Zygote
-
Content Count
18 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
-
Wadding Use In Electric Kiln At Cone 6
Zygote replied to Panamax's topic in Studio Operations and Making Work
I completely see the point in your question. It's a smart craftsman should always have several answers to common problems. I haunt different potters kilns as often as I can and it's forced me to get into the habit of using wadding in all cases, even in my own cone 6 electric. No problem. By mixing up a small batch and keeping it wrapped up and in tupperware is keeps just fine for months. As far as cost goes, it's cheap, less than 3 bucks a batch and it will save hundreds of dollars worth of work from becoming worthless. Well worth the effort and cost. Ceramic Arts Daily has an article with a tried and tested wadding recipe that works great and knocks off easily. Here's the link... The only difference is that I don't prefire the wads like they do in the article, just use it like normal wads and call it good. -
Thanks for the Wiki BlogRoll Link. I'm off the put that one to work right now.
-
So... What's Your Loss Leader?
Zygote replied to Zygote's topic in Business, Marketing, and Accounting
My studio thrives on repeat customers. For me, using a loss leader helps establish a connection with new customers and puts a tangible item in their hands. After the first transaction, customers usually feel safe with investing in larger purchases. -
I know blue works. I use it for both wax and glazes
-
I know a lot of you are like me... I love pawing through ceramics blogs first thing every morning. If you have 'em...it's time to share. Time to start The Blogger's Roll Call... Zygote at http://fetishghost.blogspot.com/
-
My current studio kiln is an old Paragon . It's a 240 single phase DK 1029-2 rated to cone 8, but it'd be hard pressed to get to cone 8 now a days. There aren't any special bells and whistles on this beast. No computer controller or kiln vents, just a kiln sitter and 3 knobs, each controlling a separate bank of elements. I fire this old work horse 3 or 4 times a month to bisque and cone 6. Other than replacing a few rouge elements and the kiln sitter, it's been a very dependable kiln.
-
So far the word is that it's a stuck relay, replacing the "infinity switch" should make the fix. Quick and easy eh?
-
24 hours into this weekend's bisque firing I knew something was up. This usually takes only 12 hours tops, but I still hadn't hit cone 04 yet. Thinking I might had blown and element, I checked... looking through the spy-holes, I could see a representative section from each bank of the elements glowing. Quizzed, I turned off the kiln, but the bottom bank went right on going even though the switch was turned to the off position. Run Away Kiln While I wait for the kiln to cool I'm wondering if anyone who has had this problem before can zero me in on the problem?
-
I just checked out your web page Cris and it's great! It's lots of fun to check out and works very well at drawing you in.
-
11" h by 7"w Soda fired canister with a paper stenciled cobalt slipped design. Glazed using a fashing wash on the exterior and a stiff Hamada White glaze for the rim and interior.-
- 1
-
-
- horsehair raku
- raku
- (and 96 more)
-
Putting the finishing touches on a cairn. -
Kiln Vents Kits, Necessary Or Not
Zygote replied to AndyL's topic in Studio Operations and Making Work
Kiln vents, (aside from removing lots of nasty stuff from your kiln room,) are particularly useful for creating that oxidation atmosphere that is your electric kiln's strength. We always play to the strengths of our kiln. For the cash... a kiln vent is totally worth the money. -
It's that time of year... yet again, where we have to make decisions and dive right in and see if we'll sink or swim for another season. (I'm still stuck in dog paddle mode.) I've been learning lately about "Loss Leaders" from helpful local full time potters. The weird thing is that the term "Loss Leader" apparently means different things to everyone I talked to. Artists, craftsmen, and galleries all had differing ideas regarding this... Wikipedia says: " A loss leader or leader is a product sold at a low price (at cost or below cost) to stimulate other, profitable sales. It is a kind of sales promotion, in other words marketing concentrating on a pricing strategy. The price can even be so low that the product is sold at a loss. A loss leader is often a popular article. Sometimes leader is now used as as a related term and means any popular article, in other words one sold at a normal price. For some of us in the arts, this can simply be a product or design that effectively raises our heads above the crowd. This can be something that brings people into your booth, or pull someone to walk into the gallery, or something that simply generates enough revenue to keep the ball rolling. Over the past year, I've used stenciled yunomi and chawans to bring in new clients and consistently fund the next kiln load of work. This has been my loss leader... Creating these works are very time intensive, but so far seems to be working. I'm selling works and keeping the kilns firing while I continue growing. What's your loss leader for this spring? We all love pictures! (Hint, Hint, Wink, Wink...)
