Mark C.

alumina hydrate 50 calcined epk 25 (aka glomax) epk 25 Yada yada yes for me as well

I did have a few chess sets as well under my belt.I hads forgotten that.

I have done slip work over the decades. Its not what I like so Itend to avoid it now. In school I learned how and disd art to old antique bottles (I posted thiose photos before here.) I did things like a truck froma bread loaf with donut wheels to dog poop. In the early 90s I went into business to make slip cast aroma therapy lamps for Aura Cacia. We cut the deal at my kitchen table with them.Made so many thousands of them I forgot how many. Maybe 10,000 or more? I think I have a few left. No photos They used to be located a few hours from us (Aura Cacia ) Frontier bought them out for 5 million during our production deal with them. Within a few years moved the whole deal to Ohio. We palletized them by the 1,000s and truck shipped them for a few years. We put them in inner cardboard boxes and outer boxes then shrink wraped to wood pallet at truck dock. We did all this with two employees and did it off site. We both (full time potters) took turns glaze firing them to cone 10 in our car kilns. on site.I know enough about slip casting to not want to make the same thing over and over exactly the same.I learned all aboutbthe right way to make molds as we had friend whio was am amster mold maker in SF area. He is gone now but He did do lots of mold work from building architecture to casting pots to whatever. I still have all the mold masters-if anyone wants to get into lamp making.All free but you have to come get it all -its a start up deal for zero $$ send a pm-everything need to start. We had our own high fire formula made by Laguna and bought it by the ton dry bagged-still have some.Send a Pm-mixers included. You will need a pickup truck .I would like the shed back to empty really. I bought out my partner and within two two years they shifted to china for low fire pots (they started with low fire ) before we came along but they came apart with flame, you can still find these low quaility lamps in stores as they are all low fire one again and will come apart with flame (uneven heating)I think they (the lamps) are now all electric as well. Working with Corporate is no fun. I suggest avoiding at all cost been there done that. I'll take some photos when I can get to i f the slip cast forms

Well we are known for smoke but not the wildfire type

Back to clay work this week-usual items-summer sales at outlets are on a terror with all the tourists in the area. This year we have seen way more tourists trying to have a get away and exit from the heat inland and now its get away from the smoke.

No I do not think its mainstream yet-I have friends in the restaurant industry and learned about them from them. Same deal with the aero expresso maker for travel not yet mainstream I live in an area of not mainstream.

Makes the best fresh coffee. let steep 3 minutes and drip-walla

Saying no takes some time to get around to. I wish I said no for about 30 years of special orders. Of course those customers got hooked and kept returning but really they are not worth it. About 10 years ago I started saying no and its been all upside.

Low fire handbuilding in school was the dar side for me.At that time i had many years of high fire and kiln building under my belt and low fire was just of zero interest until I realized I nned to know as much about clay in all temps and bodies (my clay and glaze class opened my eyes on this). My low fire work was far from stellar but I did learn how and why.Its all good knowledge in the long run and at that time little did I know it would be my entire life.

In art school for sure-thats what it was all about learning it all whether I liked it or not.My yard still has all my dark side ceramic sculpture in it.No market for it 45 years later-still yard art

Min I used to like those drippers ,but the clever dripper in my mind works so much better-its ceramic made by Bonavita-you pour the water in the grounds with a paper filter inside like yours but it has a silicone stopper in a lever so you steep it for 3 minutes then let it drain out-coffee a bit like a french press only better as it drips into your cup. I have been using them for many years now and gave up on other drippers. I have a plastic one for travel as well. I should add I'm very much a coffee person

Post a photo of the inside so folks cans see what is there

My two As do not my two Bs do not my C does not and my CXC (from 1982) does not as well of couse they are not modern wheels-the As are not made anymore-the Bs are from the 90s the C is from 1969 or1970 bought new but has all new everything except deck.The CXC is from 82 bought new. One of my As is new in box still . Not sure what I''m going to do with it. I sold a model B recently-in super shape (near new) for $500 with extras. I did not need 6 wheels down to 5 and one is in a box new. I bought it as new old stock. I get the inside reverse sliders deal as well. Makes sense. I think Brent did not have reversing wheels until late 90s? what years yours?

I have 5 Brents none do this ( I reverse my wheel ) sounds very sound if you can spin it backwards If I recall Giffin did make a counter clockwise model once?

It will always be mugs -mugs and more mugs followed by tumblers and sponge holders been that way for decades and is that way now in until I stop making them

Its a bar to sand your feet callous off in the shower-Could be a hit at the super markets Maybe a little more R&D as it does not look rough enough

( for me.(It took hold of me in the middle 90s..." )-tuna fishing that is-yes I'm 67 now and clay started for me in 69-70-Diving with scuba in 82.-snorkled since a kid-still am a kid really at heart.This covid has slowed me down at a great time as I was trying to let off the gas and now thats easy.

Thanks for posting the my question As some of you know already besides clay I have a few other passions-one is diving with a camera the other is Tuna Fishing. It took hold of me in the middle 90s (tuna fishing) and I have only missed one year since catching albacore tuna. Most is what we refer to as ( out front) our local Humboldt county waters or trailer the 23 foot whaler up to middle Oregon or as far south as Monterey. I have fished most ports in a 300 mile rage from home in past 25 years. About three years ago some local filmmakers got a grant to make a film about the food grown or made or caught in whats know as Humboldt Nation ( I live in Humboldt County) We produce some of the best foods on the planet here like Cypress Cheese as well as Beers and Breads. They filmed interviews for a year and thought about one large film but realized it was to big so they made three films-the first two where shown at a grand opening last fall in our restored grand Eureka Theater. They where very well done and have been rebroadcast on local PBS station. Its big screen film. The third film on local tuna was completed last week and they released it a few days ago for free due to Covid and the Theaters being closed here . Its on Vimeo I will add My interview was 3 years ago and since that time Myself and crew supplied them with sport tuna video clips during the last two years -the shots taken with the Dophins and the tuna working bait where taken off my vessel Onokai as well as us catching tuna. We are the ones in the yellow bibs catching tuna.This was a few different trips. I'm the guy with fish on working the boat throttle back and reeling fish in as My friend Duncan McNeill gaffs the fish. My other Friend Yoshi Uemura and Travis may also abroad shot video as well as caught fish. My friend Dennis Rael (in film as well speaking about sport tuna) got me involved in this film (he fishes on my boat as well) He got the filmmakers intrested into the sport Tuna part of this fishery story .I am known around here as a Tuna Head (I have whats known and Tuna Fever ,a really bad case of it) Its been infecting me going on 26 years now.There is no known cure. Now the ocean is really whats behind this passion and thats where I am most comfortable -either on it or under it. Tuna for me has spilled into making lots of ceramic tuna as well as My underwater photography has turned into making clay fish-mosty tropical as I know about most of the saltwater species now and fish are a huge passion for me . I have a library on fish species as well as cal and of course Tuna Books-I seem to only catch and eat Tuna mostly the days over other fish (a few Halibut as well) . Clay still runs deep but I need ocean time to maintain the studio time-its wrapped together for me as a lifestyle at this point. Clay Tuna and diving. A foot note-this film is best viewed on large screen so if you can you can run it thru a Roku unit I'm told or I ran it thru a HDMI cable and adaptor and on to a large screen TV thru a laptop or iPad . Just use the largest screen you access to. to have the best experience of the film. It was made for the Theater screen. They did great job with the editing and sound Enjoy the film -Click on the food for thought Humboldt County photo when it comes up https://vimeo.com/search/channel?q=Food+for+thought+humboldt

What are other other activities that influence your ceramic work or keep you mentally heathy other than daly directly. For me its other passions that are just like clay. I have to do them-what are yours.??