Mark C.

So today started like many glaze days except this was the last one this year. The day ended looking like these last two photos.Which is all that bisque ware you see in above post which got glazed and loaded today.
The big car kiln was not quite full (last fire of year is a cleanup of whats left) and the little 12 cubic updraft was bait loose as well.
This year in firing making terns is ending earlier than it ever has for me. Due to my two month broken arm setback-I ended up with a whole shows extra inventory-Hence no need to make that much more for xmas.I;ll post a year end comparison as usual for my business later in month after things slow down. I closed my retail pottery sale booth for two days (mon_tues) to concentrate on the glazing and firing as well as the usually 18 days this season is just a bit to long for me-I like 15 days selling maximum . So is will reopen on Wednesday and sell everyday thru xmas eve.
My workbench will be empty of  greenware and bisque ware  its only for fired pots that need pricing or sorting or shipping now as the selling season is on and the makings season is over.
 

This was on my workbench this AM it did not fit the bench and spilled onto many surfaces.At the end of day (5 pm it looked like next post all glazed and loaded in two kiln loads -see next post)
I throw a bunch of bowls and size them in groups by measure after bisqued-thats whats going on with these piles of bowls-they where just sized with a ruler.
We(my studio assistant and myself) waxed and glazed and I loaded two kilns today-all this bisque ware processed today. Glaze fires in am.
She does the hot dip waxing I do the hand waxing on footed forms
This is my last two fire this year. see next post on that
 

So today started like many glaze days except this was the last one this year. The day ended looking like these last two photos.Which is all that bisque ware you see in above post which got glazed and loaded today.
The big car kiln was not quite full (last fire of year is a cleanup of whats left) and the little 12 cubic updraft was bait loose as well.
This year in firing making terns is ending earlier than it ever has for me. Due to my two month broken arm setback-I ended up with a whole shows extra inventory-Hence no need to make that much more for xmas.I;ll post a year end comparison as usual for my business later in month after things slow down. I closed my retail pottery sale booth for two days (mon_tues) to concentrate on the glazing and firing as well as the usually 18 days this season is just a bit to long for me-I like 15 days selling maximum . So is will reopen on Wednesday and sell everyday thru xmas eve.
My workbench will be empty of  greenware and bisque ware  its only for fired pots that need pricing or sorting or shipping now as the selling season is on and the makings season is over.
 

So today started like many glaze days except this was the last one this year. The day ended looking like these last two photos.Which is all that bisque ware you see in above post which got glazed and loaded today.
The big car kiln was not quite full (last fire of year is a cleanup of whats left) and the little 12 cubic updraft was bait loose as well.
This year in firing making terns is ending earlier than it ever has for me. Due to my two month broken arm setback-I ended up with a whole shows extra inventory-Hence no need to make that much more for xmas.I;ll post a year end comparison as usual for my business later in month after things slow down. I closed my retail pottery sale booth for two days (mon_tues) to concentrate on the glazing and firing as well as the usually 18 days this season is just a bit to long for me-I like 15 days selling maximum . So is will reopen on Wednesday and sell everyday thru xmas eve.
My workbench will be empty of  greenware and bisque ware  its only for fired pots that need pricing or sorting or shipping now as the selling season is on and the makings season is over.
 

I think I'm in that zone myself.

I think I'm in that zone myself.

I stop studio work on Christmas and take a 4-6 week mandatory break-work in office on tax prep.
My studio has a natural gas heater and can start up any time its needed.It does not freeze much around here only now and then.
I do not close for winter and usually do get back to work in Feb. depending on winter vacation trips.
Things slow down in winter except my grocery store sales keep on trucking so goods for them need to keep being produced . I often back stock most of that stuff so I always stay ahead of demand.

Two Kilns are cooling  with glaze wares so tables are empty-New throwing starts in am-salt cellars,miso bowls and small cereal bowls for am.
Only a few fires left this year. I'm way ahead with  at this point a canceled show from broken arm-sounds strange but van is still packed full and back sock is piling up priced and boxed.
 

(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? )
Yappy-I would like to add that a piece of paper has zero value-its the experience that one needs-its the quest for knowledge-not all can go to school and thats the way it is -but community collage is more affordable and adult Ed later in life is most avordable. The point is learning makes for better people .
You have that drive from what I know about you .Its the quest for learning that is more important than any piece of paper. My real learning was after school in the real world.I also went to school when one could work their way thru it as it was cheaper back then.
I have spent the last 7 years giving back some of my learning in ceramics in this forum  and mentoring-much of that knowledge was gained by the school of hard knocks.I have no paper that shows those bruises but they have the same value -maybe more.
I have never felt elite or thought of my BA as anything other than a lot of work.I do feel very lucky to do something I never felt as work like a regular job.
And that I get to use the school knowledge to work thru problems  as there always problems with ceramics.
 
 

Formal education is  a key element in the whole process. I was raised in a art friendy home by educators. I was exposed to ceramics in 5th grade and again in high school. It took hold of part of me and I do not know why. I went on and got an art degree in collage over a 5 year process. I happened to learn from recent graduates from the golden age of Alfred graduates who got their 1st teaching jobs. They learned from the greats-like Rhodes etc. I was at the right place right time. Also one could find materials on the cheap and build kilns and obtain permits may back then. Thats all changed now.
Back in school I fired gas and electrics worked as a tech and fired kilns for work study money-built kilns-made bricks learned clay and glaze formulation
did low fire and high fire and raku and pit firing-made sculpture and made functional wares. Only in school is one exposed to it all and to get all the knowledge one needs to see it all.U-tube cannot hold a candle too this experience.
School was the beginning of my learning experience -Really just a jump off point looking back. Its the foundation of my career but the real learning was in the real world of business and the sheer number of years it takes to get good and succeed .Throwing really well takes everyone different amounts of time to master-for me it was about 7 or eight years to get handles and forms perfected and have then sell well.
I'm a big believer in formal education-our society improves with formal education.
The only downside these days is ceramic education has been slashed nation wide and there has been at least a twenty year bias towards sculpt vs functional wares in many collage programs. You can now get a degree in what I call (jar opening) where you learn very little except low fire sculpture making.Finding a good school these days is work.

45 years and 11 months 2weeks and three days and still learning

45 years and 11 months 2weeks and three days and still learning

45 years ago I thought  pots all needed feet. That changed in the 1st 10 years for me. I like feet but not all wares need feet. I still feel bowls do need feet.If I have a form with no foot I still have a glaze catching ridge and it tapers under and appears as a foot to small degree. It also catches running glazes.Its one of my styles I'm know for along with the plate and platter nubbins-or any nubbin on the Botton which I sign.

This is a tough one-I have made a good living on glazes that RUN-but thats not my favorite
I like salt pots and and the flashing slips  and crystals  on them as well and heavy salt look of pebble.
The effects of salt like on my fence post demon dog series below
 
 

This is a tough one-I have made a good living on glazes that RUN-but thats not my favorite
I like salt pots and and the flashing slips  and crystals  on them as well and heavy salt look of pebble.
The effects of salt like on my fence post demon dog series below
 
 

This is a tough one-I have made a good living on glazes that RUN-but thats not my favorite
I like salt pots and and the flashing slips  and crystals  on them as well and heavy salt look of pebble.
The effects of salt like on my fence post demon dog series below
 
 

One thing of note-in my 45 year ceramic career my art BA has never come up-not in any sense-galleries -shows-etc.

I like to use every day other potters mugs-coffee and milk as well as my stoneware dinnerware set every day that I made in 1976.I use the salad plate almost every lunchtime as well.

One thing of note-in my 45 year ceramic career my art BA has never come up-not in any sense-galleries -shows-etc.

Formal education is  a key element in the whole process. I was raised in a art friendy home by educators. I was exposed to ceramics in 5th grade and again in high school. It took hold of part of me and I do not know why. I went on and got an art degree in collage over a 5 year process. I happened to learn from recent graduates from the golden age of Alfred graduates who got their 1st teaching jobs. They learned from the greats-like Rhodes etc. I was at the right place right time. Also one could find materials on the cheap and build kilns and obtain permits may back then. Thats all changed now.
Back in school I fired gas and electrics worked as a tech and fired kilns for work study money-built kilns-made bricks learned clay and glaze formulation
did low fire and high fire and raku and pit firing-made sculpture and made functional wares. Only in school is one exposed to it all and to get all the knowledge one needs to see it all.U-tube cannot hold a candle too this experience.
School was the beginning of my learning experience -Really just a jump off point looking back. Its the foundation of my career but the real learning was in the real world of business and the sheer number of years it takes to get good and succeed .Throwing really well takes everyone different amounts of time to master-for me it was about 7 or eight years to get handles and forms perfected and have then sell well.
I'm a big believer in formal education-our society improves with formal education.
The only downside these days is ceramic education has been slashed nation wide and there has been at least a twenty year bias towards sculpt vs functional wares in many collage programs. You can now get a degree in what I call (jar opening) where you learn very little except low fire sculpture making.Finding a good school these days is work.

Formal education is  a key element in the whole process. I was raised in a art friendy home by educators. I was exposed to ceramics in 5th grade and again in high school. It took hold of part of me and I do not know why. I went on and got an art degree in collage over a 5 year process. I happened to learn from recent graduates from the golden age of Alfred graduates who got their 1st teaching jobs. They learned from the greats-like Rhodes etc. I was at the right place right time. Also one could find materials on the cheap and build kilns and obtain permits may back then. Thats all changed now.
Back in school I fired gas and electrics worked as a tech and fired kilns for work study money-built kilns-made bricks learned clay and glaze formulation
did low fire and high fire and raku and pit firing-made sculpture and made functional wares. Only in school is one exposed to it all and to get all the knowledge one needs to see it all.U-tube cannot hold a candle too this experience.
School was the beginning of my learning experience -Really just a jump off point looking back. Its the foundation of my career but the real learning was in the real world of business and the sheer number of years it takes to get good and succeed .Throwing really well takes everyone different amounts of time to master-for me it was about 7 or eight years to get handles and forms perfected and have then sell well.
I'm a big believer in formal education-our society improves with formal education.
The only downside these days is ceramic education has been slashed nation wide and there has been at least a twenty year bias towards sculpt vs functional wares in many collage programs. You can now get a degree in what I call (jar opening) where you learn very little except low fire sculpture making.Finding a good school these days is work.

Formal education is  a key element in the whole process. I was raised in a art friendy home by educators. I was exposed to ceramics in 5th grade and again in high school. It took hold of part of me and I do not know why. I went on and got an art degree in collage over a 5 year process. I happened to learn from recent graduates from the golden age of Alfred graduates who got their 1st teaching jobs. They learned from the greats-like Rhodes etc. I was at the right place right time. Also one could find materials on the cheap and build kilns and obtain permits may back then. Thats all changed now.
Back in school I fired gas and electrics worked as a tech and fired kilns for work study money-built kilns-made bricks learned clay and glaze formulation
did low fire and high fire and raku and pit firing-made sculpture and made functional wares. Only in school is one exposed to it all and to get all the knowledge one needs to see it all.U-tube cannot hold a candle too this experience.
School was the beginning of my learning experience -Really just a jump off point looking back. Its the foundation of my career but the real learning was in the real world of business and the sheer number of years it takes to get good and succeed .Throwing really well takes everyone different amounts of time to master-for me it was about 7 or eight years to get handles and forms perfected and have then sell well.
I'm a big believer in formal education-our society improves with formal education.
The only downside these days is ceramic education has been slashed nation wide and there has been at least a twenty year bias towards sculpt vs functional wares in many collage programs. You can now get a degree in what I call (jar opening) where you learn very little except low fire sculpture making.Finding a good school these days is work.

Formal education is  a key element in the whole process. I was raised in a art friendy home by educators. I was exposed to ceramics in 5th grade and again in high school. It took hold of part of me and I do not know why. I went on and got an art degree in collage over a 5 year process. I happened to learn from recent graduates from the golden age of Alfred graduates who got their 1st teaching jobs. They learned from the greats-like Rhodes etc. I was at the right place right time. Also one could find materials on the cheap and build kilns and obtain permits may back then. Thats all changed now.
Back in school I fired gas and electrics worked as a tech and fired kilns for work study money-built kilns-made bricks learned clay and glaze formulation
did low fire and high fire and raku and pit firing-made sculpture and made functional wares. Only in school is one exposed to it all and to get all the knowledge one needs to see it all.U-tube cannot hold a candle too this experience.
School was the beginning of my learning experience -Really just a jump off point looking back. Its the foundation of my career but the real learning was in the real world of business and the sheer number of years it takes to get good and succeed .Throwing really well takes everyone different amounts of time to master-for me it was about 7 or eight years to get handles and forms perfected and have then sell well.
I'm a big believer in formal education-our society improves with formal education.
The only downside these days is ceramic education has been slashed nation wide and there has been at least a twenty year bias towards sculpt vs functional wares in many collage programs. You can now get a degree in what I call (jar opening) where you learn very little except low fire sculpture making.Finding a good school these days is work.

Moat of you know my story-in fact its the reason I came to this site in the 1st place-to ask the question can you  still throw pots after having a PRC wrist surgery. Which for me was unknown at that time.
That was my 1st post on this board back in 2012 if I recall
I had some trama to my right wrist sometime in past 30 years  and hurt that wrist and the wrist became to painful to do much with.The scaphoid bone drifted into the lunate  after that injury (unknown to me) and arthritis ate it all up.
Had this procedure done 
http://www.sonjacerovac.com/procedures/hand-wrist/proximak-row-carpectomy/
They cut out the 3 of the 9 bones we all have in our wrist.I have 6 bones now-you all have 9.
I found the best surgeon specialist on the west coast and got several opinions first as I really wanted to stay in clay.
I ended up 6 hours south in San Fransisco at UCSF . It was a 6 month recovery-(5 clay free)
Now I have a limited range of motion and only have 105#s of grip (once was 130) in that hand.
Its slowing degrading from use and my next option will be full wrist fusion when I cannot stand the pain my Docs says. If I baby it It may last my lifetime but I have found that clay work is not babying it enough and its slowly getting more painful. Thank goodness I have a high pain threshold.
The timing is such that hopefully I can slow down in time ( less pottery making)not to have full wrist fusion. (no wrist movement at all) 
I could throw even with full fusion but I'm not keen on that idea.
Now at 65 my hands get cramps and get sore but I generally work thru it.My wrist is a bigger issue than finger arthritis for me.
On the economic notes I can hang it up anytime but I really like my job at times and would prefer to just slowly do less.
I built this business over 45 years ago and Its not something I look forward on closing the door on.I know at some point in the next years I'll stop with shows -thats a given with age but I like the idea of still suppling some choice local markets I have delved over the past 45 years.
Its a gamble either way.
I did get a power pugged right after wrist surgery and should have gotten one a decade sooner-all the labor saving devices really help in the long run.
advancer shelves -power wheels electric slab rollers-Peter Puggers-all very worth it if you do this for a living.
Another issue for me is all my other hobbies are heavy stuff-like diving with tanks and lead and heavy underwater cameras or shipwreck salvage. My fun is all heavy stuff.
 

For text work in letters I use a small squeeze bottle with the glaze or stain and fill the letter voids-far less clean up and messing with things-then I wax over them for glazing.