Rae Reich

Wow! It really looks like RiOx-in-wax stamping through freshly sprayed glaze while it’s still wet. The sharpness of the impression seems like a metal die. The wax resist would keep the iron from spreading on a nice stable glaze.

I commend your pitching in to bring your daughter more happiness and peace of mind. All of us who love clay know how much it will be appreciated. You could also inquire at the studio she uses and their clay supplier (and other local suppliers) about used wheels; potters advertise where other potters can see.

I think @Bill Kielb was recommending that the D rings be epoxied directly to the clay, without the wood blocks. That is what I would do today, just because adding the wood is unnecessary and adds a possible weak point if the wood splits.

@LeeU, I like that very much. The title suits it.

@C.Banks, did you blow smoke through the kiln and stack to find the leaks?

I epoxied 2 hardwood blocks (2”x2”x3/8” with small screw eyes into the 3/8” edge) to the unglazed high-fired stoneware back of an 18” platter and strung it with picture hanging wire (highly recommended for weight bearing). It has been hanging now for 50 years. As @Bill Kielb says, correct mixing is essential. I think I’d have used the D-rings if I’d had them.

@Michael W, how did the student pieces dipped in clear come out? If it still showed, Sharpie might be an interesting sketch-on-bisque, underglaze drawing technique.

Agree with @Babs, might as well go ahead and glaze them and hope it burns out. I don’t think there’s any other way to undo it. I, too, am curious about what paper you used!?

Did you want to use the ^6 pots as canvas for the pastels, with no further firing?

Reconsidered my reply…

Floor: I wouldn’t rest weight in it in any case, it will compress and be unstable beneath posts and also acquire uncleanable debris. Lid: Board installed so it doesn’t abrade would be better than the fiber, although it may warp. Walls: If you’re used to avoiding fiber walls already, the board can reduce some anxiety since it’s less likely to send fibers into the air when bumped.

Hard to imagine the wax not gunking up the screen before many passes, but you might try thickening it with actual gelatin, dissolved in hot water. ??

I could have learned more at school by hanging out with the lab techs during firings, but I never expected to have my own kiln. I also didn’t understand how observing the firings and their effects could help my work. Lucky for me, I got a job with more experienced potters who taught me bisque and ^10 firing and how and why to keep logs. I couldn’t pass up the chance for a kiln of my own after that, so I learned a whole lot more, by trial and error and potter friends and firing partners. Every kiln is a new adventure.

Have a great fair! Our Street Fair, which began much as yours, full of arts and crafts, devolved over the years into a profit-making enterprise with mostly food and beer as the attractions. Many of us miss it. Yours sounds like lots of fun and ART!!

Back a few decades ago, we students at Santa Ana College were able to go over to Aardvark, where they were mixing and bagging their clays, press our thumbs into the bags and choose which boxes to buy. Those were the days! Has anyone tried recently, on volume orders, to request softer clay?