Bam2015

Nothing is more irritating than someone asking me if they spent several hours in my studio would I teach them how to make tile.    I have made thousands of tiles over the last  20 years and feel like I will never know everything about tiles.  I have been a potter since I was 11 years old and fell in love with clay.   I just turned 71 in October  getting ready to head out to my studio,  still a potter.  Denice

it is true, henry, that the appeal can wear off once a person starts actually working on something that has so many steps that cause serious frustration when something fails.    your oven, even on 'self clean' is nowhere near the amount of heat needed to go from clay to ceramic.   
i have introduced 2 people to making items to be used.   one decided she was not in love with making and should be spending money on acquiring beautiful pieces made by others.   the second realized that she hated handling wet clay and washed her hands several times before she left.  " looks like fun, but i hate the ooze."
trying  out something before commitment is a sensible way to go.   find someone whose work you admire and ask for a private session to see if it is worth pursuing.   you do not "do pottery"  you become a potter.
air dry clay is not clay and will never become ceramic or useful except to look at.

Wow  . . . while I always explain to my students just how long I spent learning enough to begin life as a professional potter (9 years with classes, the least 3 yrs were 30+ hr weeks),  words are all you got to prepare them for likely the most difficult  'hands-on'  endeavor the student has ever attempted, and they rarely suffice.
While I can speak to folks who have learned to play a fine instrument, I can convey - to some degree - the difficulty of the task in front of them. I tell them to recall when "less noise" was a 'victory' and apply that rate of progress to the wheel . . . and that helps . . . but the difference is that every music student has been told many times - for multiple years - "how difficult" learning to play is.  So,  music students are 'prepared' for the inevitable early lack of music and prevalence of "noise".
Not so the average pottery student . . . "I've seen 'Ghost' (the movie) "You can't tell me pottery is hard to do" is a quote from a 30-something yr old man I know.
Nobody spends any great amount of time telling their children how difficult pottery is and how long it will take even if they work hard. It hurts "exceptionally competent" people's feelings to be so bad at anything . . . much less,  something "as simple as pottery must be."
 
I will from now on use these words,  
"you do not "do pottery"  you become a potter."
 
Thanks,  old lady !!
 

A little ceramics in 7th grade and 9th grade, like one or two projects, but then I didn't touch clay until my junior year of college. I jumped headfirst into it though, and made up for lost time. I was a math major before going into art, so it was a difficult transition in some ways. From my bio on my web page:
I was very concerned about my future, as there aren't a lot of jobs for potters (shocking, I know), and was even more troubled about the mental health of my parents, who were already reeling from my decision to abandon my actuarial ambitions. After several long conversations with my ceramics professor during which he tried to ease my fears about earning potential and financial stability, he finally said the words that would seal the deal:

"If you are passionate about it, you'll make it work. Boom."

Okay, he didn't say 'Boom',  but I definitely heard it in my head and felt it in my soul.
And here we are now. He was right. His name was Dick Luster, and he was one of the most influential people I've ever had in my life. He died a couple of years ago, and I was surprised at how hard it hit me, considering that we hand't talked for a number of years (cause life and distance and all those excuses). I hadn't really given him enough credit for the path my life has taken.

Thought this was a good time (seeing it is American Thanksgiving), to put out a thank you to the potters on this forum who give selflessly of their knowledge and time to help other potters.  Together you have built a great resource and you are very much appreciated.  
 

Dip, but I have only been using clear glazes the past couple of years so I am now mixing my own glazes. 

Dip, but I have only been using clear glazes the past couple of years so I am now mixing my own glazes. 

It was just my humble opinion.  Didn't mean to offend anyone.

It was just my humble opinion.  Didn't mean to offend anyone.

Well, that will be fun to watch. Love the British version. Would prefer to see a more accomplished ceramic artist associated with the show, but Rogen  has the popularity & the money, so why not? 

I use the cheapest stick/hand/immersion blender I can find. They tend to wear out faster than with kitchen use due to the abrasiveness of the glaze materials, but they work great.

I have 2 of those that I picked up at a thrift store for $5 apiece. I also use a small coffee grinder for turning hardened glazed into powder, also around $5...

That is a bummer! Beautiful piece. Don't give up!
Betty

You can do it either way, but people seem to be more willing to buy if shipping is included in the price, even when that price is higher. Plus it simplifies things because they know how much the item will actually cost them before they go through the  checkout process.

I’ve also found that having a shipping included price on the website eliminates confusion. I never use the words free shipping, because shipping isn’t free, and especially in Canada you can’t afford to just eat any part of it. 
Back when I had my etsy shop, they were beginning the push for all vendors to have “free” shipping. I was annoyed with the whole thing, and thought that people were smart enough to recognize that shipping charges would be extra, and that it wouldn’t affect buying behaviour. I was so annoyed, I decided to run a test in my own shop just to prove it. I made listings for my mugs, some with shipping included and some without. I wound up eating crow, because people absolutely bought the $60 mugs over the $40 + $20 mugs.  

As a consumer as well as a seller I prefer including the cost of shipping in the price of the items. In a policies section I state that the price includes the shipping fee, at cost (UPS or whatever method). Keeps life simple and it stings less on the buyers end when going to check out. I often think twice when I see the shipping cost, because some of the rates just really irk me--I'm happier not having it shoved in my face.  It's just easier to swallow and if I do comparative shopping on the item, I can do the math and tell right away that the inclusive price is not an inflated price. I also prefer "shipping included" to "free shipping"-no such thing!

First guess is two or more layers of different colored slips/underglazes on textured porcelain, then scraped, followed by sanding after bisque to really clean it up. Whatever she’s doing it’s marvelous. 

Yes , folk get that haloed effect when carving layered coloured slips in the sgraffitti technique.

I like the Bailey Nitrate bonded shelves -they are as good as the advancers -I have tested them now with a over 80 cone 11 fires and they are in every way the same if not better as the corners are nicely rounded.
I always buy the best shelves that never warp.
In my 50 years at this I have a stacks of what was best at the time-thick mullit shelves-silicone carbide -the 70s and 80s) -then 1 inch heavy english dry pressed (mid 80s) and then advancers and Baileys Nitrate bonded (early to mid 90s to present). Once you buy these you never buy another shelve and they save so much space and are so light.

I bought Corederlite shelves for my new L&L kiln,  I was told then that they had fixed the warping problem.   I don't have enough firings on them to know if they warp.   I will tell you that I was disappointed that they were heavier than I expected.   You shouldn't have too much trouble lifting the regular 15 inch shelves.   You could buy a Corederlite shelf to use as your bottom shelf,  that is always the hardest one for me to pick up of the 20 inch shelves.    You can always work with half shelves,  some kiln loading instructions recommend using only  half shelves.   I bought the lighter shelves because I am 70 years old and thinking of my future  kiln loading and unloading.     Denice

Thank you Hulk. I am going to watch this tonight. 
Betty

Nice article. Nothing like a clay community. I wish that real estate wasn't so expensive where I live otherwise I would start a community studio/coop. 
Betty

Recently I started using pieces of a painters plastic drop sheet to cover pots as I had misplaced the roll of a different brand of plastic sheeting I had been using for years. There is a marked difference in the drying rate between the two types of plastic. It got me wondering about why this was happening.
Turns out there are at least 3 types of plastic sheeting that are broadly available and they have measurable differences in water vapour permeability.  Low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC). I don't know what the original plastic sheeting I was using was made from or the brand, it's a large roll that I've been using for many years.  The painters plastic drop sheet I just started using is this one. My hunch is that it's the type of plastic that is making the noticeable difference. Going forward I'm going to experiment further, pots I want to dry slower will get the drop sheet plastic and for ones I want to dry quicker my original roll of plastic. I should add all the pots were covered in my usual manner. 

Yes I know that Laguna purchased the remainders of the closed mine. But what they said at the time is “there is enough GB to last through the life spans of all current potters.” That’s why the price hike is confusing. It could just be greed, not shortage. 

Earl, 
Welcome! Yes, this is the place. I say that from the perspective of a frequent question asker, not advice giver. This forum is filled with friendly, knowledgeable, creative and generous individuals. 
Betty