kswan

I just got back from a weekend show and spoke with a customer at length about gardening and flowers (there was a lull on Sunday), and I showed her ways to arrange flowers in some of my vases. As she was leaving, she got a little teary and said my pottery was "life affirming"!!! You can't get an interaction like that online, for sure! 
What I've seen are some established potters who promote their work on Instagram (that's the only social media I have now) who then sell from their websites. They are the type who open their online shop at a certain hour and everything sells out almost instantly. One potter I'm thinking of in particular has been working for many years, and she has also built up a huge following online by posting process videos. That's very generous of her, not only to take the time to make the videos, but also to share her specific methods. I don't know if she will even do in person shows now. I managed to snag one of her mugs. It's beautiful, but it's different than I imagined it would be. She already has a customer base but expanded it through Instagram. I would have much preferred to have touched every single one of her pieces, spoken to her, and bought the one that spoke to me best.
@Callie Beller Diesel I'd be interested in people's thoughts on that if you make another thread. I absolutely hate the monster that Mark Zuckerburg has created, but it lives in the world with us now. We use social media thinking that it is there to help us, but its only purpose to exist is to make money from us in the end. It's not a free service like the library or something! @Mark C. You're not missing anything bypassing social media, clearly. It's a vampire anyway.  I hope your bronchitis clears up soon. 

I just got back from a weekend show and spoke with a customer at length about gardening and flowers (there was a lull on Sunday), and I showed her ways to arrange flowers in some of my vases. As she was leaving, she got a little teary and said my pottery was "life affirming"!!! You can't get an interaction like that online, for sure! 
What I've seen are some established potters who promote their work on Instagram (that's the only social media I have now) who then sell from their websites. They are the type who open their online shop at a certain hour and everything sells out almost instantly. One potter I'm thinking of in particular has been working for many years, and she has also built up a huge following online by posting process videos. That's very generous of her, not only to take the time to make the videos, but also to share her specific methods. I don't know if she will even do in person shows now. I managed to snag one of her mugs. It's beautiful, but it's different than I imagined it would be. She already has a customer base but expanded it through Instagram. I would have much preferred to have touched every single one of her pieces, spoken to her, and bought the one that spoke to me best.
@Callie Beller Diesel I'd be interested in people's thoughts on that if you make another thread. I absolutely hate the monster that Mark Zuckerburg has created, but it lives in the world with us now. We use social media thinking that it is there to help us, but its only purpose to exist is to make money from us in the end. It's not a free service like the library or something! @Mark C. You're not missing anything bypassing social media, clearly. It's a vampire anyway.  I hope your bronchitis clears up soon. 

I just got back from a weekend show and spoke with a customer at length about gardening and flowers (there was a lull on Sunday), and I showed her ways to arrange flowers in some of my vases. As she was leaving, she got a little teary and said my pottery was "life affirming"!!! You can't get an interaction like that online, for sure! 
What I've seen are some established potters who promote their work on Instagram (that's the only social media I have now) who then sell from their websites. They are the type who open their online shop at a certain hour and everything sells out almost instantly. One potter I'm thinking of in particular has been working for many years, and she has also built up a huge following online by posting process videos. That's very generous of her, not only to take the time to make the videos, but also to share her specific methods. I don't know if she will even do in person shows now. I managed to snag one of her mugs. It's beautiful, but it's different than I imagined it would be. She already has a customer base but expanded it through Instagram. I would have much preferred to have touched every single one of her pieces, spoken to her, and bought the one that spoke to me best.
@Callie Beller Diesel I'd be interested in people's thoughts on that if you make another thread. I absolutely hate the monster that Mark Zuckerburg has created, but it lives in the world with us now. We use social media thinking that it is there to help us, but its only purpose to exist is to make money from us in the end. It's not a free service like the library or something! @Mark C. You're not missing anything bypassing social media, clearly. It's a vampire anyway.  I hope your bronchitis clears up soon. 

I have some thoughts on this, but I’ll start a new thread on it. 
I accidentally went viral on Tiktok last year. Not in an “I stuck my foot in it” way, more of an “I really wasn’t expecting that” way.

Online selling is definitely not “less work” than doing shows. That’s a misconception. Maybe it’s less physical heavy lifting, but that gets cancelled out by the amount of packing and shipping. Also, setting up a shop update can take more hours than setting up a booth at a fair. Sure, you do it by sitting at a desk, rather than lifting heavy boxes, but it’s incredibly tedious. Online selling is easier in terms of having much lower barriers for entry, which is why it seems more attractive to someone who is starting out. 
And then there’s the issue with social media platforms changing their algorithms when they feel like it. Take Instagram for example, they recently decided that they want us to post more videos and fewer photos. I guess they’re trying to be TikTok now? In recent weeks, I’ve seen a few potters whom I follow on Instagram complaining that their engagement has dropped steeply due to the changing algorithms. For potters who were actually selling well online, suddenly a big chunk of their audience was pulled out from under them, after spending a whole lot of time and energy building that audience.  This is a problem that an email list and in-person shows do not present. 
Who has time to make a video everyday?? Posting an interesting photo everyday is already a lot of work. Making videos all the time means you won’t have enough time to make pots. I’m not changing how I use social media, just doing the same as before. It doesn’t matter if my engagement drops, because that’s not where my audience is. 

I use a Braava Jet robotic mop in the studio, made by the same company that makes Roomba.  I do pre-mop the biggest blobs of clay with a regular mop and bucket, and then turn on the robot mop to finish cleaning while I work on other thins,  For rags with clay, I keep a bucket under the sink in the studio filled with water and a bit of bleach,  Dirty rags go in there to soak.  After a day or two I carry the bucket outside, wring out the rags, and use the remaining clay water to water plants.  I will  repeat this with fresh water until the rags are mostly free of clay.

As I'm waiting for my second glaze firing to cool, I've thought about everyone's input here and how to make my life easier in the studio. It seems there is no silver bullet to studio clean up, for sure, it takes time and effort!
One thing I realized is that I need to keep my glaze in a larger container!!! My whole pottery-making life, every studio I've ever been in used 5 gallon buckets. In fact, I didn't even know that commercial brush on glazes existed until about 10 years into making ceramics. Sieves are made to fit on top of 5 gallon buckets. My glaze recipes are sized for buckets (though easy enough to size up or down). I make a huge mess when I glaze my bigger plates, bowls and platters, because I have to transfer my glaze into a different sized container. It's also more time consuming to do that. I'm now going to find the right size container for my glaze, so that it fits my large pieces that I dip but isn't too big. It's a light bulb moment for me.
I've also decided to get square buckets for my reclaim. Now that I have a pugmill, I don't need to use the Jiffy mixer on my clay to get it smooth for reclaim. The square buckets will snug up next to each other and won't let the little drips and bits fall in between. That's been driving me crazy. I have two reclaim buckets next to my wheel, one for more slippy stuff and one for trimming and dry pieces. Everything else is square around it-- my plaster slab, my tool bins, the table, so square buckets will close those gaps. 
Thanks everyone for your input, I appreciate it!

Could that be due to potters selling their work online only? With the proliferation of Etsy and other easy to create online shops, as well as marketing through social media, it seems as though that's what a lot of people are aiming for. They must figure, why go to the effort of packing things up and driving somewhere to sell when I can sit on my couch in my pajamas and sell out quickly? 
I've only begun in the last five years or so to sell at larger art fairs. Mostly the people I see exhibiting are middle aged and above like myself. I don't know if it's always been that way, because the process can be intimidating, or if it's a changing social situation. 

YES! YES!  THAT IS IT!  mine was a bright blue 3 speed ladies bike without that horizontal bar.  too bad the photo does not have a totally light background.   the 1956 or 7 original was $49.00 and it was a fortune for me.  i rode it all over the city and over the bridge and all the way to the riding stables at the far end of belle isle park.   spent my whole allowance, $2, on one hour of riding a pinto who would leave the trail and jump a big log.  heaven............
 
thank you, hulk.

I find I do better with in-person customer contact too. I like talking to people who like my stuff. I also find that a hard deadline where I’m beholden to someone that I have to look in the face is much more compelling to meet than an arbitrary one I set for an online sale.

Thanks @Hulk, you've got a lot of great practices and some I do as well! And yes, I am Kathy, hence she. No biggie, though. I'm kinda shy and don't share too much about myself!  
I change into my pottery shoes and clothes when I go down to my studio, and take them off before going back up. Having known someone with silicosis got me super paranoid about letting clay dust get into the rest of my house. The laundry is down there too, so it's very convenient to toss all my stuff in the wash. 
I also do sort of a triage system for my clean up water as well. It seems to make it easier than always filling and dumping out dirty water. One big sponge is only for clay surfaces like the wheel, slab roller, wedging table or bats. The other is for gross things like the floor, where dust blobs and dead bugs mix in with the clay bits.  When I spill glaze drops on the floor, I use a paint scraper to get it off and slide it into the dustpan. It's then easier to wipe the remains and not get my cleaning water dirty so fast. Otherwise, I feel like I'm just spreading it all over.  
I get overwhelmed by seeing large piles of things that need attention. Tons of tools and bats covered in clay that need clean up stresses me out, so I try to mostly clean those as I work, like wiping down my bats around my piece before taking them off the wheel. 
I'm afraid I have bad work associations with those industrial wringer mops, Hulk! I had a regular sponge mop, but it broke and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. I've got weird tight spaces and actually the big sponge seems to be just right for getting the floor cleaned up.  If I'm cleaning up a lot at the end of working, I wear my respirator and turn on the HEPA filter. I set it to turn off after two hours.
I'm taking a break from a large glaze session right now to drink more coffee. I've got to run two glaze loads before Friday, cutting it close for sure...

If you’ve ever worked in a clean as you go kitchen, if you have ADHD or you’re a primary care parent, you know that taking care of a small mess more often is  easier than cleaning up a big one later. But there’s a line between constantly wiping and being efficient with how you work. In kitchens, they tell you to clean up between tasks, with a good scrub (floor mopping) at the end of the night (work session).
I totally agree with Hulk, make it easy to do that cleanup regularly. Have a bucket and sponge handy to wipe surfaces with, and change your cleaning implement often. It’s easier to sponge out your splash pan while it’s still wet. It’s easier to keep your reclaim bucket next to your wheel when you trim, so you can empty the tray right into it. It’s easier to work in a way that trimmings or bits and blobs are gathered or wiped up easily, so they wind up in your reclaim and not on the floor. It’s easier to throw with only the water you need, so again you avoid spatter on the floor. 
 I usually wash my throwing towels and apron after they’ve been used for a session. Thrift store towels for the win!
***I have a pair of studio shoes that never leave the room. They go on my feet at the door, and get taken off at the door. Being really rigid with that is the big one. This keeps dust from getting tracked through your living space. I tend to clean my shoe soles when I mop, but I don’t wipe them otherwise.***
Mopping is the one that is a big job, and no avoiding it. I have a concrete floor, so I pour down about 5 gallons of water and wipe it up with my mop and wringer. BUT I have a system for that, a la KC Davis’s closing duties approach to cleaning.
Reclaim and trimming days, I mop immediately after, because usually I have more energy left. Glaze days, I know I’m exhausted after because it’s a longer and more draining day. Rather than leave myself a complete disaster though, I wipe the main surfaces,  put dirty glaze utensils/sieves/etc into a bucket of water so they don’t dry out, and I shut the door so that nothing is getting tracked out. When the kiln is firing/cooling the next morning, I go downstairs and do the thorough cleanup, including a mop.
Unless something gets really out of hand, I usually don’t mop after throwing sessions. My wheel area is set up so the spatter zone isn’t facing any pathways that I’d be tracking through while doing other tasks. I make very little spatter because of my throwing habits, so I don’t feel worried about leaving mopping for trimming day.
Edited to add: to avoid more spatter on reclaim day, I clamp a cloth over 2/3 of the opening to my clay bin. It makes for a LOT less wiping of walls due to the jiffy mixer. Again, just a piece of thrift store sheet.

I have no tricks, tips,  tools, or time frames that are  not already mentioned. The only thing I will add is just a reinforcement, a repeat, of what 
I clean as I go along, almost fanatically-as long as it doesn't disrupt the technical production process and/or my creative flow. I subscribe to the "a place for everything and everything in its place" mantra of my dad, even when that "place" is a jumble of "everything" in a bin or a basket--at least I know where it is and it is contained. Cleaning up when done and then revisiting it yet again the next time I enter the studio,before I get to to work, is well worth the double-check. 

Thanks @Hulk, you've got a lot of great practices and some I do as well! And yes, I am Kathy, hence she. No biggie, though. I'm kinda shy and don't share too much about myself!  
I change into my pottery shoes and clothes when I go down to my studio, and take them off before going back up. Having known someone with silicosis got me super paranoid about letting clay dust get into the rest of my house. The laundry is down there too, so it's very convenient to toss all my stuff in the wash. 
I also do sort of a triage system for my clean up water as well. It seems to make it easier than always filling and dumping out dirty water. One big sponge is only for clay surfaces like the wheel, slab roller, wedging table or bats. The other is for gross things like the floor, where dust blobs and dead bugs mix in with the clay bits.  When I spill glaze drops on the floor, I use a paint scraper to get it off and slide it into the dustpan. It's then easier to wipe the remains and not get my cleaning water dirty so fast. Otherwise, I feel like I'm just spreading it all over.  
I get overwhelmed by seeing large piles of things that need attention. Tons of tools and bats covered in clay that need clean up stresses me out, so I try to mostly clean those as I work, like wiping down my bats around my piece before taking them off the wheel. 
I'm afraid I have bad work associations with those industrial wringer mops, Hulk! I had a regular sponge mop, but it broke and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. I've got weird tight spaces and actually the big sponge seems to be just right for getting the floor cleaned up.  If I'm cleaning up a lot at the end of working, I wear my respirator and turn on the HEPA filter. I set it to turn off after two hours.
I'm taking a break from a large glaze session right now to drink more coffee. I've got to run two glaze loads before Friday, cutting it close for sure...

my long bailey slab roller has become my work table of choice.  when i had it set up, it went onto a very thick all solid wood door.  several inches overhang in the back to the wall holds quart, pint and half pint plastic tubs on the left of the roller. they come from a chinese restaurant which sells them to me for fifty cents each.  i would buy from a restaurant supply house but they are all at least 30 miles away.
the right half space next to the wall holds very thick foam rubber cushion innards.  most of my things are flat and i use wood for the forms, cover them with pantyhose and press into clay and the rubber "pillows".   the foam comes up around the wood and forms the item.  the bottom is flat and when i transfer it to the shelf made of  5/8  inch drywall, the pantyhose knot is the handle allowing me to support it.
since the front side of the slab roller has about 3 inches of the table top, i have a space at each end, 8 feet apart, to put a box right next to the slab roller's flat surface.   and tiny bits go straight into the plastic box and is held there until i eventually vacuum the box clean.  since the box is screwed down, i do not have to worry about knocking it over in error. a slightly damp sponge slides the bits right over the edge and into the box.
the boxes are only 4 inches long so there is room left for long sticks to measure thicknesses.  they stack onto a single finish nail and run across the support side of the slab roller.  tools hang on nails all along the side of the slab roller table giving me about 6-7 feet of hanging tools used at the slab roller.  there are wallpaper scrapers to smooth freshly made slabs and cut long pieces of clay,  putty knives of various sizes, a pizza roller on each half and a ruler, cheese cutters and old kitchen towel at each end.  each tool is hanging under the edge of the tabletop and not sticking out to catch my jeans as i move along the table.  i can  "see" the tools easily because i have big black sharpie marks directly above each item.  so it is just reach under and pull out what i need and  put it back so the tabletop is always clear of tools.
if i keep the top clean, there is nothing more to do at the end of a session than put the last drywall shelf into the rack, pull out the damp sponge and wipe the tabletop.  BTW,  a thrift shop find of a metal butter dish top makes a wonderful damp sponge holder without smearing wet clay anywhere.

Thanks @Hulk, you've got a lot of great practices and some I do as well! And yes, I am Kathy, hence she. No biggie, though. I'm kinda shy and don't share too much about myself!  
I change into my pottery shoes and clothes when I go down to my studio, and take them off before going back up. Having known someone with silicosis got me super paranoid about letting clay dust get into the rest of my house. The laundry is down there too, so it's very convenient to toss all my stuff in the wash. 
I also do sort of a triage system for my clean up water as well. It seems to make it easier than always filling and dumping out dirty water. One big sponge is only for clay surfaces like the wheel, slab roller, wedging table or bats. The other is for gross things like the floor, where dust blobs and dead bugs mix in with the clay bits.  When I spill glaze drops on the floor, I use a paint scraper to get it off and slide it into the dustpan. It's then easier to wipe the remains and not get my cleaning water dirty so fast. Otherwise, I feel like I'm just spreading it all over.  
I get overwhelmed by seeing large piles of things that need attention. Tons of tools and bats covered in clay that need clean up stresses me out, so I try to mostly clean those as I work, like wiping down my bats around my piece before taking them off the wheel. 
I'm afraid I have bad work associations with those industrial wringer mops, Hulk! I had a regular sponge mop, but it broke and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. I've got weird tight spaces and actually the big sponge seems to be just right for getting the floor cleaned up.  If I'm cleaning up a lot at the end of working, I wear my respirator and turn on the HEPA filter. I set it to turn off after two hours.
I'm taking a break from a large glaze session right now to drink more coffee. I've got to run two glaze loads before Friday, cutting it close for sure...

Last week @kswanposed a question in the QotW pool. His post read:
QOTW: What tips do you have to make cleaning up your studio easier or more time efficient?
Some areas aren't too bad for me, such as keeping the footprint of my throwing area small, arranging things to close any gaps where clay bits can fall to the floor. I use a damp sponge to sweep little dry bits into a dustpan and then wipe the floor with a clean sponge. 
Unfortunately, I feel like I am chasing my tail some days, trying to get up all the little bits that fall off surfaces all day as I work. With the layout of my space, I can't condense the tables and shelves any more, so I have to walk from one area to another, which inevitably spreads clay around. One solution I'm doing now is to have a slightly damp towel on the floor to wipe my feet on as I move about. I check my soles time to time, and if they look dusty, I wipe them with a sponge and then try to find the section of floor that's dirty and wipe it too. It just feels like I'm spending half my time doing this. ANybody else feel this way or have solutions? 
Someone should invent a clay Roomba! I'd buy it in a heartbeat!
I would be second in line for that clay Roomba, but then I have so many things stored in the shop right now that I have to climb over things to get around. Renovations can play havoc with the shop!
Big Thank You to kswan for posting in the pool. . . it is always helpful!
Once again, QOTW: What tips do you have to make cleaning up your studio easier or more time efficient?
best,
Pres
 

Good question!
Tools:
  Big sponges; buckets for yucky, cloudy, and clear water; commercial mop bucket, wringer, and mop; shop vac; mask; supply of clothing and rags.

Practices:
  Keep it clean; clear the floor to make cleaning it easy.
I'm trying to keep the dust under control because I
a) don't want to breathe it, and
b) don't want to track it into the house
Generally, dry clay is "bad," on account of how easily it becomes airborne dust (wet clay is, therefore, good); clay on the floor gets stepped on - bad!
Clean floors and studio shoes, that's a great start.
Dedicated (slip on) studio shoes, good idea.
Clean clothes and rags - change'm out when there's any clay on them.
Tips*:
Keep it clean - a few minutes before and after each session - becomes a habit.
Hit the work areas and the floor each time, and cycle through the shelves, and et cetera that collect dust as necessary - weekly, monthly, ?ly.
Wipe down all the dry clay (excepting, of course, the actual wares) - better yet, wipe it down afore it dries.
Use big sponges (big! e.g. grout sponge, car cleaning sponge) and big buckets.
I use one and two gallon buckets for throwing and clean up water.
Wipe down the work surfaces, routinely. You'll see where the dust is coming from - at the clay prep/wedging area, where the clay bags are opened and closed, where the clay is being worked, particularly trimming.
Get and use a commercial roll around mop bucket, ringer, and mop.
I pour off clear water and re-use it for cleanup.
The cloudy portion goes in the yard; the heartier plants can take it.
The wrung-out mop head makes a great foot wiper**.
Keep it ready and use it often.
Consider getting and using and use a shop vac, particularly if you have spiders, heh.
The vac exhaust will blow dust around, so put on your mask, open the doors and windows, run the vac, then wait on everything settling down afore breathing***.
Move storage off the floor, less things to move about for cleaning.
This may be challenging!
I have wall mounted shelves almost everywhere now.
Rags are bad, on account of they puff dust clouds, however, how else is one to dry their hands?
Hold the rag up next to a bright light; squeeze it - see the dust cloud? Put that in the wash and get a clean one, pronto.
Use the rag on rinsed clean hands only.
I do use towel rags in some of my processes - they get clay on them, so I start with a clean one and cycle them out afore they become dust spewers.
 
*Many of my (evolving) ideas and practices I came up with on my own, however, all my ideas (and more!) are not unique - see archived threads...
**Any time a job can be done without bending at the waist, let alone getting down on hands and knees, go with it! The wet mop is a super tool, sees lots of use in my studio. Wring it out, lay in on the floor, wipe feet, go. Run it around the wheel area, boom, done. Take a pass around the counter area when glazing, done.
...etc. etc.
***Dust and air movement = airborne dust. Be aware of air movement and plan accordingly.
Note: I looked, the "k" very likely represents Kathy, hence her post.

Thanks Pres
As to mass wearing I have a middle 40s potter firend who has long covid as he got it before covid was testable back in February 2020. He cannot do much of anything at this point all these years later as his energy level is minus 2. He is in a Stanford group long covid group. I have also seen him with a bit of dementia and well as lauguge /memory issues. He no longer can work at all. His wife had it as well in thatearly time and she has some organ issues now also in mid 40s
Every time I may think about the mask issue I just need to think of my friend Seth. Masking works and i'm wearing one always around people til this is at a better place
I am here to tell you long covid will ruin your life and no one knows who may get that. 
About 1/3 of the public was masked at that huge show in Wa state.
My next show is 3rd weekend in Sept locally and am looking forward as we have cancelled it past two years.

Congratulations on going out with a splash (literally)! 

Congratulations on going out with a splash (literally)! 

Well lets see the show was under perfect weather condions no wind in the upper 70s and 80s for 3 calm days. Best show of my life and thats saying something.
Customers heard it was my last show there after 30 straight years
They came from Canada and Seattle area,Bellingham to Germany. My largest sale was from a Jeweler from Atlanta area who flew in for show and was along time customer-she heard it was my last show and bought a few boxes of pots.. Had over 750 customers over the 3 days
My new fish plates in 3 sizes where a big hit and sold out in 2nd am.I raised the price 3 times on them.
It was tedious telling custmers over and over why I was not coming back
One thing people at shows think is you will always be there for them whenever they come. Well that was true for 30 years . They where slow to under stand that my wares sell out where I live and i have no reason to take them out of county ever again.
They get it now. It was sad and a joy at the same time doing this last of my favorite show -the show is 250 artists which 25% where brand new. Less than 10 potters left now as in most shows I see nowadays. Only less than 5 artists who like me have 30 plus years in there.
I meta youg potter couple in mid 40s and invited them down to our local art show and will if they ever come pass on some of my display racks for cheap as I have way to many sets of displays at this point-no more double booths for me. The diving was so so as the tides where not good and I picked up a cough/cold (not covid) on trip. I was masked whole time in the heat -no fun but I'm careful .
I'll miss the show and the customers as I saved them to the end.
well back to packing stuff up for 5 order drop day at local outlets
 

Perhaps of mild interest, despite cryptic translation.
https://patents.google.com/patent/CN1055278C/en
Method for making colour glaze natural leaf figure ceramic product
Abstract
The present invention discloses a method for making color glaze natural leaf pattern ceramics. Natural leaves or plant leaves are stuck to a blank coated with base glaze after particularly treated, and a layer of surface glaze is coated on the blank. Then, the blank is put in a kiln to be burned to obtain a ceramic finished product. The present invention uses ceramics as a carrier, and natural leaf patterns are burned on the ceramics. The leaf patterns are clear, natural and vivid and have beauty sense and very high appreciation and collection value. The present invention has no particular requirements for conditions of the base glaze, the blank, combusting atmospheres, etc. and has the advantages of simple preparation process and easy operation.
 
 
 

If you had really burnished the greenware clay, it may have been too solid a surface to absorb the underglaze and combine with it. It may have just been sitting on the surface and didn't melt into the clay particles. I've had the bubbles of underglaze and glaze happen too, so as Bill said, use a watered down first layer of underglaze. That will sink down in between the clay particles and then add another layer or two of underglaze to adhere to that one.  
When those bubbles have happened to me, I break them and sand or Dremel like you're doing, add more underglaze and top with glaze and refire. It usually comes out fine. 
Just remember that you want to get different surfaces to interlock so they melt together, whether it's clay to underglaze to glaze. Bisque is really porous, soaking up the liquid, but a burnished clay may be too tight to absorb underglaze and it sits on top. 

Thanks @kswan, I will post this on Sunday!
 
best,
Pres