Min

For me it was my mixer pugmill. It was a big chunk of money and in my mind I couldn't justify buying one for many years. Then I tore off the long head of my bicep in my right arm (turns out you shouldn't try and outdo your niece while tubing) and I fully realized how much wear and tear making pots for years can do on your body. My shoulder and arm healed up, bicep is as strong as ever but having a machine to do some of the grunt work is something I wish I'ld been able to buy much earlier on.

Oval oil bottle prototype (to use with silicone and stainless pouring spouts).

It's always an odd feeling when you see one of your pots at a 2nd hand store. What is really funny is I once found one that they were selling for more than I originally sold it for Can't say that I've ever bought one back to trash. Maybe another way of looking at Mark's question is how many pots did you make before you no longer felt like you wanted to take a hammer to them after a few years more of making pots.

Hi Wcrowe and welcome to the forum! Lt-3K will be the model of the kiln sitter on the kiln, not of the kiln itself. Manuals for Duncan kilns about 1/3 the way down this from Paragon, it should have the height info in the manual. The kiln will have a faceplate on it with the kiln model number etc, you can see the model numbers in the link.

I've seen them made like this but for my style the simple ones I make suit my aesthetic more. (plus they are relatively fast with no joining) Thanks though!

Thanks Liam! Good idea Mark, I've got a round cookie cutter, I'll try that out next time.

Trimming the openings in salt pigs. Think it takes me longer to try and get the holes cut more or less evenly and round than it takes to throw them.

Depends on the structure of the claybody, have to measure the porosity, which is different than absorption. It's my understanding that if the clay has a somewhat open pore structure, that is to say there are little tunnels (for lack of a better description) in the body then when absorbed water is frozen it has somewhere to go when it expands. So, either zero absorption and porosity like a porcelain body or a body with absorption and porosity but within a specific range. I have the info regarding procedure and figures somewhere, if you want me to dig it out @Denice let me know and you can run your own tests on whatever body you are thinking of using.

@High Bridge Pottery, part of the duties of a moderator is to give warnings when unsafe practices are being posted. Our roles are not outlined in the Terms of Use but we have an additional private set of Moderator Guidelines we are asked to adhere to.

On another thread Mea brought up the fact that working in clay is not inexpensive. I started thinking about how much I've spent over the years on equipment, glaze lab materials, building modifications etc. My question would be how much do you think you spent setting up your own studio?

@shawnhar, if the clay is isn't too dry you can use a straw to cut the holes with. Snip the end of the straw at an angle, the clay you are removing stays in the straw which you can cut off after you've finished punching holes. (milkshake straws are a good size or for bigger holes bubble tea straws)

Sad news, one of the greats, Warren MacKenzie, passed away on December 31. Truly a big loss. http://www.startribune.com/world-famous-minnesota-potter-warren-mackenzie-dies-at-94/503729332/

Hi Tom, sure..... ^10 - flashing slips - soda - front / back

100% agree, it gets downright creepy sometimes. No, I don't want to be checked out after telling someone what I do for a living and they make the Ghost comment. Creepy creepy creepy!!!!!

Denice, do you by any chance have a photo of one of yours? If I can get the design to work I want to try a couple sizes of bowls too. I was thinking of the old Beatrix Potter porridge bowls but taller with the front partially cutaway. Did you make bowls also?

Prototype dinner plate for a disabled family member, she has partial use of one hand, paralyzed on the other side. Theory is she will be able to push her fork to the curved in back edge of the plate to keep the food on the fork. Front edge of plate is smooth and rounded over so she can rest her wrist either on that or the table.

What makes the most sense of everything I read is it was a marketing move. Playing off words that use names in a generic way, like “peeping Tom” or “Jim-dandy” “Jolly Roger” etc. The “z” sound in lazy with the first “s” in susan just was pleasing to the ear of a marketing person. Seems the term was first published in a Vanity Fair advertisement for a “Revolving Server or Lazy Susan” in 1917. It was described as “An impossibly low wage for a good servant and the cleverest waitress in the world.” From what I read they have been around since the 1700’s, when they were called whirling domestics or dumbwaiters.They were silent waiters hence the word “dumb”. Landowners who couldn’t afford enough servants used them to help with the serving. (this term went on to become the small freight elevator by that name) I spent way too much time reading about them today, got to the point where I felt I was going around in circles.

My suggestion for a question of the week would be do you have any ceramics trivia that isn’t common knowledge? I make quite a few Lazy Susan’s every year and inevitably get comments from women named Susan. I spent some time today looking up the origin of the name, turns out it wasn’t named after a lazy woman named Susan after all.

https://www.doi.gov/iacb/act From the above link: "The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-644) is a truth-in-advertising law that prohibits misrepresentation in the marketing of Indian arts and crafts products within the United States. It is illegal to offer or display for sale, or sell any art or craft product in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian Tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization, resident within the United States. For a first time violation of the Act, an individual can face civil or criminal penalties up to a $250,000 fine or a 5-year prison term, or both. If a business violates the Act, it can face civil penalties or can be prosecuted and fined up to $1,000,000."

@PDWhite, I think this is a great topic. I moved your post to the Equipment Use and Repair section as I see it being a thread in itself. I expect there will be a lot of interest for the knowledge you possess regarding the process and ramifications of electric kiln reduction. Welcome to the forum, glad you found us!

If I had to choose just one style of surface decoration I would have to go with soda fired pots with flashing slips. It's not something I can do on a large enough scale to have soda pots for sale though. For pots that I sell, my glazes are getting more and more simple. I did a rutile blue / variegated visual texture look for a long time but a few years ago I started introducing semi matte glazes in mostly white with some gray and a coloured translucent liner glaze. Wasn't sure how they would sell because the look is quite simple. My white glaze now outsells the razzmatazz and it's what I prefer. I find myself getting more and more minimalist with my glazes. I'm not one for busy surfaces, I can appreciate the beauty of such work but it's not me. I've also noticed that with the calmer / simpler glazes I'm attracting a younger demographic of shoppers.