Magnolia Mud Research

I really liked chalk boards! Much more than white boards of today. It made writing (legibly) much much easier for me. When they converted to all white boards I was devastated and routinely would find some knucklehead wrote on one of the boards with a regular marker. Mostly instructors BTW judging from content and handwriting. Never screeched my chalk .............. unless I wanted to of course.

years ago on clayart David Hendley wrote about his jars with ceramic screw-on lids aka “Homemade Dies”.  Look it up on his website: http://farmpots.com/ 
not as hard (or easy) to do as one might think.  
LT
 

years ago on clayart David Hendley wrote about his jars with ceramic screw-on lids aka “Homemade Dies”.  Look it up on his website: http://farmpots.com/ 
not as hard (or easy) to do as one might think.  
LT
 

I did photos today. Here are some ideas that bear more exploring, although I have to test and see how folks will respond to them. Also, I found a much better alternative to the cover style travel mug lid. It fits a number of mugs in my personal collection. It’s been handy since we’re doing all the home office stuff in the basement so we can have some work/life separation and it’s cold down there. 

There are N95 face masks and there are Surgical N95 face masks. Its surprising how often, and by who, the two are confused

It depends on the piece of equipment and the part. Many manufacturers of pottery equipment; wheels kilns, slab rollers, etc,  use stock parts that are also used in the manufacture of other items, industrial equipment and more.  I agree when it comes to elements. My experience with third party elements over the years has been inconsistent and years ago I decided to only use elements manufactured by the kiln maker. However, fuses, drive belts, bearings, motors, status lights, switches,  insulated wire, switches, electrical connectors, and other parts are often available from other sources.. The key to success is to be sure that the replacement part is either an identical part or a direct replacement. If you aren't confident in your own knowledge, or experience, or that of the source of the replacement part, your only option is  the manufacturer of the equipment that you're repairing.

No food, since my studio is in my trailer (pardon me--mobile home) and I usually eat at my computer, in the living room.  In the studio, coffee, tea, water, always. Mostly coffee, and in my favorite mugs by Steven Zoldak (slip trailed) ,  Andy Hampton (genuine tea dust glaze), and my own. The red clay one gets the heavy traffic.   

I as a professional I need infrastructure -I'm good at supplying  it as well (meaning I have those skill sets). My studio is insulated and has cold water into a lage flat sink-that sink drains into a two tired settling tubs  outside then runs to a timber Bamboo patch. I shovel the clay out of the tubs after it settles  and dry it and throw it away in the trash can.I heat the studio with natural gas heater and alos can heat water on that stove with all metal pan.
In winter the heat also dries the wares as well as warms our bodies.The drying pots is really important midwinter.
I also have speakers and a sound system and pipe tunes into studio from house  with a volume control in studio and one outside in kiln laoding area (must have tunes to work)-also a central  vacuum system for clay dust control. I also have a few telephones on the wall-one in the main studio and one next to my wheel in throwing room.
With all the time i spend in the studio it has to work well. The floor is wood so leg fatigue is cut downas well.

When looking for answers it’s very helpful for all of those who try and help or contribute to a post to have a rough idea of the original poster's experience or knowledge base in regards to their question. 
If a member has been posting here for a while we can get an idea of their experience and try and tailor our replies to reflect what we surmise to be their knowledge / experience level. This is really hard to do with new members or those who post infrequently! 
We all try to be as helpful as possible but the answers can, at times, be more confusing than the questions. Mentioning your experience should get you more relevant answers than us overloading information but we can’t do this without an idea of knowledge / experience.
Including as many details as possible, photos if relevant, and knowledge / experience relevant to the question being asked will hopefully aid everyone is both giving and receiving their questions and comments.
Thank you

Made a "bead popper" from an empty Chap Stick tube.  Automatically centers the hole in the bead.  

I start with daydreaming....see some images in my head and play with them.  Then I sketch...because I will never remember the details of a daydream.  Then I mess around with the clay to see if any of the ideas really have merit...it takes awhile but I sometimes I can get some good results.  I also use props...fancy word for old junk that I collect that has a pleasing form or detail that just screams out to be part of a pottery project.
 

So I spent the last Month off and on to: 
Congratulations Dawn & Ray!
We Just finished the fourth Kiln monitor, interfacing with their Geil car kiln,  and made further improvements to the programming to help folks reduction fire more easily, repeatable, and hopefully share their results with everyone in the pottery community.
First reduction test run was designed to calibrate and hopefully allow schedules to be created that are effective and finish in about eight hours.   From an initial peek inside the kiln, All test tiles reduced everywhere as expected ……… they are on their way to creating cool stuff and sharing their results and new schedules / techniques. Next build I think we are gonna find a cool dressy enclosure though.
Generation  Four- Finished!
Pictures of some of the peek inside the kiln and other stuff below
 

I wonder if the apparent 'bleeding' is a technique used at the time the blue colorant was applied to the pieces - that was the way I achieved similar effect on canvas with water color and pastel crayons.  after lots of practice a "light" stroke with the "right" brush would produce the allusion of bleeding.   
LT
 

Frank Gaydos was generous enough to allow us to post his Frit Substitution Chart here on the forum. It contains a chart of some common frits with substitutions plus a lengthy list of frits with their composition. Included are Ferro, Hommel, Pemco, PotClays and PotteryCrafts. I've added a link to the DigitalFire reference list of frits to include Fusion and other frits not included in the Frank Gaydos pdf. (direct permission from the author, Frank Gaydos, obtained prior to posting here)
Frank Gaydos Frit Substitution Chart Frits.pdf
edit: posting pdf's is new here, it looks like you need to be signed in to open the pdf link

I brought in my herbs two days ago before the frost hit. My plants sit in my window. I can also see the ski runs on Red Lodge Mountain.
My cats and dogs come in and visit regularly. My studio is in a overside 2 car garage of the laundry room. It is very quiet here and I work in peace. I am posting a photo of a hanging pot drying to stein up and continue to form. It is a funny technique but I have saved some larger porcelain pots this way. It takes a few hours. I continue working on other pots while a clapping one regains it's strength!
marcia
 

I would be working too hard with a cart like that, as I had to move 2K from the street to under the kayaks that are covered with a heavy tarp. I load up a horizontal cart, and in 30 minutes had it all moved and stacked on the 12X4 palette I had built to keep them off the concrete.
 
best,
Pres

Working with a coarser clay makes the smooth process  a little slower,  I got into coiling when I was in college.   I took a archeology class that was in a competition with other colleges to replicate  Anazai pottery.  It was held in the pottery studio and I was the only clay person in the class.  The professor taught the class how he thought they made the coiled pots,  I told him he was wrong  that the pots would crack and fall apart.   At the end of the semester we fired them in a trench firing,  my work come out fine the rest was broken shards.     I had a dozen pieces come out of the firing most of them quite large and thin walled.    The professor admitted I was right,  the archeology department  won the competition  with my work.   Denice

Good question - depends! Contemplating over the last few several days - where does the "compel" come from? Somewhere near the top of my list would be thrift and curiosity, also the wish to acquire mastery*.
In ceramics, all are factors for me; mixing one's glazes (should be) less expensive, where curiosity - how does it work - should be a help! How far to go? When the I'm getting the results I want, we'll just have to see from there, eh? So far, I have a few keepers: Wollastonite Clear looks like a home run on the buff, and particularly the red stoneware; Van Gilder's Teal Blue and Variegated; Lakeside Pottery Clear Blue. I want a few shades of green, a red, white, light blue, and clear that works on bmix and light red clays. Hooowever, throwing is the thing; if/when I'm ever satisfied with my throwing, mebbe time to quit. I'm just not finding a rabbit warren of throwing - there's studying how others do, and practice practice practice; there isn't much to read.
 
Other pursuits
   Literature - first degree, English lit, was curious what goes into making a good story. While I still enjoy stories - all kinds - and indulge in analysis (mostly kept to myself), I drifted away from serious study quite some time ago.
  Competitive swimming - over twenty years of coaching, and the decade of competition afore that, I devoured everything written about the sport, technique and training; I just wanted to know what worked and why, then see my team excel (which they did).
  Competitive cycling - there's much less technique involved, haha! I do all my own maintenance, because it's cheaper, and more consistent; it's not easy to find a good wheelbuilder, and if/when you find one, she/he will eventually drift away... A few years ago I ramped off reading everything I could get my hands on - didn't have any new questions, really, and interest in pottery had latched on 'bout then.
Good question - looking back, I've been actively researching something(s) for quite some time now; maybe it's just good for me to be trying to learn something new.
 
*Mastery, hmm, maybe I'm still trying to impress my Dad? Well, looking back, the subjects I dove into have something in common - I just love doing them, so put that inna ya pipe and smoke it!
 

I wonder if the apparent 'bleeding' is a technique used at the time the blue colorant was applied to the pieces - that was the way I achieved similar effect on canvas with water color and pastel crayons.  after lots of practice a "light" stroke with the "right" brush would produce the allusion of bleeding.   
LT
 

If you notice both examples of running/bleeding you posted are blue, most likely a cobalt (carbonate or oxide) wash rather than an underglaze. If you are after blue, I would use a cobalt wash rather than underglaze. Unless it is very thinly applied, cobalt will have a tendency to run or bleed. 

I wonder if the apparent 'bleeding' is a technique used at the time the blue colorant was applied to the pieces - that was the way I achieved similar effect on canvas with water color and pastel crayons.  after lots of practice a "light" stroke with the "right" brush would produce the allusion of bleeding.   
LT
 

Finally settling on a single glaze for all of my work.

Try making 8 lbs. lidded Jars  for the farmers. 

@liambesaw, the way I see it, it’s much better to start out with low prices, and raise them if the pots are flying off the shelf. Compared to starting out with overpriced pots, and having to lower the prices. Especially at a recurring market like a farmers market, where the same customers are going to see the evolution of your prices. 
Also, don’t let others pressure you into raising your prices. Especially from across the internet. We don’t know the area where you’re selling. Every location has different market forces. Base your pricing decisions on how fast your pots are selling. 
From across the internet, I can’t judge the weight and balance of your pots. But from what I can see, your pots are very attractive and of good craftsmanship. So present them with a sense of respect, not like bargain fodder. Which is related, but not specifically the same thing, as the number on the price tag. 
This market is a good choice for your first attempt at fair selling, due to its low booth fee. You can continue to do it this summer for the experience, but I would also start looking for something that is a step up. Where you won’t be selling pots next to snake oil. 

My fellow demonstrator transformed a lump into a vase for a group of observers. First question, "How did you get it hollow?"
( A patient answer here could create a new newbie.)
Zeiner proceeded to make another. 
 
The question, "How long will it take?" is easy to answer with "Wait and see," "That depends," and "Take notes." But it's the hardest part to learn about clay, for lots of students - "Patience!"