LeeU

Only 5 tools? That's rough! OK-for hand-building: a Kemper fettling knife; an XIEM mini-double-ended fettling/smoothing tool; a double-sided paddle (smooth/texture); a pony roller; and a Kemper hole cutter-the pointed kind that can ream out various sizes. Most everything else can be scrounged from around the house & modified if needed. For throwing: an MKM wooden rib with a straight edge & a curved edge; a piece of sea sponge; a medium Kemper loop tool; a cut off wire with handles, and; a music play list that will motivate me into giving it another go.

Luv it when threads rejuvenate. I have no table-just a prep counter, a rolling tray table in the LR, and my computer desk. This is what's on my desk: cut-up egg "cups" w/vegetables, over Spanish rice, with some cheddar cheese mixed in. Add a bit of hot sauce and enjoy. Not shown, a nice mug of Death Wish's dark coffee, hot & straight up.

I can't /don't want to do production/retail and took a 30 year detour from my original ceramics education/experience/intentions (returned to clay after retirement & installed a small studio in my trailer) so I am essentially just a member of the audience on this site. I enjoy what I get from reading what others have to say. Most of my real ceramics work was "back in the day" except for a brief foray, courtesy of John Baymore, into anagama firing, which was a major thrill & lots of learning, plus did some raku courtesy of Andy Hampton. (also NH), and have some placements in local small shops. Today I only use commercial bodies & glazes. The modest sales I had going have mostly dried up due to how the pandemic hit the rural small independent shops near me. (I rarely do shows/fairs). All that aside, when I was truly into it, I loved mixing/formulating glazes "from scratch", learning the chemistry/dry & raw materials, as well as tweaking recipes from some of the core masters in the field. Due to some cognitive issues I couldn't do the science/chemistry/math now even if I had the motivation-even effective "work arounds" are just too exhausting these days (I'll take some aged cheese with that whine, thank you very much). I've done some experimenting with the commercial glazes in my electric kiln but haven't come up with anything particularly interesting/meaningful, like some on here have done (think Joseph Fireborn). I have been poking around with multi-refires for my Hidden Mask series, which I need to get on with.

great stuff-very useful-won't warp & doesn't soak up moisture

I think as a generality brand names do matter. As the info in Mark's post indicate, the devil is in the details (ex. Peter Pugger vs Soldner mixer--good to know!) so the quality and features must be differentiated among the brands that are making the same equipment/tools. It's not too hard to get details, feedback, and tips from ceramics groups, but I've found some have very few active members with real expertise vs. a lot of members who do not know what they are talking about (and don't own that!). This group is a most reliable source of good data, and the "resident experts" are so generous with sharing their experience and knowledge. Brand info may also be garnered from local potters guilds, from supplier web sites, info straight from the manufacturer, print/Internet materials etc.. As long as I do my homework, I can usually get a good idea of what rises to the top for quality, performance, customer service and so on, and then I check it out further. I always confirm ease of contact, all policies, returns, tech support, and reputation over time.

Slab, coil, and pinch, and a fair amount of whacking things into shape (I use the term "shape" loosely-I'm not usually going for finesse or the precision of symmetry, except w/the herb markers/plant stakes. I use various wooden tools/hard surfaces (paddles, for example) as a significant component of my process. Will occasionally use templates when I want more refined joins, say with a traditional box and lid. I also like excavating, and having a piece emerge from the reduction of mass from the inside out.

Alice (oldlady) is the expert here & she turned me onto it. Steven Hill is a major master, easily accessed online. A comprehensive book is Single Firing by Fran Tristram. There is an area of my life in which I deliberately seek "the easier, softer way" and that is ceramics--so I stick mostly to the L&L firing program and don't mess with it-tho Hill's firing schedule is real easy to do.

I like making textured objects-stamped, incised, carved, run over by a cat----whatever produces nooks & crannies, rips, cracks, scraggly edges, holes etc., and then brushing glaze just across topmost surface so a little--or a lot---of the bare clay shows. I also single fire electric at cone 5 or 6, with a slow cool. The sample pic is a spoon holder.

I don't have any I can't work without because I don't have any that I use in the first place. I get mainstream commercial glazes such as Amaco's awesome Ancient Copper , or some w/cobalt, that do the job for me, to a modest extent. My days of dealing at all with chemistry are long over, "halleluiah thank ya Jesus" as they say. There is such an amazing wonderful world to be had via that chemistry (coloration oxides, for example), but I am grateful just to be able to make what I want, when I want, if I want, in my own space, all by the simple click of an online "check out now" function!

I have formally coached many others, mostly in the context of behavioral health service delivery. I believe coaching must be individualized and conducted as a partnership, in tandem w/some essential teaching. The person being coached must build an infrastructure from the learning and application of the steps needed to reach their goal. The interim objectives may or may not be defined/disclosed to the one being coached, based on their needs to know/not know. Someone with ADHD who has no sense of object permanence and never knows where they put anything, is going to need coaching to reorganize their kitchen that will be very different in approach from the approach needed for someone with OCD, who knows where every item is at all times and is highly discomforted at moving anything to another location. The goal for a more functional kitchen may be the same, but the process to get there will be different. Coaching is best when supportive & motivational at its core. It is a tricky balance to demonstrate acceptance of where a person "is at" while also playing drill sergeant to get 'em moving! My own coach was a highly specialized therapist (treated & basically cured my complex post trauma stress injuries) who had subsequently moved from psychology to individual life coaching (works w/VIP athletes these days). Post-therapy, he life-coached me in my return to ceramics. The practicality of his coaching enabled me to ID and accept certain limitations, while maximizing my strengths. I now sustain a much higher level of functionality in all aspects of day-to-day living. Being able to maintain some creativity (claywork/photography etc.) in the "survival mix" infuses me w/the will to keep on truckin'.

Dick Evans-for his ceramics & incredible glazing/surface finishing (since the '90s he is primarily painting)

Geeze Louise-I gotta read it, hear it (even just myself saying it out loud), see it, & touch it!! Using all the tools in the tool box seems to be the best way for me to have even a miniscule chance at understanding pertinent info, let alone sustaining retention and the ability to convey the same info to someone else! What I have noticed is that while I self-perceive being fairly dependent on having to use all of the various learning styles & brain processing modes, the emphasis on (or reliance upon) one over another seems to clearly shift with the aging of Self. Not that it particularly matters-but it is kind of interesting that these days I am conscious that the need for tactile intake, for example, is superseding the need for the written word, (or images vs. an audio lesson) when I am approaching whatever it is I am trying to learn & apply. With clay I have noticed that I'm beginning to do a sort of juggling act of all of these elements in order to end up with a piece that works for me, and I did not use to "have to" go down that rabbit hole-the end result just came more "naturally", I think.

This topic was retired years ago...maybe post a query in Studio Operations and Making Work.

Books are essential and imperative! For retention, ease of looking something up, tactile pleasure, art history/historical and modern ceramics images that I can revisit easily, and the best in-house source for well-rooted wisdom. My go-to's are textbooks from the '70's: Rhodes' Clay and Glazes for the Potter and Lawrence's Ceramic Science for the Potter. Add in Branfman/Raku, Miller/Surface Design, Tristram/Single Fire, & Pitkelka/Studio Handbook and I have more than I need for today's endeavors. Videos are fun, but I get quickly bored and have no retention. I do use the good ones (as Chilly notes) for a visual overview where actual hands-on images are helpful. For images of contemporary art & ceramic art/craft the Internet is invaluable.

Even with low production I may need to check it out. I used my white board like that, divided into rectangles w/lists & check-offs & notes. Now I use it to keep my muscles toned. See pics LOL.

I have an L&L EZ Fire and would be lost without the wonderful selection of pre-programs that are clearly described and explained in the manual. If I were doing more than I am or different items I would set custom schedules but I simply have no need to at this time. I've found the pre-sets to be accurate and consistent, and still with some flexibility (hold times, fast or slow glaze, for example). The computerization really makes my life easier and keeps things simple.

Yes--bags!! Locally I couldn't get my usual small blue bags for the street art event I was in, a few weeks ago (sized for tea light holders, pendants etc.). I still can't get some colors I prefer to use from my regular online sources. Looking for anything Halloween related is already too late-the shelves are empty and people are already snatching up supplies coming in for Christmas, right off the stocking carts. Saw that today when I was looking for autumn colors for tissue or little boxes/bags for my smalls---not happening! I don't need huge quantities, so sometimes not needing wholesale/bulk works out OK, like for plain white tissue, from the local Dollar Store. I've got enough clay & glaze but I am hearing from others (here in NH) who also deal in smaller quantities that they can't get certain popular commercial glazes...lots of backorders.

My challenge is to be more attentive to constructing an intentional palette in the first place. I gravitate to favorite combos and then sometimes just get spontaneous with whatever strikes my fancy at the moment. I make plans to develop a couple of palette schemes, and cut out glaze swatches from catalogues or print them out from web sites and tack them up on my inspiration board...and usually never look at them again.

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.

I am so tempted to just write "Run, Forest, run". Long silent pause. But, OK, I'll play. 1. Unless you have zero debt and zero money concerns, determine a realistic budget strictly for the studio and it's operations. 2. Include all things ceramic, such as related travel, major & minor supplies, overhead, fees for participation in exhibits/craft fairs/conferences/local potters guild etc. 3. Set the financial projections up for about 3 years--it will take that long to see what the real expense is for your mode of claywork is going to cost you. 4. If by now you're saying to yourself but it's "just a hobby", run, Forest, run. 5. Stick to the budget and if it is not working, don't delay making the necessary adjustments. I check my budget monthly to see if I'm on track, and I enter expenses when they occur--not 3 weeks later when I can't remember what I got or what I paid, and I've lost the receipt (which should be in a file but sometimes isn't).

I started out very focused, learned the basics quite well--got a good comprehensive ceramics education (and a BFA in crafts). Then I became engaged with experimental techniques/more sculptural work, while still in VCU art school. (I was going to out-Voulkus Voulkus, don'tcha know). It became a moot point when I took a detour into a 25 Y career in the addiction treatment field. I thought it would be short lived, because voc rehab was willing to bankroll my Master's if I committed to working in public service for a few years. I turned out to be very good at specialized program design & getting federal grant funding, so ceramics went into the attic to gather dust. After I retired (State Planner in Behavioral Health for NH DHHS) I constructed my little studio in my trailer (bedroom & back porch). However, I have lost so much ability (physical/cognitive) that I can't get back to where I once was. So, my present place is some "other direction". At the moment, I'm just looking to satisfy myself and make enough (local smalls of the home decor variety) to break even, which I am finally doing. Probably the most consistent thread from then to now is I am continuing my Hidden Mask series, which I started back in '81.

I just around to this post since I don't do shows, but am always interested in food. OMG--Soylent Green...the movie!! I saw it when it came out in '73 and it was fairly horrifying! It made entirely too much sense, as a possibility, especially after reading things like Brave New World, Animal Farm , 1984 etc. in H.S.

Becasue I live in a rented mobile home I am not allowed to have any traffic at all and no sales from my location. The master bedroom has been converted and outfitted as my studio & the enclosed back porch is my kiln room. They are nice, tho small, environments, well laid out, and I have all the usual cool stuff of any functioning studio. It's frustrating because I know absolutely that I would do really great if I could have mini-tours/sale days right here. There's enough room open on the back porch and rear deck that I could do a great display. I have inventory, but no ready outlet for it that doesn't involve way (way) too much work on my part to get it where it would have to go--just not up for it. My daughter might help me set up an Etsy store, but even that seem like too much hassle at this particular juncture in my life. I seem to be treading water at the moment. I may do a down & dirty pop-up yard sale with my "smalls" as part of the stuff (we can't have yard sales either, but if it was up & gone real fast-just a few hours & no road signs-only an online ad- I'd probably be OK). I used to go to studios/kiln openings before the pandemic but I'm not willing to chance it (personal risk factors) until the Delta factor plays out & we see whether the vaccines loose effectiveness around 6 months, as is possible.