irenepots

Hey Pyewackette,  I reuse   plastic bags from the vegetable aisle, and I find they're great - softer and easier to manipulate than grocery bags but not as flimsy as dry cleaner bags.  When one gets a hole I put a piece of tape on it.  I also cut them open to use flat.    Be sure however that they're not the  compostable bags like Trader Joe's uses.  Those do break down great in the compost pile  I use them with a little newspaper in the bottom for my compostable stuff.   But clay dries out quickly in them.    I'm sure they'd be useful in some ways but not for very slow clay drying.  Good luck!

Hey Pyewackette,  I reuse   plastic bags from the vegetable aisle, and I find they're great - softer and easier to manipulate than grocery bags but not as flimsy as dry cleaner bags.  When one gets a hole I put a piece of tape on it.  I also cut them open to use flat.    Be sure however that they're not the  compostable bags like Trader Joe's uses.  Those do break down great in the compost pile  I use them with a little newspaper in the bottom for my compostable stuff.   But clay dries out quickly in them.    I'm sure they'd be useful in some ways but not for very slow clay drying.  Good luck!

Hey Pyewackette,  I reuse   plastic bags from the vegetable aisle, and I find they're great - softer and easier to manipulate than grocery bags but not as flimsy as dry cleaner bags.  When one gets a hole I put a piece of tape on it.  I also cut them open to use flat.    Be sure however that they're not the  compostable bags like Trader Joe's uses.  Those do break down great in the compost pile  I use them with a little newspaper in the bottom for my compostable stuff.   But clay dries out quickly in them.    I'm sure they'd be useful in some ways but not for very slow clay drying.  Good luck!

Hi Roberta! Thanks for your input.   I'm trying to get up my nerve to try it.

Ah thanks for doing that Pres, it does make more sense for it to be here.  

A while ago I  sent a question to Technical at Standard Ceramic about their 630 clay and what they meant by something in its online description.  Here's their answer.  Hope it helps
"We would recommend using 630 Stoneware if you plan on making bakeware or any product that might be exposed to heat regularly. The mullite "enhances thermal capabilities," which means that it will better withstand the repetitive heating/cooling that bakeware is exposed to".   

A while ago I  sent a question to Technical at Standard Ceramic about their 630 clay and what they meant by something in its online description.  Here's their answer.  Hope it helps
"We would recommend using 630 Stoneware if you plan on making bakeware or any product that might be exposed to heat regularly. The mullite "enhances thermal capabilities," which means that it will better withstand the repetitive heating/cooling that bakeware is exposed to".   

A while ago I  sent a question to Technical at Standard Ceramic about their 630 clay and what they meant by something in its online description.  Here's their answer.  Hope it helps
"We would recommend using 630 Stoneware if you plan on making bakeware or any product that might be exposed to heat regularly. The mullite "enhances thermal capabilities," which means that it will better withstand the repetitive heating/cooling that bakeware is exposed to".   

I like cornstarch too.  I apply it to the slab then invert in on the mold.

Congratulations!   How wonderful that you have a built-in retail shelf to display and sell your wares.  It's  so satisfying to be able to do for a living what you love.   Keep up the good work and enjoy!

Ah,  tho I consider  my wire shelves  to be metal,   they actually are  wire and not solid shelves.  That's why they have screening on them, so small drying items  can't  slip thru the slots.  Thanks again for sharing your excellent system!  Yes, wire, not metal.

On another thread around here someone told how they reconstitute their clay and dry it on fabric placed on shelves.  I've been doing that and it works great.   I keep my throwing water and add the dried trimmings to it, (usually within a couple days), let it sit and then pour and siphon off the excess water as it separates upward.  I have a piece of an old sheet  laid on my metal shelf, which also has window screening on it,  and I drop blobs of clay onto it.  I find blobs of about 1/2 to 3/4 cup dry out more uniformly than one big sheet does.  I check them a couple times a day, flip them once,  and when they're ready bag, wedge and reuse them.   Sometimes I mix  scraps, (all my clays are ^4-6) and other times I do them separately.
A great big thank you  to whoever it was that presented this idea.   It's so much easier than what I was doing before.  

Wow that's a lot of information!  Thank you all for your thoughtful inputs and information and sharing your experiences.  It's a lot  to  consider.  I'm going to look into online courses on photographing pottery , and check out  Snapseed and the box tutorial, which looks pretty great, and also investigate the white light cubes.  Thanks for the links as well.  Most of the items  I make are medium bowls,  mugs and small plates so I don't need a big setup.     You've given me a lot to go on and here I go......Thanks again!
Irene
 

Thanks Chilly, I'm looking for a source right now.
 

That's just what I was hoping to hear Hulk.  I'll definitely get the lighter and cheaper 1/4" then,  one for each of the 3 clays I use.   Thank you!
I've been reclayming on a plaster slab as well, which is in a lidded bin that I use as a damp box also.  But I can see having 5 exposed sides would be even better.  Does pottery plaster in bags have a use by date?  When I used mine again I couldn't get it to set, tho I tried several times.    I thought I had read somewhere that it doesn't age well in the bag.  Is that true?   I had the bag in plastic as well.   Do I just need to get a fresh bag?