Pres

Hi folks, another week of QotW: and as there are no new questions in the pool. . . . I will pose a question that has not been asked I believe. I have dealt with people as a potter, and as a teacher specifically to Ceramics. Over the years, I have heard many stories and talked to lots of people about pots and how to work, as a student, teacher and professional. Over the years I have heard many thoughts about pots and how they could/should be used or made. There was the woman several years back that did not like my footed bowls because of the square deep foot ring that would capture water in the dishwasher claiming it wasn't dishwasher safe because it collected the residue water and dumped it on lower areas when unloading. I started making bowls with rounded interiors to the foot rings and even cutting half holes in the foot ring to help drain. There was the man buying teapots at a show that insisted that the tea had to arc from the pot when pouring by having enough pressure from a wide spout base. . . and that when the pot went upright to cut the flow and not drip. He also said he could spot the butter/Crisco trick that some potters would use to keep their pots from dripping?? Luckily I had reasonable teapots which he bought two or three, but I was befuddled about the butter/Crisco trick! There are a lot of things that I learned over the years but probably the biggest one in all with teaching and with selling was to listen, even though it was taking my short of supply time to do it. Patience to listen with all has become ingrained. QotW: What have you learned from/by customers/students when dealing with them? best, Pres

You show that you have control of the basic concepts, and the wall evenness is impressive. If you start to use a little less water on the last pull you will find you can get a little more height without a whole lot of work. Posting a video would be helpful for further assistance in the throwing process, best, Pres

I hate to say it, @Pyewackette, but by doing everything with the asian wheel direction, is difficult for me to help you with, Are you right or left handed? However. . . . When centering you brace on your right hip? Then you pull with your left to get the clay into the right braced hand. Opening up you are using the left hand to open with the thumb but now changing to the index finger. . . but it is too weak. . . .try the two middle fingers. When pulling, you should have a donut attached the the wheel, use your sponge in your left had to push on the roll of the donut while your fingers of the rt hand on the inside squeeze against the rt hand thumb on the outside below the donut, this should complete the first pull. It is essential that the motion of the hands going up is slightly inward making a truncated cylinder, On you next pull the outside rt hand should start right at the base creating a new roll, the inside hand is at the base of the cylinder pushing very slightly outward less pressure than the inside hand. As you feel the roll rise, rise with it slowly bracing arms against shallow breathing body. . . The rest is practice. best, Pres

@Pyewackette, is it possible you are not centering in the bottom outside of your clay when centering, leaving a small area where the clay causes your hand to rise unevenly on your centering and pulling. Use and upside down thumbnail to scrape the clay on the wheel head into the clay you are centering? I center with a slight cup to my hands at the base opposite the thumb, this forces the clay to move into the ball being centered. Hope you can understand my description. best, Pres

I have two separate systems one for garage and one for the house. It is amazing how much the new lighting in the house has taken load off of the service. Wouldn't have thought. We also found the renovation of the kitchen dropped load quite a bit also. Crazy. . . but then the hot water heater is gas as is the furnace. In the shop, the circuit for the heat is at the bottom of the box, and kiln is on breakers above. The heater runs when I am working at night on low, then during the day to comfort level. Without the heat on at night the brick absorbs cold enough that it is impossible to get to comfort until later in the day. best, Pres

I have not seen any new ideas for the QotW, so I will pose one that has been on my mind this weekend. I have been working in Quickbooks to prepare the taxes for the LLC of which I am a member with my 3 sisters. It is farmland with a barn, two houses and some outbuildings. Paperwork is easy using the accounting program even though you have to understand how to enter things. I used to do all of my taxes in Quicken, but after the LLC formation we have them done by an accountant. I do all of the preps, and they crank out the taxes for the LLC and the forms for the members. So all of this makes me wonder if others use a tax program, spreadsheet, tax consultant or other means to complete their personal and/or business taxes? QotW: How do you complete tax preparation for you personal/business taxes? I have probably asked this before, but good to return to it this time of year. best, Pres

@Ben xyzAs Min says, troublesome runny glazes are difficult on vertical surfaces, however there are ways to slow the movement, and even stop the glaze from running off completely. horizontal rings, lines to the surface that are incised at an angle to create a slight step in the form will slow glaze run several may be worked into a decoration where puddling if even slight will give nice break effects. A ledged foot also will allow you to keep from cleaning the kiln shelves or losing post due to over run. A waster below the piece to catch glaze overflow from running onto the shelves. I haven't worked with Paladium, but have used several glazes that would run in the HS. For students my best policy was to rule that the runny glazes (Sea Green Pearl) in particular could only be applied to the top 2/3 of a pot. best, Pres

Sounds like to me that you would be able to work well with 3 groups(8,8,&9), using two groups on the wheel at a time in possibly 20 to 30 minutes including rough cleanup. Rotate the groups around so that everyone gets equal time in a session. Time off from session should be used for wedging, cleaning tools, and later for trimming using the wheels that are left over from the groups throwing. You should even set up a time maybe mid class for relative demonstrations on techniques learned, and problems you notice, chicken winging, hand positions when centering and pulling, trimming, handles etc., You should also make certain to have a cut off date for wet work, and glaze work in order to get everything fired by the last class date. My beginners class required that we throw a 9" cylinder with 3# of clay. Not a difficult task, but one that required throwing skills well into the beginner level. Nothing was allowed to be kept until we had the cylinder completed! I spent most of my summer semester throwing and scrapping even after the 9" cylinder, the las week of wet work I kept everything I threw, trimmed them and put handles on those that needed it . . . .9 pieces for the summer semester. best, Pres

This sort of thing seems to rest on exactly how high you want to push the standards. Often when dealing with Seniors, it is about results. You have not mentioned anything about the curriculum, the hours for the class, how often it will meet, or the possibilities of open studio for non class practice. I have worked a lot with Seniors and non degree adults in the Saturday morning classes I started teaching in the late 90's. I was a HS teacher with budgetary problems that I solved by teaching the Saturday Winter Cabin Buster class for adults within the district staff. That expanded to area adults wishing to get out for a 3 hr class in ceramics. . . mostly to have fun. However, being a teacher it was about teaching technique, aesthetics and studio processes. But above all about having fun. I started each class with a demonstration of either handbuilt or wheel throwing processes. On the wheel I taught that there were 3 basic forms: cylinder, bowl and plate from which all others were created. We covered wedging techniques, handbuilding with pinch pot, coil, slab and extrusion. Including handbuilding allowed for more use of the time, and allowed them to explore other methods of forming. The last week of regular class was all glazing, with the glazes mixed up, demo of dipping, pouring, and other techniques as question and need presented itself. The class only lasted 6 weeks, but people returned nearly every year for another 6 weeks. My budget supply problems were solved, and we were able to purchase more wheels until we had 6 in the room. I recently was in the ceramics classroom at that HS to help with the adult class that has about 8 to 14 adults and 6-8 HS students that serve as assistants and sometimes work on their own stuff. It is basically a guided open studio which is where it had evolved in my later years there. My point here is that in order to give more specific input we would need more information on the time frames, both in each day, week, and semester. It would also be helpful to know if you are interested in expanding the class to include some handbuilding or would only want to hold things to the wheel. I believe handbuilding opens up much more creativity and greater understanding of clay especially when dealing with combined forms of wheel thrown and handbuilt hybids, best, Pres

No new questions in the pool for the QotW, so I will pose a new one. I have been amazed lately of the distances that some of you cover when doing wholesale/retail and shows in general. It would be interesting to know how far you travel for these sales. If you have any stories about these travels, please include them also. QotW: How much area/distance do you cover when selling your ceramics? My history of sales is pretty simple. For years I sold at festivals and other venues in Blair and Center county in PA. I was frequent enough that folks returned to my booth after buying in previous years just to buy from me. At the same time though, I had and ongoing sales outlet with a religious group that needed chalices for meeting and ceremonies. Later they came to need patens also as they created an award in honor of one of their founders that led to me selling @20 communion sets a year and sending them to seminary schools all over the nation. Lots of work, and lots of shipping/ handling problems to be solved and I continue to do so. I have now created these for over 40 years. I have also sent some as far as Europe, Australia, and South Korea. best, Pres

Ohhhh so nice to have 60's, will be a while before I'll see that. Putting new heater in the shop this weekend so that I can work. best, Pres

I have the same problem as you with the circuitry and loads @lindastone10. I have a 100 amp service, with a 20 amp on the lights and sockets with a 70 amp for the kiln, and then I have a 20 amp for the garage style radiant heater and fan. I just don't run the heat when running the kiln killing it at the breaker. Way I figure it if the kiln is firing it supplies heat, otherwise the heat is on only when I am in there or need to keep things from freezing solid. PS I run a lot of my own wiring, but have the breaker boxes done by a registered electrician who also checks my wiring. best, Pres

Yes it is Penn State, main campus. I haven't been in the facilities since the late 70's's so I have no idea what they have in kilns and studio space. best, Pres

There are alternative kilns that are build around a piece and fired, but they are fuel burning and limited in range. best, Pres

I have had several instances where student work needed minor and major repairs. I found that a combination of epoxy putty and epoxy glue would work on all of my problems. When the crack was small, I would use the epoxy glue, often working around areas where the cracks with epoxy glue would be tight, then when I had areas where there was not piece. . . fill the gap with the epoxy putty. Takes patience and time, but works really well. Finishing these was often a problem as colors of putty would not match the glazed surfaces. However, Acrylic paint works well if worked thin, and mixed to match adjoining areas. A spray sealant over the acrylic finish up for outdoor use. best, Pres

I know that some colleges with MFA programs had them in the 70's, as there was one at PSU where photos were taken with a table and chairs inside with people sitting around. Long time ago, and strange fond memory. best, Pres

@yams23Moved it back, sorry for the inconvenience. best, Pres

I moved the topic here as it is where it belongs, hope it doesn't cause any inconvenience @yams23 best, Pres

I'll be interested in your findings, as I use the 630 and will be ordering another batch of clay this Summer. best, Pres

I have never heard of a transparent matt, the closest thing I can think of that would come close would be a dry salt/soda firing. At the same time, with their bumpy surfaces in the images, I would really not want to eat out of them. best, Pres

Sorry to say, but some of us do not use instagram, could you please post the images on in your post? best, Pres

What I wouldn't give for 40 right now, but we get a warm spell next week. best, Pres

Hi folks, nothing new in the pool so I will pose a new question. Lately, I have been thinking about the Winter weather, and though it has been relatively mild, the sudden chills like Christmas weekend, and the last couple of days do concern me. Mostly I shut down in the shop until April, using some heat then when I am working. However, all Winter long I shut down, let things freeze and then in the Spring have to reconstitute the glazes, and wedge throwing clay, to get back to work. It works out, as the brick garage is a beast to heat, and only has electric. So I wonder what others do to compensate for winter weather. QotW: What are your Winter strategies for working in the shop or on pottery? best, Pres

Moving this to Equipment. best, Pres

I have found that if I really loved a piece, and there are a few, I would set the price at a value that I really felt that it was worth. Often around $500, some sold and others I still have and still display in the house. Funny about gifting family. . . years ago I used to gift pots, as I could not afford nice gifts. Over the years the quality of my work changed, and the value of nice gifts went up to where my pots were nicer gifts!. Most of my folks are happy to have a nice teapot, colander, fish dish or casserole for two. My one sister has a high shelf that has nothing but her brothers fine ware. best, Pres