Pres

I guess the difference for me is that the liner glaze is very durable and requires no glaze overtop, at the same time spraying on decoration with 3 other glazes 2 opaque breaking textured glazes and one transparent glaze gives me a lot of room for variation and lots of fun. best, Pres

@Crooked Lawyer PotterThin the glaze a bit and make a quicker dip. best, Pres

I have been using a Hazelnut Brown from SC, it fires a darker red brown, and most of my glazes were to dark for it. However, I have found that a liner glaze that I use works well over the dark clay, and then I apply my other glazes with an airbrush or dipped over it. It also works very well to finger swipe areas of the white liner before applying the other glazes. best, Pres

I replaced all of the old fluorescent bulbs in the shop within the last 5 years. The amount of light the new ones put out and the quality of the light is astounding. I much prefer the LED's and wonder why I waited so long. best, Pres

I once was throwing with some clay I have wedged in college. Seems someone put an old rib in the slop bucket that got broken up in the pug mill. . . I did have cuts after doing the cone up and down the second time. . . . really was not comfortable throwing for a while, and it taught me to bread stack the clay after cutting a couple of times before hand wedging or throwing the clay. Larger pieces takes time for the small bits to show up. Felt like an idiot, but lesson learned. best, Pres

Retired. . . .who is retired. . . . Seems like I am settling well into another life, bowling 3 times a week, just getting ready to start restocking shelves in the library for more reading, have heat replacement to install in the shop, and undecorating for Christmas yet to complete. Seems like I work more now than when in my past life. best, Pres

The thing with pottery is the glaze firing takes time to reach @1000F. which is the quartz inversion from alpha to beta quartz afterwards a faster but steady fire to glaze temps around 2000F. for stoneware. My limited experience with forges to melt/anneal or other work with metals would tell me nix on using it with glaze firing pottery. All IMHO but the best I have. best, Pres

AS always @Marcia Selsor you are an inspiration! best, Pres

Recent entry in the QotW pool comes from @Bam2015. .. my suggestion for a QOTW is: As an artist, when feeling 'stuck,' what helps to inspire or motivate you? Do you look at Instagram photos, read self help or art books, take a walk in nature, etc? I think we have had this question asked in a similar form in the early Summer of last year, but good thing to return to. As all of you know, I have a lot of books, and magazines on ceramics, and other art techniques. I often return to these looking for inspiration and ideas on new forms, textures, and techniques to keep the creative juices going. Often thoughts do not come from the ceramics books, but the watercolor, photography or landscape books especially in the winter. QotW:As an artist, when feeling 'stuck,' what helps to inspire or motivate you? Do you look at Instagram photos, read self help or art books, take a walk in nature, etc? best, Pres

If you were working with a slump mold, I would decorate before shaping on the form, but you have the right idea about the slump mold, as you would blur your decoration in areas trying to get it to shape into the slump mold. @old lady has a good idea for the woven curtain fabric, another option is saran wrap. I have also used tools that have a small ball on the end for incised lines as it does not raise as much of a burr, these also glide easily over saran wrap on clay as do roller stamps. best, Pres

There is absolutely nothing that touches me more than the feel of the clay spinning through my fingers during a pull! best, Pres

I believe this strand should be in the Equipment use and Repair strand, so I will move it there. Hope you agree @neilestrick. best, Pres

Unfortunately, I did the same test, and found that 3 of the factors were upper left hand quad. .. .don't even remember what it meant, but the tester said it was significant to my choice of career. . . a career I never really chose, just fell into. best, Pres

Ever since a kid, I knew I wanted to do art. For years it was drawing, painting,, crafty stuff and other things. The college thing was natural, like walking across a river on wet rocks. Once accredited as a teacher, I thought of going the MFA, but back then 2 years of residency when I already had a wife and child was not in the mix. In the 80's I was working with another arts teacher, a music teacher to write a grant to put in an arts computer studio. We got the grant and I started teaching animation, and he taught computerized music, which we assembled into videos. I found that I had a natural feel for using the mouse and pen interfaces, not much on programming but on the creative visual end. This went along with the pottery as I could enjoy siting on the computer putting together frames in an animation to tell a story. . . .analogous to throwing. I still find myself creating labels, glaze databases, art work for stamps and other things on the computer. I have met other potters that seem to have the same feel on the computer. best, Pres

I did Mishima years ago, using a medium brown colored clay, and a white clay that both had the same percentage shrinkage. I did my carving in plates on the dark colored clay and then used a pasty slip to cover the area. I applied this slip with rubber ribs, smoothing it into the plate. When drier scraped the surface with a metal rib to expose the brown clay and the decoration. Never had a problem with decoration shrinking away from base pot. In the end, I decided the technique was not the look I was after and took longer than my attention span would allow. best, Pres

I really can't heat my garage through the Winter as it just gets too cold for the brick unattached garage, so all of my glazes freeze. In warmer days or when getting set to glaze pottery I make certain everything is thawed then sieve the glazes through the same sieve as when mixing them originally. This brings them back to consistency and ready to glaze. I heat the shop at these times with an electric space heater. best, Pres

Hi folks, no new suggestions for a QotW in the pool, or at least I have gone through the ones that had piled up. However, I had thought that I posted in one other other QotW posts about the mentality of potters. There was some response to be asking if it was needed for the QotW so: QotW: Do you think it takes a certain mentality or emotional state be engage with clay as a potter? Please state with examples or personal perspective. I have often wondered what it was that got me about clay over the years. I had played with clay, done a little here and there in elementary school, and painted some bisqueware when at Hickam AFB in Hawaii, but not much to speak of. In the Summer of 1971, I took a Summer class with my fiancé in Ceramics. This included wheel throwing and handbuilding in 9 weeks. I sat on the wheel the first day completely frustrated after the demonstration by the teacher of how to throw a pot on the wheel (Randolph motorized kick wheels). I could not center, something that seemed so easy, and ended with slop after the 3 hr session with several balls of clay gone through. I couldn't even get the hang of the wedging. . . nothing seemed natural. The feel of the clay in my fingers though was unbelievable, so I trudged on. I think I had nine pieces total out of the class, and received a B. Ceramics II was different, I could wedge, and center, and even throw a nine inch cylinder with 3 lbs of clay. I would wedge in the beginning of class, all of the balls I would use allotted for specific forms. The days were structured, and the rhythm of wedging and throwing seemed to come naturally. I threw casseroles, a teapot, some vases and other pieces ending the course with maybe 20 pieces and an A. I believe that the structure of the process attracted me, and held my interest, I really love the feel of pulling the clay, centering pieces and especially shaping the form to the greatest amount of inflation without loosing balance, I found out late in life after my son was diagnosed with ADHD, that I probably was the same as was my Dad. Our work areas were always in disarray, and our thinking process were often erratic. I found the only way to study in college was to take an immense amount of notes and then recopy every night religiously, then at the end of the semester recopy all of the notes again. . . but each copying of the notes was to shorten or paraphrase the information established in the notes. I also would Outline the text books and recopy/condense the outlines. These techniques allowed me to test in classes much better, but when doing studio classes of any sort, I had no trouble remembering things. So yes, I believe that it takes a certain mental state or even emotional state to work in clay or to be attracted to it. I still get physical, mental and emotional calmness when wedging, throwing, glazing or anything else involving clay. . . .with one exception. .. . .clean up! Whoops, reminder from @Min that @LeeU posted : Do people who work with clay have a tendency towards certain personalities ?" Might be interesting! Sorry, but I imagine the two are similar in intent. . . sorry @LeeU, I did not mean to overlook your question, thanks for submitting it. best, Pres

My glazes are mixed to cuticle visible but covered thickness, no hydrometer. Wash is done with wet sponge or dip, with 20 minute dry. Base glaze is done with 1-2-3 dip, with over dips or sprays. 06 bisque with slow bisque. best, Pres

I believe that only another potter can truly appreciate a "second". best, Pres

I have often considered the +/- side of moving the bisque to 04, but then realized that in the studio I would have to change a few things that I have come to expect. My glazes are all set to pretty much match my dipping time on the 06 bisque ware. My spraying situation also uses a set timing as does my washing of pots. To change the bisque temp would change much of my internal clock when glazing so i have no made the move. Call it old school as I have been doing it for more than 50 years. best, Pres

One other option is to make the two pieces and not join them together, Just have foot ring that fits into the opening of the base. The foot ring would be thrown into the base of the top pieces as an inner rim. best, Pres

I would consider throwing the plate upside down with a rim perpendicular to the plate, could be decorative cut rim. Throw the pedestal with a bow shape pulled inward then flaring out to provide a larger support area for the plate. This will distribute the weight and allow for a gripping area to lift the pedestal. best, Pres

@Gazalposting a picture might help with your description problem leading to a more specific solution. best, Pres

I believe that the big problem was the rough first start and then a few short errands that did not allow the battery to recharge from the first start. Live and learn, but the car is a 2019, and the battery had not needed changing.. . . nor anything else! best, Pres