[QotW: What tools that are not specifically for ceramics would you recommend a potter have in their shop?]

Even keeping the tools to a minimum it sure takes a lot of stuff to run a pottery doesn't it!

On a side note, I have used the metal paint mixers for glazes for quite some time but recently found some odd little shavings of plastic in my glaze. Guess I wore the mixers edges down enough so that they got sharp and started shaving the sides of my buckets. A few months ago I switched to one of these plastic octopus type stir whip ones, seems to be working well without cutting up my buckets or making air bubbles in the glaze.

 

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[White raised bumps after glaze firing]

18 hours ago, Kelly in AK said:

For the people considering this problem, could materials agglomerate or crystallize in a glaze that’s sat around long enough and cause this? 

I've had glazes with wollastonite agglomerate in the bucket over time, I usually find it had done this when I go to dip and pot and find a raised hard bit on the surface. The bits are little, about the size of a pinhead. If the first pot shows one of these then I re- sieve the glaze and usually find a few more. I would hazard a guess that they won't fire out but remain as a hard little pinhead sized bit on the fired glaze if they aren't removed.

[Standard Clay's New Formulas]

@Clay17, sorry the clay didn't work but thank you for sharing your results. Your findings are helpful for anyone using Standard 563 and a good reminder to test for absorption.

[White raised bumps after glaze firing]

I believe 0.20 mm is a 70 mesh grog. Like others have said I would sand down or break a pot open and see what is below the bump. I've used clay that has 70 mesh silica sand added and found a few bits that are much much larger than what would go through a 70 mesh screen so it might just be some larger bits of grog that are protruding from the fired clay as the clay shrinks during the glaze firing. If you have a glaze sieve I would also do as others have said and run the glaze through the sieve and see what is left in it.

[White raised bumps after glaze firing]

7 hours ago, k77 said:

Then W11 25 02 has 25% grog at a a size of 0.2. 

The clay has 25% grog that you are using? If this is correct that sounds more like a sculpture body than one suitable for plates. 

[Bisque fired too low? Earthenware]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

This is a difficult question to answer, we don't know how long the kiln fired or how hot it got or if your glaze fire will be hotter or cooler than the bisque fire was supposed to be. Given that it's a lowfire talc/ball clay body it shouldn't off gas a huge amount but it's a crap shoot. 

[Organic Clay Textures]

Do you use Lana Wilson's "magic water"?  I was thinking that using this for all or part of the water content in the slip would probably help the sandy/groggy slip to stick to the pot.

[Organic Clay Textures]

10 hours ago, Rosie S said:

I found the picture on Pinterest while searching texture on clay but i believe the name was eriquetta cepeda.  I am not sure how I was suposed to give credit but please let me know and how I can fix it so that the artist does get credit or if you need to take down the photo.  Thank you

 

We just ask that that credit is given to the artist if the work isn't made by the member who posts the image.  You have given credit so all is good. It's also helpful for people to know who the artist is so finding information about them or their process is easier. Google lens is helpful to search an image also.

[Making casting slip from reclaim clay]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Just to confirm,  the casting slip you made is from reclaimed pugged clay? If so then yes you will need to add a deflocculent such as Darvan. To increase the specific gravity you will need to evaporate some of the water off the slip. First deflocculate a test cup amount then let it evaporate to get the specific gravity.

Be aware that not all pugged clays are suitable for turning into casting slip due to the salts and particle sizes of some clay bodies.  Very little Darvan is necessary, just add a drop at a time to a small test amount until the slip thins out but don't overdue it. Flow of casting slip is also really important, when you put your hand into a bucket of properly deflocculated slip it should web between your fingers when you pull your hand out. I have simplified the process here, specific gravity, deflocculation, viscosity and mixing time are all important. There is a good article explaining this in much more depth here if you need it.

[Organic Clay Textures]

Hi Rosie and welcome to the forum!

Yes, it does look like the artist applied a thick extremely sandy or groggy slip to the piece. I would suggest adding sand or grog to slip made from the same clay and applying it as soon as possible to the damp pot.

Would you mind adding the name of the artist as per Terms of Use which asks that if the work isn't made by the member they give credit to the artist, thanks.

[QotW: What tools that are not specifically for ceramics would you recommend a potter have in their shop?]

Not just tools but, multimeter, hammer, metric tape measure / ruler, old towels, mop, thin plastic sheeting, music / podcasts / audiobooks, diamond sanding pad.

I think that generally speaking people starting out in clay tend to get too many tools and over time pare it down to fewer essential ones. 

[Kaolin wash for bisque ceramics]

I think something might have been lost in translation. Makes more sense that it is an engobe that Hild uses.

Example work below from Forrest Gard with a similar finish, albeit a little coarser, using one of Rhodes engobe recipes. If the engobe was sprayed on dry clay then polished with a diamond pad after firing I think it would very much resemble the finish on Hild's work. For her chocolate black pieces there must be other ingredients to maintain the dark chocolate black colour.

 

 

[Mason Stains in Porcelain Slip]

7 hours ago, grackle said:

Okay, so after mixing the stain with a frit or GB, I then add water, and then my stain will hopefully not sink right to the bottom, but remain in suspension longer and brush on (i usually brush on for design purposes) more evenly.  That would be wonderful!!  And the refractory part means that the color of some stains works more accurately than others?  In terms of heat?

Stain + frit + kaolin (epk is fine)  or stain + gerstley borate will both suspend better than stain alone or with just frit. Still need to stir it while using it but it won't sink so quickly.

 Refractory means the substance doesn't melt very well by itself. Example would be  the chrome green stains tend to be refractory, that is to say the surface will be dry and resist melting either with or without a covering glaze. Chrome green stains need more "melter", either a frit or gerstley borate in this example to bond with the underlying clay. Some other stains, like cobalt blues are more "melty" and won't need as much frit or gerstley borate. Rough rule of thumb would be 1/3 stain, 1/3 frit and 1/3 kaolin OR 1/2 stain and 1/2 gerstley borate, measured in parts of volume not weight. Like everything else try a tiny bit on a test piece before committing real work to it. If the result is too dry then increase the frit or gerstley borate, if it's too melted then decrease those. If the colour is too intense (cobalt blues probably will be) then decrease the stain.

 

[chromium oxide and Manganese Oxide]

What cone are you firing to and are the pots non functional? Chrome will be quite dry and rough without flux added at both low and midrange. 

[Mason Stains in Porcelain Slip]

@grackle, are you using the stains + water as a wash? Typically when stains are used as a wash they are mixed with a frit or gerstley borate to help them bond with the clay during firing. Some people use 50:50 stain and gerstley borate, others use up to 50% frit (3124 or 3134 typically) and some kaolin to help suspension along with the stain. Some stains are more refractory than others so there isn't a hard and fast rule for proportions. Chrome green stains are quite refractory.

[Cone 6 Body W/ Low Warping & Water Absorption]

Another thing you can do is make a slab the same thickness as the height of the feet, make it at the same time as you roll the slabs for the pot so it's the same moisture level. After attaching the feet sit the pot on the slab and then keep it there during drying, bisque and glaze fire. (assuming there is no glaze underneath the pot base) Stops the pot slumping and pulling the sides off kilter.

Support slab doesn't need to be the full size of the base but big enough to cover the centre area mostly. 

7 hours ago, mrcasey said:

I've noticed that a lot of the expensive Chinese and Japanese antique bonsai pots have some warping.  Maybe unless I want to use modern mold methods, I just have to live with it?        

I don't think there is a right or wrong way of looking at this, it's what you like it to be.

[G200 vs G200HP]

Given there is only 20 spar in the Bright Sky Blue recipe and I'm guessing you probably have Custer I would just use that in place of the G200-HP. Tiny difference in the sodium and potassium but when added together they total the same in both formulas below. Highly doubt this will make a difference to the glaze.

Round of the numbers to make things simpler. For a 100 gram test batch I'ld round to the tenth decimal point. 

Bright Sky Blue BASE ONLY ^6

 

[G200 vs G200HP]

Might matter, might not. What's the recipe? 

[Is there anyway to smooth out bumpy glaze?]

How many coats of underglaze did you put on and did you allow each coat to dry before the next? Also, how thick was the underglaze when you used it? Underglaze can lift and bubble up if applied too thickly, looks like what might be going on with your mug rim in that area.

[Confused Newbie. Cone 6 base matte not firing as expected]

2 hours ago, cwells said:

added cobalt

Cobalt acts as a flux. Was there cobalt in both samples?

Welcome to the forum!

[Pin marks on pottery?]

 Crazing, crawling and pinholes all on one pot.  Beautiful. Glaze marries with the pot to fit in harmony. In the case of the rabbit do the pinholes add or detract?

Shino Tea Ceremony Bowl by Suzuki Tomio

 

[Turning your hobby into a business]

26 minutes ago, DirtRoads said:

But yeah, being photogenic is probably key to be at the top.

I have had my daughters help at many markets, I don’t know if it’s their looks or age but they definitely are a draw. 

Perhaps I shouldn’t say this and I’m opening a can of worms but the fact remains they can draw people in and increase sales. Majority  of my customers are women.

[Laguna Frost ^6 users (glaze fit content)]

12 hours ago, Morgan said:

I am not sure I want to bother with the trouble of trying to get glazes to fit...

My thinking was if you could demonstrate you got a bad batch then it might be worth trying again. Adding silica to the body could very well decrease or stop the glazes from crazing. If you showed Laguna this then they should replace your clay.

Mark brought up a good option with Tacoma Art Center or Seattle Pottery Supply, they both have their own version of a NZ porcelain. I've used the one from Tacoma, it's a nice claybody to work with and very white. Haven't tried the one from SPS.

[Turning your hobby into a business]

On 3/2/2023 at 2:21 PM, GEP said:

The best advice comes from people with years of first hand experience with selling.

+1.

I would expand this to include hands on experience with everything from making pots and glazes, working on kilns and selling pots. Real world experience. 

1 hour ago, suetectic said:

...the most successful people right now are instagram(algorithm) savvy and photogenic.

Wouldn't this depend on who and where ones market and / or audience is?

[Masonite on plywood bats]

A new product out made from rice hulls is interesting, it's expensive though. Wonder how it would be for making batts with. It's good for exterior applications and can be cut with woodworking tools.