Pres
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Posts posted by Pres
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Sorry to say, but some of us do not use instagram, could you please post the images on in your post?
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Pres
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What I wouldn't give for 40 right now, but we get a warm spell next week.
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Pres
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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?
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Pres
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Moving this to Equipment.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
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Hi folks, since there is not new question in the QotW pool, I will pose one. I am going to cheat on this one as there is a post recently about regrets selling a piece of potter. Since it is already asked once, not a good idea to post it again, but I will open it up a bit to repost.
QotW: In your pottery life, do you have any regrets about your journey with clay over the years?
Personally, I have had regrets over the years, that really changed as I got older. At first I regretted that I hadn't gone for my MFA, instead of a MS in Art Education. At the time I was teaching large classes (30-35) in a large HS in central PA. I had a family, and there just wasn't anywhere nearby to get the degree that didn't require 2 yrs of residency. I couldn't do it. The ide of College teaching, and higher pay with more time with the clay was the draw, but providing for the family was the reality. Years later, I came to the realization that College teaching was not much greater than HS. . . .I taught grad courses for a local college in education along with undergrad courses. The same rules seemed to exist, college athletes got preferential treatment and even adults could be excessively lazy. As I got older and had more under my belt the pay increased, and the last ten years were great, and then retirement. . . .that to has been above my expectations. I still miss the classroom so I help out on Saturdays in the Winter. . . . . Regrets? None now!
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
- akilpots and Kelly in AK
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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.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
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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
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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.
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Pres
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There is absolutely nothing that touches me more than the feel of the clay spinning through my fingers during a pull!
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Pres
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I believe this strand should be in the Equipment use and Repair strand, so I will move it there. Hope you agree @neilestrick.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
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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
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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.
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Pres
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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.
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Pres
Looking for a cone 6 transparent/translucent matte glaze.
in Clay and Glaze Chemistry
Posted
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