushroom, only for mugs, not socks I like it!

Oh!! Actually throw myself an anvil! Killer idea!

Yes, thrown pieces. I've seen a video or two on throwing a cylinder around a paper form, applying a stamped or rolled texture, then removing the form and stretching it to the shape you're after. I just want to stamp into what I've already got shaped, though. And I feel like I'm never doing it at the right stage - cheese-hard, I end up distorting it when I try to support the spot with my fingers. Leather-hard, the stamp doesn't clearly imprint. I'm sure part of the problem is that I'm stamping a curved surface, too. Very frustrating!

So there's no name for this type of form with the sharp transition from convex to concave? Guess I have to teach my hands to not hate holding a rib while I throw (I use almost no throwing tools at this point - they always feel awkward!)

I love using stamps (and things like leaves) to add just a touch of interest to my pieces.....but I always find myself distorting the piece and/or not getting a very good/clear impression. For those of you that use stamps, at what stage do you make your impressions? How do you support the piece so it doesn't distort? Have you found certain stamp materials to work better than others? Any tips on getting a clear impression from found objects like leaves, flowers, and shells?

I have a question about a specific thrown form - basically, the shape of this mug in this expired Etsy listing: https://www.etsy.com/listing/163837797/large-coffee-mug-16-oz-handmade-ceramic First, what is that type of shape called? Where it's bowl-ish on the bottom, then sharply changes direction? And second, how do you DO that? Anyone have or know of any videos that show the technique? I've tried searching, but because I don't know what it's called, I didn't really know what to search for.

My business card says "potter, etc." The word ceramics makes me think of slip-molded teddy bear planters; I've never identified myself as an artist, though I know my work often qualifies as art. Really, I'm a competent craftsperson and domestic producer of many many different things, so I could call myself countless work-related things. I usually don't, though.

Returning to the topic - I supplied a local cafe with a dozen mugs earlier in the year. They were used regularly along with their regular white restaurant ware and cheap generic donor coffee mugs, and everything was washed and handled in the same manner. My stoneware mugs did not fare well. All but 3 chipped from the rough handling of the kid that did their dishes, and they had to pull them from rotation completely. They said they lose plenty of donor mugs due to breakage, but the handmade stuff was even more casualty-prone. So that's that. I just sell the mugs themselves at the cafe now.

I've been looking forward to seeing his new show - been following some of Mr. Rowe's travels for the filming on his Facebook. That guy is something else. Highly entertaining writer. I'll be sure to look for your mug once I get a chance to watch it! (The show is playing right now, but I don't have cable service )

I wouldn't consider it going in a circle. You've got experience and improvement under your belt to push that revisitation a bit further out. It's more like a spiral.

Empty Bowls, yes. And if a cause I would like to support could benefit from a pottery donation, I'd be happy to provide, but not one that I have no connection with. I also donate pieces for contest prizes for a game I used to be involved with, as a way to improve game-atmosphere standards. Hard to explain.

Here is my process. I work with a stamp that is already round, with a textured border that leaves a ridged border on the medallion. I also draw an arrow on the side of my stamp indicating where the top of the image is. 1. Make mugs, dry to leather hard, handle. 2. Roll small balls of clay from the handle-end leftovers. By small ball I mean larger than a pea, smaller than a marble. 3. Smash a ball flat with the stamp, taking care to squish with even pressure so the same thickness of clay squishes out to the edge of the stamp all the way around. Practice if you don't get it right away. The edge will look crackly, but it should not have any deep cracks or terribly uneven spots. 4. Score the attachment spot on the mug. 5. Without removing the medallion from the stamp, score the back of the medallion and wet a little. 6. Taking care to position the stamp with the mark in the up position, use the stamp to press the medallion into place on the mug. 7. Gently pull the stamp away. Gently press the edges of the medallion into the mug with your hand if needed. I do it this way so I don't have any obvious cut edges, I can get a thinner workable medallion, and I get no distortion of the image, edges, or size. I'll add links to a couple photos in a sec. Eta: never mind - I'm on my phone and copying image urls never works when I want it to. There are examples in my gallery photos here on the CADC site

Any one single piece of artwork, regardless of an outside force deeming it "art" or not? It would be something by one of my children. I'm thinking probably the piece I have hanging above my bed right now. It is by my youngest, and is just a piece of paper covered in faces drawn in ball-point pen when he was about two years old. (My home isn't decorated. It is instead covered with the evidence of creative process. And also the evidence of heavily sidetracked minds!)

I've seen videos of a potter (who was speaking in German, so I didn't understand what was being said) who did that odd-looking tilt off to the side while centering back down after coning up. I wondered why he did it.

I'm one of the repetitive work people. Definitely not an artist My delight is finding the most efficient way to reach a consistent form that is just how I want it. The fact that I get bored with a particular thing and move on to a new challenge doesn't make me any less a repeat-worker I do that with everything, too. Creating sewing patterns or a piece of clothing, spinning a fine thread, forming a pair of faerie wings to completion, throwing a bowl exactly how I think a bowl should be shaped and sized, working out a knitting pattern.... None of it is art. But I take the process to Artisan level, working for intimate understanding of the process, efficiency, consistency, and beauty.

Huh. I've always liked the term Artisan. To me, it means that the person has taken the time to really learn an art form that speaks to them, and has let themselves run with it to a degree that their work is reliably reproducible. Yes, that can mean good bread. It can mean beautiful towels woven cleanly and consistently in an original pattern. It can mean pots in consistent and pleasing forms. I think I'm far more drawn to the work of passionate and consistent artisans that I've ever been to the work of those who call themselves artists.

As a righty, I still always wore my watch on my right hand. Not sure why. It just didn't seem right on the left. Never got in the way of anything, either. Weird.

Personal pet peeve: I would not suggest any "team building" ANYTHING ever. Especially in an art classroom. Ugh. /prejudiced interjection