Callie Beller Diesel

You’re not going crazy. If you’re measuring in different containers, the different containers will give slightly different measurements due to calibration issues. Unless you’re getting really spendy lab containers (which aren’t necessary), some variation is considered acceptable. If you keep using the same measuring device across the board, go by that device’s numbers to get repeatable and predictable results. It will be more viscous, but the SG number should stay the same. You’re affecting how the glaze flows (or rather doesn’t), not adding more dry material or water that would change that number. At least not enough liquid to be measured meaningfully, anyways. If you’re adding Epsom or vinegar, you’re flocculating. If you’re adding Darvan or sodium silicate, you’re deflocculating. Flocculating will basically make the glaze more viscous in the bucket without changing the water level. It keeps particles suspended longer because they’re clustered together and allows for a fatter application that dries more slowly, which is one way of fixing your drip issue. It also has the added benefit of preventing hardpanning. Even a flocculated glaze will settle out eventually, it just won’t turn into that hideous, cement-like substance we all know and hate. A flocculated glaze will just sort of gel at the bottom with a layer of water on top, and will stir up in a matter of a minute or two. As much as I love Tony Hanson for everything else he does, Sue Macleod explains deflocculation and flocculation better than anyone else out there right now. Hers is an in-depth and user friendly explanation. Only if that ratio of glaze materials to water is what will give you the application layer of your glaze that you want. Making it too thin and then adding a flocculant can still make your glaze go on too thin.

Eh, there’s still some interest in art classes. AUA (formerly ACAD) has decided to take all their departments in a more fine art direction, as opposed to fostering craft. But the Ceramics Department is still going strong, and the faculty there are all trying to foster a certain level of technical proficiency. Classes are weird right now, with people taking courses in shifts so there’s no crowding, and a lot of lectures online so that a minimum amount of time is spent in company of others. One of the local studios that offers individual ceramic workspaces is actually expanding right now. They’ve been doing zoom classes and picking up and dropping off materials and projects. The next generation of potters will come from those spaces, is my guess.

It takes a little bit, getting back on the bike if you’ve been away for a while. It comes. I found after my extended break, I had a massive flood of constant ideas for a long time. Keep a notebook or a sketchbook handy! After the last year, I am investing time into actual self care practices, not just engaging in escapism. I need to fill the well after helping my kids through *gestures wildly at everything*.

@LeeUThey’re delightful! Whoever said art needed to be serious all the time? And who wants to hang with the guy that said it? He sounds like no fun.

@CeeJay I think it actually might have been someone’s custom build. It’s marked clearly as an FT31, but that’s not a number they manufactured a lot of, I guess. I gave Arturo the numbers on the plate and he sent me 2 wiring diagrams, and my kiln uses elements of both. It’s got the thumb wheel, a timer, a kiln sitter, and it has a really rudimentary set of servo motors that turns the kiln up at different rates. It’s like a weird steampunk version of an electronic control panel.

Contact Cress. They’re really nice.

Shhhh! It looks deliberate. No one else noticed this. I like the soft lines.

It’s my most recent pottery related purchase.

Is this a case of all vacations are trips, but not all trips are vacations?

You and I have very different ideas of what a vacation is.

I think using cullet made from window glass as a a frit in a glaze is one of those things that is possible in a realm of infinite possibilities, but could be more trouble than it’s worth if you’re trying to build a glaze for functional use. Since the OP is referencing a mug, that’s what I’m assuming we’re after. Float (window) glass has less alumina and silica than bottle glass does, and contains lots of sodium from a couple of sources which are germane for refining bubbles out, but not ceramic purposes. It’s also got lime, so some calcium and magnesium. There’s no boron in it, so I’m not sure how it’d act as a borosilicate frit. (For borosilicate, you’d need older Pyrex, or lab glass). You’d have to do a lot of testing to fine tune window glass cullet in a recipe, given you don’t know the exact proportions of the materials used. Plus, it’s a LOT of hot, sweaty work in a respirator to pound it into powder. The COE of window glass is approximately 8.4. Ceramic glazes tend to be somewhere in the 6-7 range, depending. If you’ve got chunks of glass in a glaze as in the picture the OP provided, they’re going to pull away from each other, creating stress fractures in the work. I bet that mug in the example picture weeps if they used window or bottle glass. Or even some of the colouring stuff sold for use in a glassblowing studio. If we’re talking about a sculptural effect, go right ahead and do whatever wild and whacky thing that makes your experiment hungry heart happy. Science is cool.

They sure aren’t! Glaze isn’t quite the same as glass either, although it shares some ingredients. It’s like the difference between bread and cake. There’s some ingredient crossover and you need to bake (fire) them both, but techniques and times that work for a crusty sourdough will do something awful to a chocolate sponge.

If she used glass in her clay, it’s ill advised on her part. I know it doesn’t stop some people if they don’t see anything going wrong immediately, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. The coe of bottle glass or other commonly available glasses including stains and frits used in a hot shop are too distant from that of most pottery clays. I’ve gone on clay/glass rants before. I don’t know that the internet needs another one. If you want a similar effect, you could try mixing a clear blue glaze as a paste, crumble it and fire the bits just enough so they sinter. This will keep them from dissolving when you add them to another clear or translucent glaze bucket. They should melt together for a similar effect. The Jungle Jems line does something similar I believe.

It’s photo editing day!

I’m on the prairie side of the Rockies, just on the edge of the foothills. A lot of movies set in Montana or Colorado are actually filmed near my city because it looks right, but the exchange rate stretches budgets further. I live in the city, but wood isn’t hard to come by. Various softwoods are plentiful just outside city limits. By fuel burning, I meant I’d be happy with a gas kiln too. Interestingly enough, because of the gas code here, it would be easier to build a Fast Freddie wood kiln in my yard than it would be to buy or build a gas kiln.

So much technology by this definition is stuff that saves on labor and time. I’m with Min. I’d go back to a fuel burning kiln, but keep the rest.

I think some of the issue is coming from the fact that some older designs are still timely and useful (treadle wheels for example). Perhaps some of this could be better articulated as a low tech vs high tech definition. Low tech is typically a simpler design, although may be considered out of date in some instances (various kiln controller advancements, for example). High tech can be defined as being relatively new or having more advanced features (treadle wheel vs one with an electric foot pedal). As far as last week’s discussion went, a 3D printer is basically a jazzed up extruded with a lot of extra features. Incorporating the internet into your daily working life is an evolution of a number of different ways of accessing an audience.

I'm of the opinion that just because I may not be inclined to use a piece of tech in my own practice, that doesn't make it an invalid approach. I've seen some really interesting things done with a 3D printer for mold making, or even for it's own sake. But I am not a drafter, and my mind doesn't think along those precise lines (heh). I will likely never use a 3D printer, but I love the work a friend of mine is doing in printing masters so he can slipcast screw tops for some bottles he's making. I personally dislike using a Giffen grip, but allow that it's a perfectly valid tool for others to use. For me, I think it's a matter of asking whether a given tool will actually assist me in doing what I want to do or what I need to make, and whether or not it's the most efficient and cost effective tool for doing the job. How badly do I want to make a given thing, and is that desire strong enough to motivate me to learn a new skill? Do I want to dedicate the necessary time and energy into doing that? I think various forms of digital presentations of your work or your working process also fall into this category.

Bel Decal’s instructions say that their metallic and china paint decals can be used on glass. So I assume it can be done. But I also know that some stained glass doesn’t do well with heat. Check what the glass manufacturer says about the specific colour way you’re using.

Usually lustres are fired at cone 020-018, roughly in the same neighbourhood as slumping temperatures. So it depends what you want to do with them. The might be compatible with some stained glass, but some glass colours will change at those temperatures.

@oldlady Jim Butcher is an urban fantasy author who's largest and most ongoing series is the 15-book-and-counting Dresden Files. They follow the adventures of Harry Dresden, Chicago's resident wizard. Pres and I discovered we were both reading him in the "what are you listening to in your studio" thread earlier this year. If you'd like more details I'd be happy to share them in dm, but I should probably stop hijacking the thread here.

I mean, you don't live in Canada without learning how to drive in the winter. We'd be at home too much otherwise. I was thinking the boxes would be ideal for butter, as it comes in 1 lb bricks here. These are of a size that they should be able to hold half a pound easily. ( @Pres, yeah Mr. Butcher and I were friends off for a few minutes over that one! There's more than a few bombshells in this one.)

@Pres I’ve only just started making them, but I think the wax resist designs have a lot of potential for play. And the snow won’t last at this point. It’s supposed to go back up around freezing next week. (Also Pres, did you read the latest Dresden yet?)

Sun loosing heat, heh. It's snowing here now.

Yeah, they come in the clamshells here too. The berry bowls do seem to help with the mold situation, but they can dry out a bit if you leave them more than about 3 days. When you use them for grapes and things that tend to be more robust, it keeps the ick factor down better. Honestly, when I first started making them, I thought they were a bit gimicky, but I made them because people asked. I find ours is in almost constant use.