Joseph Fireborn

Are you going to post pictures Denice? When/if you do please tag me. I would love to see it.

As far as the shoulder, yea. I am trying to keep everything to a minimum. My work is super simple now and I have optimized the flow of my machinery and stuff so well that I don't have a ton of physical labor to do anymore.

I worked at Starbucks as a peak supervisor and working the espresso machines for 4.5 years just destroyed my shoulder. Picking up gallon jugs of milk 500-600 times a day pouring it, steaming it, pouring that and pumping syrups then bending over and putting the milk back in the fridge... Just wrecked me.

Thankfully I have moved on.

Ow that sounds like that could cause a lot of problems,  our friend carried a heavy mailbag for 35 years.   When I was 20 I worked in a dental lab and had to stand on a ladder and  lift a 25 lb bag of plaster over my head and dump it in the plaster bin.   They finally gave the job to a man,  it was causing to much commotion with the other workers.  The other women didn't think I should do that job and the men  would look up my skirt (uniform).   I don't think that type of work did long term damage to me,  I am 70 and have MS and can still pick up a 25lb  bag of clay off the floor with one hand.   I laid out my mural yesterday,  I have to remake quite a few tiles.   It is three dimensional and is a landscape of Arizona so getting a good fit has been quite challenging.     Denice

That story is so amazing. Classic workforce story. I can't wait to see your mural.

Single firing, I take it? 

I have neither the skill nor disposition to attempt that...  I have had some of my students, make that decision for me though.  Thus far, it has been on wares, that I didn't stack...

Yes! I single-fire a good bit of work. Sometimes I bisque and sometimes I single fire it just depends. It would have been fine if I had turned on my preheat. Haha.

I am OCD, on my kiln.  I will check the program numerous, times, check that the vent hood is on,  etc.  Because that one time that you don't...

I have had a week like that,  I am still managing to get a little done in my studio everyday.   Maybe next week I won't be so busy.  Denice

Welp. Got stuff done today. Sprayed and lined an entire kiln load. Hopefully if everything comes out good I will be listing it all. It excites me that I used only 2 glazes! hahah. 

Peeped into my peep holes. Beautiful greys!

Thanks Old Lady and Benzine!

Congratulations a Libra,  my birthday is October 15.   Libra is a great first child,  I was quiet and had lots of patience,  Libra's are all about balance and peace.   Most Libra's are very artistic so you may have a potter in the womb.    Denice

Congratulations. So much to look forward to.

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. I appreciate it dearly.

I don't think my stuff is aesthetically where I want it to be, either. A mentor told me once that if it was of a passable level of quality (even throwing, functional glaze), you should sell it off and make room for the next stuff. The work gets better as you make more of it. This I can vouch for.

It's also encouraging to make a little bit of that money you've poured into everything back.

Sneezing while wearing a respirator builds back pressure: for the record.

Have you been to the doctor? I thought I had a bad head cold. It was two days before Xmas so I thought I would see my doctor before the holidays. Turned out I had pneumonia. Had to skip Xmas.

I go to the hospital a few times a month to see my blood doctors. They do nasal lavage and test it for everything. Clean so far. I have no idea what it is. It is almost over though. Ready to get back out there. I have been doing a lot of glaze study and reading.

Ooooh, that Akira Satake. i had to google, hehe. he has such intuitive work. I think. I have so much to learn.

Wow, what beautiful objects. I just googled Akira. Enjoy the workshop Grype!

TOMORROW!

Yeah, that's why I currently leave the glaze mixing up to you wizards...

lol. wizard. more like bumbling baboon.

A Baboon Wizard? Sounds like a new animated film!

I clean it every day, it takes 30 minutes of my precious time but it is totally worth it

I don't usually make much of a mess, but I had glaze on the floor, and clay everywhere. A good 2 hours of mopping and scrubbing everything down.

My problem is I work out there after my son's bedtime ... by the time I'm done it's 1 am and I'm too tired to clean up my mess. Then the problem builds. Clay is so messy.

Sounds as if you're taking a smart approach. Lots of folks have said that it's limitations that lead to good work, and they are right. Because clay is such a protean material, it's a little harder to get natural limitations, so they have to be self-imposed.

I like that saying rayaldridge. Self imposed limitations to increase quality of work. Good stuff.

Whatever you do, just keep doing it. It will be nice to see your results. Cool.

Glad to see it worked out for you. always nice when things go right.

Well, no wonder you're pleased! Beautiful results, you should always spray in the wind .

Thanks Rae.

Yea. I am in it for the long haul. Once I find the combinations I want I can just spray those and it will drastically increase my spraying time. I pour the insides and wax the bottoms ahead of time, so all I have to do is spray the outsides. I also have 5 spray guns. My brother in law is a auto body painter he gave me 3 guns he doesn't use anymore, but they work fine for what I need them for.

*decrease my spraying time* not increase.

LOL I read it as "decrease". I like dipping for the bright inside colors I like; but I will probably start spraying the clear I do on the outside since it only needs one coat anyway.

But your a tenacious newbie. And one with plenty of common sense. Your good man. Happy for you.

Appreciate the kind words mark.

Grype, sounds like a very beneficial experience. Those things can really influence your growth more than a technique.

So, did anyone answer your question? I too, need a good wax resist.

Forbes wax resist; I get mine from Highwater Clay.

Yea, I got a few answers. I am gonna start with Forbes, as the first one I try.

That when I glaze fire and realize a mistake in size, or texture, or whatever, I have several weeks of partially finished work with the same mistake because I didn't know yet!

Haha. It's awesome isn't it!

Ah well. Forward progress is all I really want.

What kind of heater did you get?

Warm...is of the good.

Sent you a reply Denice.

Most glazes turn out better if thinned. Add water, double dip the rim. If the rim is better take water out. If the body is better, don't double dip the rim!

Alabama

Potters are devoted to a material that is hard to manipulate, frustrating and under appreciated.

I /agree with that, Denice.

Kiln going! Lots of random combinations. Only time will tell when I open that thing up if its terrible or not. Haven't glazed like this in a while.

I'm sure it will be good.

Enjoy.

I had a good time. Main focus is building a small .5# shape that I can experiment with and spray glaze test on after I finish with the tile part of the testing. The bottle I have developed I think will work well for this.

Next time you are on the wheel, try dipping your finger into rio and make finger marks. See if it does any thing for you.

Beware, underglaze can be addictive. Use with caution!

I will try that Nerd. Roberta, we will see!

Mine gets horribly gritty dusty,and not from clay. It blows in from the window into the yard.

Yea. I had more leaves and pollen then dust. I open the garage during the day to get fresh air and hear the birds sing and let my dog lay on the driveway. The wind blows it all in, rather annoying.

Exactly what happens with mine! As if pottery wasn't messy enough already!

Geez! What a finnicky little brat of a clay body. Maybe you got a poopy batch..? :S

I am not sure. I will keep testing it little by little. = )

bisque it to 04 then take it to cone 4 then use low fire glazes on it ? that will burn the gasses off and still give you glaze options... it might work? I dunno , im still working with it myself, its some wicked clay...