Rae Reich

@Min, do you throw standing up? What’s that tall thing that looks like a shifter beside the wheel pedal?

Using every available inch of space!

For clarification, my concern is about the fact that a vessel with known porosity - leaking - has been thoroughly soaked. Water has infiltrated. Another firing might cause the residual water to leave the pot expeditiously, possibly causing damage.

Not seeing any bars. Your lava glazes are beautiful! Super frothy!!

Does anyone else think that a leaky, glazed low-fire piece that has been wetted will not suffer in a refire? I think there might be some glaze popping off, possibly some cracking or breakage, even if refired to the same temp. One way to tell …

If you keep a bucket of water and a large car washing sponge nearby and wipe down your clay areas as the dust accumulates and then drop all the towels into it at the end of the day for a rinse, you can reduce the amount of dust in the air. also, No Vacuuming!! (Unless you have a wonderful system like Mark C that sends the dust outside. )

Instead of a foot ring, attach 3 separate leaf-like shapes for feet?

Your slip body looks like it self-glazed a little. The broken exposed areas are pretty shiny. Is this a body made for the same firing temp as your throwing body?

Hi, Nancy I’ve seen plastic wrap used to slow drying on the bottom. Might have to re-wet the clay under it for good sticking. Your pots look great!!

Thanks, @PeterH, for the cool research! I’ve been speculating about the supports used as the quevri are formed in the article on Georgian production. The irregular, yet effective, legs look a bit like stone or wood. Anyone know for sure?

Hi, Nancy! Glad you’re back to your project. Technically, I think it’s not the thickness of the walls but the soundness of them that keeps vessels whole under the pressure of the contents. You want to have a consistent thickness and no cracks for good drying and firing. A five foot tall jar might need up to 2” thickness, a two foot jar maybe less than 1”, but that is for strength during construction and firing, not strength against internal pressure, which comes from no cracks or fissures. (Burial was both the preventative and the cure for ancient cracked vessels.) There are YouTube videos of coiling large jars. Generally, the coils are about 1”-1 1/2” in diameter - human hand scale.

@PeterH, that would be great! Glad my fuzzy memories triggered your recollection. I think the transience of the objects was part of the aesthetic.

Maybe I also heard what @Babsis remembering. Back in the 70s I heard of an enterprising itinerant Raku potter with just a wheel and a little propane kiln. He would make tea bowls and fire them immediately to sell immediately to thrilled customers. At the time, it was thought to be a similar method to older Japanese Raku traditions. I think the goal of the old method would be to produce many useful items in a short time.

Think you might try some with some light colored underglaze decoration?

Cone 06 clay, fired to temp, is still porous enough for coasters. Non-porous bottoms are essential. A texture or shallow design on the upper surface will impede sticking to the vessel.

@Babs, that’s a difficult question. When I gift a piece to be used that way, I include a box of Floral Clay and have the frog already secured in place. That’s because I prefer to have a piece with multiple uses so I don’t make it permanent. It could be that customers at sales don’t want so many choices - a vase is a vase and can’t be a nut dish! That may be why @Min glues them. Also precludes lengthy instructions.

+1

I’ve always used Floral Clay or Florist’s Clay, just like my Granny. It’s green, oil based and pretty sticky. Can be re-kneaded to re-use. Lasts for years. Amazon or craft stores or - florists.

I’d try a thin rutile wash.

If it’s really unfired clay it can still be softened with water and you can stick a product like @JohnnyK recommends fairly well. Or you can, wit permission, file down the gnarly edges and smooth it as though it’s a collar, then paint to match. If it is plaster, moisten the area before dabbing on plaster patch. Pins or bamboo skewers might work better than dowels as anchors, pre-drill holes carefully.

I think @Minmay be right. I had similar breaking when my kiln was cooling draftily and unevenly. It happens if the pieces are on top with the lid cracked, or beside an open peephole early in the cooling. The difference between the dense hotter shelf and the cooling plate can be a factor in uneven cooling.

I think you want an engobe. You mix the stain, might take a lot, into a slip-like medium that you paint on. When it’s fired, it still will look unglazed, but will not rub off.

@oldlady’s advice worked well for me when I reconstituted ^06 glazes and underglazes that had dried up in their jars. The coffee grinder idea is good if you need them faster than patiently waiting several days or longer (except for glazes with suspended crystals like Dalmatian or Tutti Frutti). Passing the re-wetted glaze through a strainer will even out lumps for consistency.

Although clay ain’t dirt, it’s dirt enough!

I think the position of those lumps and ridges on the strap handle are what made it comfortable for the customer, having made a few unconventional mug handles myself. Don’t fash y’self trying to replicate and prepare the customer for a reasonable facsimile.