Judy_in_GA

Carter teaches out of the studio where I took sculpture/handbuilding classes. Whenever he has a sale he always has a children's section so they can buy pottery made for them and that they can afford.

Such precision and beautiful work!

Check out the suggestions and pics from Chilly's post at http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/12465-filling-the-kiln-with-tiles/

I think your main shelves/tables look great. Your stock is grouped and accessible. I would lose the small table to the left ... unfortunately it reminds me of a garage sale table. Really love the fencing! I agree more under lighting/different color. What was your best selling item?

Babs ... I considered using wax resist but was afraid it might fill up the texture too much to get a good impression. Thanks for the vaseline suggestion.

Thanks oldlady ... I always think of shrinkage occurring just from the firing but forgot about from wet to bonedry. Should have asked this question weeks ago!

I searched old posts but couldn't find an answer to this. I used a couple of different sized elephant ear leaves to press texture into a slab, did some additional carving to get texture deep enough and cleaned up the edges. They have been sandwiched between drywall drying for weeks and are completely flat. If I bisque'd these right now I have great molds for future platters. What I want to do is roll a fresh slab over the bonedry slab so that I get both positive and negative molds that are the same size to bisque and that could be used to create texture on the front and back of a slab at the same time. I know that greenware is very fragile but since these are flat and supported fully by the drywall I think that will be less of an issue. But is the fresh clay slab going to stick to the bonedry slab? Should I put something like plastic over the bonedry? Or maybe dust with cornstarch? Clay is ^6 stoneware.

I think the road damage is a fascination because we all imagine someone standing there trailing the tar out along the crack ... just walking back and forth across the road ... out in the middle of nowhere. We have the same fix in GA but not to that degree!

I took a page from your book oldlady and mounted a couple of big hooks just under the edge of my work table on the skirt. The rolling pin is cradled ... It's handy but protected. The opposite side of the table has some of those plastic silverware organizer trays mounted on screws (it's removable) to catch crumbs and tools. One of these days I'll get pics posted of my studio setup ... I've gotten ideas from most everyone here and implemented them all!

Both of the ones I've used multiple times were the kind where the rollers sit in the middle of the table and are adjustable up/down for thickness. One had a wheel and one a crank handle... Both required me to walk back and forth to re-feed the canvas going the other way. The one at the community studio someone was always using the canvas marked for white with their red clay. At least with the rolling pin you can just wash it off.

Thanks for the great details... I always like having the facts of how someone came to a decision since everybody's pros and cons can be different. I also couldn't work out why you couldn't skip the slab roller since it's basic purpose is to get an even thickness slab which is sounded like the tile extruder would do. There always more to consider with how the machinery actually produces work. I would dearly love an electric slab roller ... I've used several different brands manual ones and it always seems like more work than my extra wide rolling pin and thickness strips made from wooden yardsticks.

" I was thinking I could use the 12 inch tile extruder and SKIP the slab rolling step for all my pieces less than 12 inches wide. ... I came to the conclusion this wouldn't really work. " What was the reason this wouldn't work?

Great tip ... I'll remember that next time if someone is brand new. Glad you were able to get it to work!

Algebraist ... You need to choose "My Gallery" from the account page then you can follow the instructions in this post. http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/8679-instructions-for-uploading-images-to-the-gallery/