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I believe I know the difference, thanks, @Sorcery. Perhaps I should have said dust greenware before BISQUE firing.

I am a self-taught hobbyist and there are a lot of weird gaps in my knowledge. Are you supposed to rinse greenware to get rid of any dust before firing? If yes, how do you do it? Quick run under a faucet? Wipe with damp or wet cloth???? thanks for any help

You guys are GREAT! Thank you so much

Hi Collective Minds. I am a new-ish hobby handbuilder. If I waited to fire my work (both bisque and glazed) until my electric kiln was full, I'd only see finished pieces about once a year : ) What do I need to know about firing a few pieces at a time in a mostly empty or perhaps half full kiln? Thank you for any insights and tips

Thank you all for the responses. At least I now know that it's not just me. @oldlady, I will try the water and stains idea. [ @clay lover I fire to ^04.]

I have tried using underglazes and wiping them off to enhance textures on both bisqued and non-bisqued pieces. When I try to "wipe them off," a lot of color has already soaked into the raised areas of clay; or if I try being more precise about where I put the underglaze and then wipe it off, it still spreads onto and stains the other areas as I wipe. When I see pics of others' work in progress, it appears that their pieces have been wiped clean except for the textures. Do I just live with this or am I missing something in technique. Thanks for any help

In a Facebook group that I belong to, Joseph Painted Bear (https://m.facebook.com/JosephClark.PaintedBearKenyon?fref=nf) posted this video about using pinstriping brushes for fine lines: https://youtu.be/9GWnRnV_lEY

@Rae Reich , Just to clarify RE "$15 for 6 9"x9" sheets seems expensive" That's $15 for 6 PACKS of 10 sheets each.

lousy pic but I you can get the idea

Update for anyone following: I've been trying these various suggestions with some amount of success. What I'm happiest with so far (like....really happy) is the Minnesota Clay Graffito paper. It's a much fast method than anything I've tried to date: as fast as simply tracing a design and it's a really clean, solid and smooth line, completely variable in width depending on what type of tool I use. At first, I was having trouble with it sliding around a bit, but I found that completely taping it down and just scribing over the tape works really well.

I'm self-taught and a relative newbie. I am so confused about glaze & bisque firing in terms of venting, peep holes, and/or cracking the lid. I have an electric kiln with digital controller and it's outside so I have no extra ventilating system. My Evenheat kiln has one small hole in the top that does not have a plug (always open) and one side peephole with a plug. 1)when bisque firing, does the lid need to be cracked and/or the peephole open for any part of the firing? 2)when glaze firing, same questions? Thank you for any insights.

Thank you, @dhPotter!!!!!! That's exactly what I was looking for

I remember reading something about pricing that really caught my attention but I've lost track of it. I THINK it was posted somewhere in this forum but can't track it down. It talked about how certain numbers seem to garner more buyers than other numbers - like maybe odd numbers over even or something like that? I think it also talked about how the cents in the price affected potential buyers (like $.99 or $.49 or again, something like that). Does this ring any bells? Thank you for any help.

This whole conversation is why I so love and value this forum! Always good to know that I have company in my dilemmas and the suggestions typically hit the mark. Thank you @GEP and @S. Dean for @triolazfor the help, and the rest of you for making me laugh and also feel like I'm not all alone out here

I will definitely explore this. It's completely in line with what I have in mind. Thank you