Pres

Sounds like you need to re sieve. If you can get an #80, I would try that. I always sieve twice, once into a spare container, then back into the original container after cleaning it and the sieve. best, Pres

I have been using this test for years with patens/plates, as there are times a hairline crack cannot be seen, but can be heard! best, Pres

It looks to me that they are larger than sieve size, but not certain of that. First thing I would do is to re-sieve the glaze to see if you get any particles in the sieve. Secondly, even though the glaze looks to have gone on evenly, did you wash the pot before hand? Did the pot set out before glaze firing? Was this on a lower shelf that had a shelf above with kiln wash on the bottom side? Had to ask. Is this in a bowl? best, Pres

Some pictures would be helpful, hard to tell what is going on with just a description. best, Pres

@ABlanc Considering the type of crack, and the crazing of the glaze, IMHO this is a cooling dunt, where the kiln was cooled a little to quickly for large flat pieces of this sort. I used to get some cooling dunts in the early years from overzealous cooling of the kiln, or opening too soon. How are you firing the kiln? Is it on a kiln setter, or a controller with a ramp up and down set up? best, Pres

@PeterHI have seen something like this before, but it was a wheel driven by a man below the ground while thrower was above ground. Don't remember where, but in one of my many books best, Pres.

Hi folks, no new questions in the question pool. When I was much younger, I volunteered to help on a Saturday to mix clay for the ceramics classes with the professor. The ceramics studio was on the second floor and was equipped with a Soldner like clay mixer, and a Walker pug mill. The professor had a clay body that he mixed up by bags, I remember the water hose from the sink praying over the powders as we dumped clay into the mixer. Keeping the clay wet was to keep the dust down, but it was everywhere! We mixed 3 batches that day and ran it through the Walker. Al in all, it was an 8 hr day. The professor mixed a quite a bit of slop from his slake buckets to help with plasticity, and by watching the square lugs coming out of the Walker he would tell when the clay was best. I worked with that clay the next Monday class, it was terribly short at the time, but still throwable for a second semester student. I have never mixed clay since then, deciding that I didn't have the equipment or the space resources to get into it. Heaven forbid to do it in a HS classroom, I would never get the room clean again! This got me to thinking about how many potters out there have made their own clay body or do the rely on a supplier to do the dust work! There is a recent thread on the forum lately about the buying clay premixed or dry to save on shipping costs and expenses, which also brought back the previous memory. QotW: Do you or have you ever mixed your own clay for your studio, and if you do describe your equipment and working space? best, Pres

I store my clay outside in PA, It is under my two sea kayaks, on wooden risers I built to hold 2000lb at a time. A large tarp covers the whole deal and is replaced when it wears out. Even though I have padded the kayak rack and tie down the tarp the strong winds will wear a tarp out in 2 years. My clay is shipped boxed untied. I use 2000lb in about 2 years, and yet never have problems with the clay drying out so long as the boxes stay intact. best, Pres

I have never seen larger pointed vessels thrown as all have seemed to be coil constructed with a lot of paddling and compression of layered coils. On another thought, I read somewhere that the shape of the Queri/amphora was to allow tilting of the container to pour into other containers for use. best, Pres

@GEP, I can certainly attest to the time and effort it takes to do any type of shipping situation of late. Size of boxes, and the changes in packing materials are small compared to the picture you are painting, but still a nuisance. I shipped 20 orders last year for communion sets and baptismal sets last year with a total of near $1500 in costs to the customer. This year will probably be worse. I believe that the large online shipping companies are controlling much of the sizes and delivery situations that will make it a different world for craftspeople shipping their items. This does not even include what you have mentioned in the way of social media exposure. best, Pres

I also like to layer glazes, and often will do a dip with two contrasting colors. However, I believe that contrasting color also means contrasting values, one stronger than the other. At the same time, I often spray colors on over the dipped layers to mute the line between the dipped colors. Rutile green or blue from Van Gilders glaze recipes works well for this. As the transparent glaze uses rutile(containing titanium oxide and trace elements) causing interesting breaks in texture over the other glazes as @neilestrickhas already alluded to. Running test tiles or small test pieces like shot glass vessels really help to pin point combinations. At the same time if using 3 colors it is really important to understand a little about color theory in choosing your glaze colors. best, Pres

Nancy, are you looking to make yours with the pointed/rounded base or with a flat base? I believe that part of the process is determined by the base. Thickness of the larger pots seems to be 2-4" in coils, and then the scraping will bring the walls a little thinner. flat bottoms have more stress on the bottom for weight of the walls whereas the rounded or pointed bottoms are supported with the side walls with different stress points. Interesting project. . . wish we could help more. I would think your best efforts would be to work smaller and ramp up when you get more assured/confident of your process. best, Pres

Just reminded that when I was still teaching at the HS I would run a one week workshop in Ceramics for an Intermediate school Summer camp. We did Slab project, some extrusions, and some coil work. Every day I would put pots on the two downdraft tables in the room after class at noon. In the afternoon they would be nearly bone dry, and go into the kiln with a 2 hour or so water smoke. Day 3 of class we started glazing, and by day 5 they all had about four pieces of pottery that went in the final glaze firing of two kilns. Crazy how those downdraft tables would save my bacon in end of the semester rushes. best, Pres

Use an underglaze or stain to sign then refire to a lower temp. best, Pres

I used to candle overnight wet to leather hard pots for the kids. Would start the kiln right after school 2inch lid gap, work until around 530, and head home. Next morning would check kiln for peep moisture around 645, then depending start a slow ramp to bisque 06. Worked most times, especially when there were heavy spirit houses or coil pieces in the kiln. Years ago, mid 70's I went to a workshop at Indiana State College of PA. They were doing fast firing one day with pearlite addition. Threw like crap, but the pots survived and were glaze fired in two days of the workshop! Took students to the workshop also, and they were impressed! best, Pres

Since for years I had now way of knowing the temp of the kiln with not pyrometer or thermocouple, I would just start with the bottom switch at 10% overnight with lid 2". Next morning crank all to 10% for 1-2 hours, lid down, until I no longer felt dampness in the kiln by putting my hand up to the peeps. Firing from there was pretty much as most others. Worked well with student handbuilt pots and student wheel thrown pieces. best, Pres

@Anna MWelcome to the forum, we hope you find some answers to your questions while visiting with us. I fired an electric kiln for years in my garage with no ventilation. It wasn't a major problem, but it had its bad spots as many hand tools in the garage needed extra care to keep them from showing rust or getting tarnished heavily along with woodwork and such needing more paint and care than other outdoor structures. However, last year I replaced my kiln with a newer kiln that had a controller and a downdraft vent system like @neilestrickdescribed. Actually Neil helped me pick out my new kiln, don't tell him I said so, but he's a great guy. I have noticed that the tools in the studio do not rust or tarnish as much, and the new kiln seems to be firing very clean. I run a vent out the window, and the system has a blower that keeps the kiln interior cleaner, and moisture from bisques gets ducted outside, not in the garage atmosphere. Venting highly recommended. Once again, Welcome to the forum! best, Pres

Mark, Another way you have been a good example for the community here. I want to live long and play in the clay as much as possible, travel, and enjoy life. Not to suffer through it. best, Pres

Really Professional looking booth and set up, as it has been whenever you have posted. I am glad to hear that you wear a mask at this point, I do whenever going somewhere crowded and will until the ugly covid head if finally gone. Tis a sad thing to know you are cutting back, but from your position I imagine a sigh of relief! Great work, great presentation, now great retirement! best, Pres

Last week @kswanposed a question in the QotW pool. His post read: QOTW: What tips do you have to make cleaning up your studio easier or more time efficient? Some areas aren't too bad for me, such as keeping the footprint of my throwing area small, arranging things to close any gaps where clay bits can fall to the floor. I use a damp sponge to sweep little dry bits into a dustpan and then wipe the floor with a clean sponge. Unfortunately, I feel like I am chasing my tail some days, trying to get up all the little bits that fall off surfaces all day as I work. With the layout of my space, I can't condense the tables and shelves any more, so I have to walk from one area to another, which inevitably spreads clay around. One solution I'm doing now is to have a slightly damp towel on the floor to wipe my feet on as I move about. I check my soles time to time, and if they look dusty, I wipe them with a sponge and then try to find the section of floor that's dirty and wipe it too. It just feels like I'm spending half my time doing this. ANybody else feel this way or have solutions? Someone should invent a clay Roomba! I'd buy it in a heartbeat! I would be second in line for that clay Roomba, but then I have so many things stored in the shop right now that I have to climb over things to get around. Renovations can play havoc with the shop! Big Thank You to kswan for posting in the pool. . . it is always helpful! Once again, QOTW: What tips do you have to make cleaning up your studio easier or more time efficient? best, Pres

Christy Ann, could you post a picture so that we can actually see what the results were? best, Pres

Suz, I would look up the orton cone chart, and compare the temps for the self supporting and small cones. I believe you will find the small cones fire hotter than the self supporting. At the same time, check carefully to see that your drop rod of the setter is in the center of the small cones length. You pictures are helpful, but I can't figure on which set of cones you are showing as you mention 3 different firings. best, Pres

Thanks @kswan, I will post this on Sunday! best, Pres

That is quite an order. I remember undertaking an order for 2000 vessels several years ago. Took me a year to finish them as I was still teaching. I just barely met the deadline for the job. I would think this would be a job for a coop of some sort. A group of potters that could share the burden. best, Pres

Hi folks, nothing new in the pool! So I will pose another question for this weeks QotW. Last week we asked about digital scales and find that probably 90% of you have gone digital at least with scales. Hmmm that makes me wonder. I used to keep all of my notes on glaze formulas and recipes in a large sketch book. I even had drawings in it of pots and how I glazed them in the early days. Then in the 1980's I started working on apple II computers, and Commodore Amigas. Yeah, started to push my glaze chemistry onto spread sheets. Early ones were really simple, but a good way of storing things, and they could be printed out whenever you wanted to mix of glazes or other materials. These days I still do it, and often will post a picture of a pot with the glaze on it in the spread sheet. I have the spread sheet set up for 500 and 750 grams of glaze which makes it easy for small and larger buckets. Recently, I got rid of the paper punched sheets and now slip them into a plastic protective sleeve. I number my containers of glaze, and my test tiles, with corresponding numbers marked on the plastic sleeve. I remember the names, but the numbers are easy to keep on the containers, and if I decide to move a glaze out and another in, I just keep the same number. When mixing glazes I mark each completed component on the sleeve over the recipe. Makes things easy and keeps me on track. QotW: Do you keep your glazes in a notebook, or some other paper depository, or have you gone digital with your glaze and materials recipes? best, Pres