Mark C.

The cortisone may do it but if not its a simple staright froward surgery and I have seen many great outcomes .In terms of arthritis use warm water and keep using your hands to keep them strong. I think your doctor is taking the stay in bed thoght way to far. If you stay in bed life will not hurt you they say until the heart attack . If you want a real opion go see a hand doctor not a GP I have had two major hand surgies and have arthrites and large knuckles -no one has said stop throwing-maybe a bit less but move it or loose it is the theme in life. At least mine

It is not repairable .sell them another-mugs get beat up and customers crack them. Life-you can sell tham another at discount if you feel its your crack?

I get a gallery order twice a year for a huge amount $ worth of wholesale wares. Its a dependabke thing -I think now I;m his largest supplier of wares.This order is always outstanding I just dropped his fall order off as I have no time this fall to make them so I did it early. I'm on a 24 day dive. trip in Indonesia in Oct-Nov so made the pots and dropped them off so I can get wet. Started with him about 12- years ago with a twice a year order of 110 sponge holders and has expanded to this huge order twice a year. I fill my wife subaru with about 20-23 boxes (mostly banana. boxes). I drop it off somewhere in between this this gallery is about 11 hours away. lately its been at theowners broths house about 4.5 hrs away. I just made that drop last Friday That order is from mugs to smalls to larger bowls and in-between -I only offer limited forms to him. I usally every year offer a new form-this year its a small fish tray I had have never been to the gallery and I just met him last fall at a remote drop after my last NV show on way home-20 boxs from my van to his subaru.He is also my favorite business person always pays right up front.I was referred to him by another potter who did not want to make sponge holders-I still sell him 220 sponge holders a year. I have the same sort of thing every xmas and spring with a few local outlets a well-it is always the same.Now that I think about it its with 4 local outlets. I also supply mugs every two weeks to to Bagel /bakeries-year around. I mix this up with some art shows as well. I am doing my LAST out of state (biggest/best show) in a few weeks Then its two local shows from now on. Slowly my wholesale business has taken off as I got older. Just a bit easier for me

Dog hair burns out so to not sweat that. Waste. of time I think to try to remove it. Same with grass from the lawn or any small orgainic materials. They go by by when bisqued. The only reason to remove them is if they get in the way of making whatever you are making (forming).

I have had arthritis in my hands beyond memory at this point. Using your hands is whay I consider a key element to life and hands. My guess is you are not a professional with clay so you will not be using.8- 10 tons a year which. puts a hurt on the hands . I would not worry about clay and your hands. Mild Artritis is in all us old timers who use our hands in life. I am 100% a believer that clay can help strengthen and exercise the muscles . As you age no matter what your artritis will continue Clay has kept my hands strong . They do not like cold but thats also an aging issue.Heck I do not like cold-never have liked heat either-I like it just right.

Its also the weight of the load along with temp The ones that failed where in a 5 foot high stack in gas kiln near the floor-so they had the whole weight of all the load on them.

My guess is they are all made by same manufacture. I have near experience with theses as they are not in my firing range. I have seen them fail at cone 10 only because the stilts where not over a solid core section and the shelve looked crushed (looked squashed). I suggest at cone if that is tour temp? make sure the stilts (all three) of them are supported with a core inside section My old ceramic instructor always said pay your money and take your chances-let us know how they are

As long as its been dry and not handled much forever The stuff from the Roman Empire might still be good. The larger question is why make ceramics on a geological time frame?

Most plastic cans are black in color but not all.

Paint cans can be plastic bottoms and metal lids and now even all plastic lid and bottom those fumes must have been bad

I was born in 53 It looks to be missing some parts at 179$ in 1953 that was spendy back then Good barn find

Speaking of Books there is one being made now that is all about the place I learned the most in Ceramics. I wrote a piece for that books which is in the editing stages now. It was called the Laundry In the 50's-60s it was a commercial Laundry. In the late 60s it was bought by the Humboldt State University and turned into a pot shop. It has floor drains (wood covered cement troughs that drain out). They added a kiln room off the back. The builing is one huge barrel arch roof. A really great pottery setup for teaching. Back then my mentor Reese Bullen (who started the Art Dept there) hired a new instructor to help him teach ceramics from Alfreds as a recent gradute Lou Marak -it was 1969. I came a few years later to that program. They hired another Alfred grad the year I came as well (1972). It was the heyday of ceramics for this school. It was after the war and it was ahuge open learningtyransition time in ceramics-from Volkus to Arneson clay was expanding. Thes e recenty Alfreds guys where on fire from leaning from the greats who taught and wrote at Alfreds. Rhodes and the like passed what they knew down to my teachers who passed that to us. It was a solid 5 years in immersion in all things clay and kilns for me.Many a teacher and potter came out the other side of that Laundry . In my time I learned slip casting, low fire ,high fire , kiln firing, hand building ,slab work,clay and glaze formulation just to name a few. I Worked in work study program for years as kiln and glaze room tec.( Back then tec was not used) loading and firing kilns of all types.Salt to low fire electrics-with redution cone 10 gas as the standard . The program slowly after many deacdes switched as did many programs to around the country in schools to sculture and making art-mostly low fire. This slowy in my view turned the ceramics program into a lesser one than the one I was in at that time. I have heard lots of feedback on this from students over the past 30 years Now the University recently became Cal Poly Humboldt and humanities is at the botton of the pile now. They now have funding to build in massive science expansion 3 new parking structures and you gues it the Laundry will be scraped to put in a parking lot as Joni Mitchell once said in a song. The last 10 yeared ceramics professor retires this year (JUNE) and no one is fighting this stupid mistake. For me the university long ago lost the community support as they do not care about that. Two of the old ceramic teachers is compiling this book on 50 years of the Laundry-its history and students. I am just one of those and one of the few that choose the production pottery route over teaching and also stayed local and am still producing . In my. time we once had over 20 full timers in this small area making funtional wares now its me. Last man standing full time. The laundry is a special place for me in my brain as well as the people who shared what they knew way back in the early 70s with me. When folks are buying and using my pottery they really are using pottery that came from my years at the Laundry and those who taught there at that time. Ps this book is being complied and underwritten by a gallery In Davis Ca called the John Natsoulas Gallery. John is footing the bill He has a press at gallery and has had a 30 year ceramic realationship with HSU ceramics and did a book on the UC Davis ceramics lab already its a great thing he is doing for our local clay history-if you are ever in Davis Ca stop by that gallery its worth the trip-just look for the 15 foot high ceramic cat you walk to enter the gallery. You cannot miss it. https://www.natsoulas.com

Speaking of Books there is one being made now that is all about the place I learned the most in Ceramics. I wrote a piece for that books which is in the editing stages now. It was called the Laundry In the 50's-60s it was a commercial Laundry. In the late 60s it was bought by the Humboldt State University and turned into a pot shop. It has floor drains (wood covered cement troughs that drain out). They added a kiln room off the back. The builing is one huge barrel arch roof. A really great pottery setup for teaching. Back then my mentor Reese Bullen (who started the Art Dept there) hired a new instructor to help him teach ceramics from Alfreds as a recent gradute Lou Marak -it was 1969. I came a few years later to that program. They hired another Alfred grad the year I came as well (1972). It was the heyday of ceramics for this school. It was after the war and it was ahuge open learningtyransition time in ceramics-from Volkus to Arneson clay was expanding. Thes e recenty Alfreds guys where on fire from leaning from the greats who taught and wrote at Alfreds. Rhodes and the like passed what they knew down to my teachers who passed that to us. It was a solid 5 years in immersion in all things clay and kilns for me.Many a teacher and potter came out the other side of that Laundry . In my time I learned slip casting, low fire ,high fire , kiln firing, hand building ,slab work,clay and glaze formulation just to name a few. I Worked in work study program for years as kiln and glaze room tec.( Back then tec was not used) loading and firing kilns of all types.Salt to low fire electrics-with redution cone 10 gas as the standard . The program slowly after many deacdes switched as did many programs to around the country in schools to sculture and making art-mostly low fire. This slowy in my view turned the ceramics program into a lesser one than the one I was in at that time. I have heard lots of feedback on this from students over the past 30 years Now the University recently became Cal Poly Humboldt and humanities is at the botton of the pile now. They now have funding to build in massive science expansion 3 new parking structures and you gues it the Laundry will be scraped to put in a parking lot as Joni Mitchell once said in a song. The last 10 year ceramics professor retire this year and no one is fighting this stupid mistake. For me the university long ago lost the community support as they do not care about that. Two of the old ceramic teachers is compiling this book on 50 years of the Laundry-its history and students. I am just one of those and one of the few that choose the production pottery route over teaching and also stayed local and am still producing . In my. time we once had over 20 full timers in this small area making funtional wares now its me. Last man standing full time. The laundry is a special place for me in my brain as well as the people who shared what they knew way back in the early 70s with me. When folks are buying and using my pottery they really are using pottery that came from my years at the Laundry and those who taught there at that time. Ps this book is being complied and underwritten by a gallery In Davis Ca called the John Natsoulas Gallery. John is footing the bill He has a press at gallery and has had a 30 year ceramic realationship with HSU ceramics and did a book on the UC Davis ceramics lab already its a great thing he is doing for our local clay history-if you are ever in Davis Ca stop by that gallery its worth the trip-just look for the 15 foot high ceramic cat you walk thru to enter the gallery. You cannot miss it. https://www.natsoulas.com

Black is from an over saturation of colorants or stains. So to make black kiln wash one would need to oversaturate or stain. Often this comes with fluxing ( think sticky) and thats exactly what you do not want with kiln wash

A piece of cardboard between them will work fine (thats how they ship most of them) . You need to keep them from slipping apart(tape the bundle as one) blankets can work Or bubble wrap. They can be shipped flat or on edge but on edge they should be held tight so not to fall over.

Well I just billed my second quarter accounts that are on a quartly basis. Not all up but some One is the same as last years (a boom year for me last year) the others where down slightly . Seems sales are getting back to a normal year in most outlets. I am just now packing up my largest gallery order ever in my career . This gallery ordered twice a year. Thgis is the fall order as I do not have time thgis fall to produce it. So did it over past two months. My fall is booked with show and other orders and a 24 day dive trip to Indonesia . Been a few years now away from serious diving and need to get back under. I have my largest show in 30 days and it most likely will be my last show there after 30 year run. I am not having to leave my area anymore for sales as I have all I need locally .This also will be my last out of state show after 40 years of them . I'm a little sad about it-,I could keep the door open another year and am thinking that over. Show pots are more work as you need it all-teapots to cannister sets where local wholesale and consign is much easier form wise (less forms to make). I will still have two local sales this fall/xmas for at least this year or next.

seattle pottery still has some mobiliCer C left-you need to call them to get it. Make sure you talk to someone who knows the wax product line. I have a thread just on wax if you search for it

Sculpture,clay with names ,mugs or whatever as well as baby prints or the like all are custome one offs and demand that. My line of work is 35 forms in production so one offs get in the way. Now its time in life trim the 35 forms to much less and make less and do less in clay (or at least next year) So for me its no custom work-I did it for 3-4 decades. Looking back it should have always been now. Would have made more $ and worked less except for friends and family. Thats my experience.

I know of no base that works with all colorants for all the colors you are asking about-its just not that simple.I have 50 years in now experence wise with cone 10 glazes in a production studio and I have no base that works in my 15 weekly glazes I use they are all different. No single base . If you find one let me know as that would simplify mixing all 15 each. You can use a white base and add cobalt for blue or try copper for green but its a try try try test test test deal. I would start with a simple 4 ingredient glaze base thats white. The white base glaze will have zero colorants in it.I can post one if needed called honey white. Next time I'm in glaze area I'll jot it down-its very simple white-likes heat so not good in cold spots

Its all going up and most places are out of most equipment and only now getting a few items in stock again. If you see it and need it buy it is my advice Laguna clay prices went up across the board last month.

I use this https://www.axner.com/pure-lube.aspx

I sent you a PM I'm a fellow Humboldter welcome to the forum

Another option is a small gas kiln and just keep firing to cone 10 -Gas kilns tend to be a bit more of ahassel to get a permit and install but its still an optione depending on where you live