TJR

Like others[Pres.,Mark C, I have a Brent CXC.Bought used in Seattle 35 years ago. There was a grinding sound about 2 years ago-no,not my Mother -in-law. Anyway, our shops teacher in high school replaced the bearing.[for about $20.00]. The wheel works GREAT! Unfortunately, I bought a lighter Brent to use in the interim. Can't remember the letters. The wheel has a quicker response time, lighter to move around,etc. I have often thought of have the two wheels in my shop. Taught one of my sons how to throw on it over Christmas. He picked it up way faster than me. I think I will keep one for decorating and one for trimming and throwing.If I were to buy new, I would probably buy a Whisper. Does this help, or make your decision more difficult? TJR.

The anthropomorphic mug. Some part of mug creates a handle, as in you are making a mug out of a cylinder and the handle becomes the trunk of an elephant. Giraffes are also good. Snakes-too easy. TJR.

I agree with Mark. I once mistakenly fired some pitchers made with Cone 6 clay in a Cone 9 gas firing. Lost all the pitchers as they melted. Luckily, they were all fired on one shelf. Both clays of mine were white, so it was an easy mistake. Cost me $60.00 to replace the shelf and keep the friendship. Beware of unmarked materials. The gift bearer is not dong you any favours. They are cleaning out their studio. TJR.

Touch your piece to your cheek. If it feels cool, there is moisture inside. For bisquing I fire my electric kiln on low for two hours, then all switches up to medium for one hour, then all switches on full. Bisque should take approx 8 hours. Try rolling your slabs on sticks. Your cylinder looks pretty uneven. Great decoration. Sorry for your loss. TJR.

You could try 10% zircopax in the slip. I have seen recipes for this, but I don't have any personal experience. Wouldn't hurt to try it. TJR.

Tyler; Make a note to not ever go to her place for dinner,esp. if she is micro-waving.Is that a verb?

I love my hammer. Get in there and smash away! It's a good idea to put them in a cardboard box and then break your pieces. Do this when no one else is around because the sound of breaking pottery is a little unnerving. Don't let anyone grab stuff out of the garbage. Smash em small enough so that they are completely unusable. I think I shall go out to the studio with my hammer right! now! p.s. It's always a good idea to cull your work before it goes through the glaze fire. That crack on the bottom / rim,or wherever is not going to get smaller.Don't waste energy on it. TJR.

Our ground hog died two days before he was supposed to make his big entrance. I guess we are stuck in winter until we get a new one. TJR.

Does anyone know of a film or video regarding the life of Harry Davis? He had a pottery with a water-wheel. He made beautiful functional pots. Worked in New Zealand,England and South America. Thanks, TJR. I apologize. I am a two finger typest. That one got away on me. Harry Davis. A contemorary of Michael Cardew. Tom.

Ben; So, who hits the switches for you? TJR.

Babs; We DID ride the railway all the way to the top where that octagonal building is. Got to meet Barry and shake his hand. I had been an apprentice to Michael Cardew, so we had that to talk about. His pottery was one of the high lights of out trip. All kinds of stoneware kilns, great pots, a tea shop. He took on apprentices, but sadly I was committed to teaching a year in Australia, and we were on our way there. There were other great potteries all along the coast, but many were closed up because of the competition with China. TJR.

I have hydronic heat, which is two coils of glycol [anti-freeze] which rotate through the floor. Also called in-floor radiant heat.Set the thermostat in the fall and just leave it. No blowers, no fans, just a passive heat that is always on. I live in Winnipeg, Canada, which is one of the colder parts of the country. I worked in a second floor of a warehouse for 26 years with those overhead warehouse heaters blowing dust every where. Finally built my dream studio 4 years ago. My only problem is that my space is too well insulated. I need a de-humidifier to get rid of all the moisture from making pots. TJR.

I met the man when we were traveling in N.Z.What a hair raising ride up to his studio. The track went through the middle of the pottery and he could haul clay up the hill and pots down. He had a lot of apprentices working at the pottery. What a beautiful place. What a character. He will be missed. TJR.

Joeseph, Diesel; I am currently working on adding colour to my glazes as well. Not thinking an entire red glaze, just high lights. See my gallery for a chicken plate with a nice red comb. I know the inclusion stains from U.S. pigment work at cone 10 reduction, but I don't know if I want to spend the money for something that may or may not work for me.The red on the plate is a Mason stain with Gerstly applied to the unfired white glaze. There was talk in a previous post about a low-fire yellow underglaze that went to cone 10 applied on top of the glaze; Amaco intense yellow V-308, or also V-391. These came from Mark Cortnoy's assistant. Sadly for me, they are both lead based, and I am a functional dude. Let me know how far you get on your research. I will dig up the name of that Mason stain red. TJR.