yappystudent

This thread is a mutual admiration society of "haves".

Why I buy my pyrex, corning and revere ware at the thrift store. This is helpful info, I thought I was doing pretty good when my big crab and seaweed baking dish survived the freezer to 400 f oven test. Perhaps I should change to a more rounded bottom in future attempts.

Yep need more info on what you're trying to do.

No I offered it in complete sincerity. Clearly my personal experiences with teachers has been pretty lousy (although MS. Kim at CR was a rare exception <3) -as I've often described in my posts my usual experience when I asked a question in class was to be ignored or worse yet, quickly understood that I already knew more than the teacher thanks to self-study. My current teacher is now on vacation for two weeks AFTER class has started...rather than fill the page with useless, unwanted observations let's just say the trend continues. When do I get my money's worth? What's the point of asking them anything? Like before I'm working on my own stuff, marking time because I have to take the beginner's class and can't afford the 'real' classes. Also, it's a prerequisite so we don't 'damage' the studio. That said, someone just put the large very much still wet vase I was working on in the kiln and fired it up. They had to dig it out from behind all my other work where I tried to hide it. Is this the level of competency I'm aspiring to? They must know something I don't....also somebody stole the silly little teacup pinchpots we were forced to spend the first class making, just to put the cherry on the cake. Fortunately tea is gross, I'm just wondering what else of my work will go missing or get blown up. Gabby, I get your implications, you think I'm an upstart who doesn't know any better and is insecure about it, shouting to the empty air and just, well, embarrassing myself. What you define as strident I'd call not being a sheep. I have no interest in being whipped into line to serve the machine. Surrendering creativity, free will, self-fulfillment, If that's what you enjoy dig in, there's plenty to go around if you want to waste a ton of cash and years of your life. Luckily, school is no longer necessary and is getting less so over time. I think this is awesome! A quote that expresses what I'm trying to say better than I can, from "A Language Older than Words" by Derrick Jensen: Through the process of schooling, each fresh child is attenuated, muted, molded, made- like aluminum -malleable yet durable, and so prepared to compete in society, and ultimately to lead this society where it so obviously is headed. (the entire book is about the collapse of the environment and what we've lost as human beings thanks to societal psychosis) -schooling as it presently exists, like science before it and religion before that is necessary to the continuation of our culture and to the spawning of a new species of human, ever more submissive to authority, every more pliant, prepared, by thirteen years of sitting and receiving, sitting and regurgitating, sitting and waiting for the end, prepared for the rest of their lives to toil, to propagate, to never make waves, and to live each day with never an original thought nor even a shred of hope.

Some points, although I think I've ground my views on this topic into the ground already. ..I feel quite salty ATM, so: Suggesting studying or doing ceramics is "Hard Work" is funny. Anyone who thinks that has never done any actual hard work. If college were available to everyone who deserves to go, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Of course all artists want to learn and take advantage of available resources, but they're priced out. Even sucky college classes would probably be worth it just for the connections you'd make with the art community and other benefits. Poor is rarely a temporary choice with options. Those who've got their piece of paper justify their good luck by assuming those who don't have one are lazy or misguided or stupid. No, they're just poor, and it's a lot more crippling than you think. Thank the Universe for Youtube and the interwebs, also the CAD site has a few helpful tips now and again but this argument is getting old. I'm starting to wonder if this topic keeps resurfacing because those who have a piece of paper want to reassure themselves they're safely in the elite and everyone else is not. It must be a very warm, secure place to be. I wonder what that's like?

Why is this important not to do? Is it expansion or something to do with cooking unevenly?

At the mart with walls I bought a little flat plastic aquarium heater made to bury under the gravel of betta tanks. I use it to heat a 5 gal aquarium divided into two halves. It barely puts out enough heat to keep both sides around 75 f, you couldn't possibly burn yourself on it but I suppose you could light up like a Christmas tree....

I've only tried a few brands but settled on mostly Duncan concepts because they do a few things reliably well: intermixing, -I have a nearly complete palette of oranges, greens, browns, grays, mauves, etc; also working well up to cone 6 albeit with differences in finish. They get a satin finish at ^5 so I can skip the overcoat. The colors are bright with a few exceptions: I can't achieve a magenta (the chip at the store looked pretty good) probably thanks to not venting my kiln. Purples, pinks of any kind are bit more puce/mauve ranged but still pleasing. Certain colors on black clay at ^6 are very dramatic, they remain stable and don't blister over black clay. Amaco Velvet Bright Red is the most vivid true red I've found and I think they know it because the price is high. I've also used Fireshades which are like an economy A. Velvet. When I need a basic velvet matte in a primary color I go to the Fireshades first. My tests showed they're also stable up to cone 6 over black clay but unlike the Duncan's remain matte.

TY for the ideas. I hadn't thought about drying it flat outdoors.

Do you wash new canvas fabric before you start using it for rolling slabs? Cotton tends to shrink so IDK if it's a good idea to start putting wet clay on it without washing and drying it first...

OK, confused again after some online research about cookware: What's the pro's and con's of cone 10 stoneware or porcelain as compared to low fire .03-.04 terra cotta or low fire white clay for that matter? I thought low fire was the way to go in regards to temperature stresses for culinary purposes, but makes for a more delicate piece in regards to say, dropping or knocking a metal spoon against the rim, and stoneware/porcelain is tough overall but might shatter freezer to oven. Story: one of my mom's Noritake soup bowls at room temp, split neatly in half when I poured near-boiling water into it, so I can attest to this in part. Yet I've noticed online potters generally say their bake ware is high fire stoneware for the most part and that's what makes it so great. Did I get on the wrong boat?

Let's face it, I do it for the attention from other potters.