Pres
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Posts posted by Pres
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@Hulk Placed a question in the QotW pool while I was on vacation at Disneyworld:
"Secret" procedure, technique, material, recipe - got any?
If so, how has your outlook on sharing with others changed over the years?This came to mind when packing pots for first show/sale I participated in - there will be other potters there, will any ask how I do x,y,z? I'd settled on answering pretty much any question (heh, there haven't been any questions), although I may not share my low expansion liner glaze with just anyone.
When I was coaching, several times, other coaches tried to "trick" me into revealing my "secrets" - I didn't have any secrets, always willing to share how I designed and orchestrated training plans, taught techniques, etc. An overarching "secret" is planning and executing said plan is a lot of work.
During my mid life (ok, maybe a bit after mid life) return trip through college, I'd read some studies about information and "power," where hoarding secrets/information and therefore retaining power to oneself is on one end of a continuum, and empowering others - sharing - is at the other. I found some truth in the notion, and reflect on it quite often, to this day. @Hulk
I have not ever held any secrets, usually share them before being asked. Publish them when I believe they are relevant, and try to suck up every secret everyone else has to pass on to others. I guess being a teacher is deep deep inside, and cannot be separated from the potter, or the man. Pres
best,
Pres
Once again, QotW: Do you have any pottery secrets that you do not share? If so how has your outlook on sharing with others changed over the years?
best,
Pres
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I have also been a big supporter of the beveled undercut on the bottoms of forms. I find that even a flat bottomed form benefits from a 1/4" beveled undercut on the bottom of the pot for several reasons:
- The bevel at the bottom makes an easier clean up job for glaze when cleaning to fire for glaze firing.
- The undercut hides the unglazed area of the pot
- The undercut also separates the pot from the table, an aesthetic thing IMHO
- easy and quickly done before cutting from the wheel, or when trimming.
best,
Pres
- Chilly and neilestrick
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We had two answers to this question in the Question of the Week Question Pool.
Bill Kielb
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- Members
- Location United States - Illinois
I have become lazy and try and throw everything with minimal trimming. If I can pre-trim most of the excess clay off before removing from the wheel I will. I still like a very well defined foot though; albeit minimal. Not something to grip and glaze with. I actually don’t mind trimming but have gotten into this habit over time.
Edited March 25 by Bill KielbMagnolia Mud Research
- Members
- Location: Texas
I ... try and throw everything with minimal trimming. If I can pre-trim most of the excess clay off before removing from the wheel I will. I still like a very well defined foot though; albeit minimal.
ik ook.
LT
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Last week @Bam2015queried: As I was trimming a pot last week, I started wondering if others trim pots just to clean them up and establish a foot, or is trimming part of the creative process for you? I like when I have extra clay (thicker walls & bottom) and can change the intended look of the pot depending on my mood that day. Following this train of thought I believe is interesting so. . .
QotW: Is trimming just a clean-up job for you, or do you use it to enhance the bottom of the pot in some way?
I have always used trimming to finish the bottom of forms. Large jars, would often use a little bit of clean up and trimming to remove some bottom thickness used to support the form during excessive shaping. Bowls and plates would have material removed in the same way as the shaping would need a little extra to support the walls that could be trimmed off later. In the last several years though, I have used shaping to make the pots like bowls, and smaller jars and such more dishwasher friendly. Part of this is old school. . a proper pot is footed, part is through an evolution of my thinking about form. Often now, my feet have blended edges on the inside of the foot ring where no water can gather, and often a 3-5 cut outs of the foot ring that allow the form to lift from the table somewhat. It's just an aesthetic thing, but I like it. These things really don't take much longer to do if you are footing anyway, and IMHO make a difference in the final piece.
best,
Pres
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I hope everyone can find something to take away from this, as there are so many options here, and it seems everyone has a different path towards the same thing.
best,
Pres
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Please folks. . . this is an area to pose a question, not to answer them. I use this area to have a collection of questions to be used for the QotW, as it makes my job easier!
Please, no more answering posed questions here. Wait until posted new on Sundays.
best,
Pres
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I don't care for the Win photo programs so I download the Gimp. Interface takes a little getting use to, but the tools are pretty decent.
best,
Pres
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Hi folks,
A few days after @Hulk posted last weeks QotW, he posed another. This question is one that seems especially relevant this year with the Covid thing becoming more of a dead issue (hopefully
) and Spring coming on! Hulk stated:
Any plans to visit galleries and/or others' Studios?
...workshops, classes? It's been a while for me; in the last two+ years, I've seen maybe ten displays of others' work, in person, and had an in-person pottery talk with maybe two or three actual potters. The post on upcoming SH workshop got me thinking*! I'm planning to make time to look in on local shops, galleries, studios, and swing by the local JC Ceramic lab as well.I am planning on reaching out to a few galleries, after vetting them to possibly handle some larger mixed pieces, I also hope to visit some out of state and out of country galleries this Summer. I believe I may also be giving a weekend workshop in a neighboring state. I think it is always great to get out and see potters, talk shop and get refreshed and excited about the Summer ahead. I have been helping with a Saturday adult thing in the HS I taught in for the last few weeks, and am doing some slab thrown constructions in that studio, great to get into doing more after the cold of frozen shop in January and Feb.
QotW: Any plans to visit galleries and/or others' Studios?
A special thanks goes out to Hulk for contributing to the community. . .makes my job easier!
best,
Pres
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I don't have a fan, in the shop, only an electric heater that has a blower. This takes care of keeping the shop warm when I am working in there, but I shut it off unless expecting a hard freeze. All in all, the garage is tough to clean completely as there is much storage in upper shelving and lots of tools not ceramics related. Cleaning floors, wheel, and other tools is the extent of my cleaning, and I do try to keep up on that.
best,
Pres
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Hi Folks. . . Wow!!! Someone has posted two possible questions in the QotW pool!!
@Hulkasked:
QoTW: How much air movement do you have in your studio, do you use fans, is cleaning to reduce blown dust part of your process?
Hulk actually goes on to describe much of his process here:
The winds here typically ramp up over the course of the day, peaking late afternoon 15-25 mph from the Northwest* in the dry season, somewhat less in the wet season. There are variations, particularly the hot/dry winds from the east/southeast, and wet/rainy from the south/southwest.
With the doors closed, the air in my Studio is rather static.
Any road, when a breeze whips through the Studio, it will pick up dust! Hence, I'll pop on the P100 afore opening the doors, if it's breezy out, run the mop and sponge, then hang the P100 back up on its hook once it's aired out a bit.
I don't use fans in the Studio.
Cleaning up - so that what is on the floor, working surfaces, storage surfaces, etc. doesn't get blown about - it is part of my process.
*capitalized on account o' the NW wind is the boss here on the Central Coast!
My thanks to Hulk for making this weeks job easier as I am in the midst of taxes!
best,
Pres
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6 hours ago, Mark C. said:
Pres pull the bottom plate off that foot pedal and use a hair dryer on low on the potentiometer then let it sit
Thanks for the advice on the foot pedal. Will do!
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Hi folks, again no question in the pool!!!! Hmmmpf!
I have posted that I had quite an ice freeze after flooding in the shop. I did not mention that my foot pedal to the CXC was in all of that ice and thawing water, completely! I am letting it dry out naturally with heat, and then hope to try it out. This did get me to thinking, I have had that wheel since the mid 80's, and NEVER done anything to it. It also makes me wonder :
QotW: When was the last time you have had to repair your potters wheel?
best,
Pres
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On 3/1/2022 at 10:43 AM, neilestrick said:
Yes, and it works great. In mixing mode the auger pushes the clay toward the back of the machine. Once it's all mixed, you turn on the vacuum, hit the switch for pugging, and the auger turns the other direction and pushes it out the nozzle. You don't have to dig it out.
Used to use the old Walker in the same manner, reverse switch worked fine for hold mixing, but I hardly ever did that much. It was very handy when the clay had to have a little more chopping up before pushing it out the other end. Removing the cover over the long auger was a bit of a chore, but luckily I didn't have to do much cleaning out as I limited the clays in the classroom. It was also easy to keep damp in the Summer months when school was out. Wet towels in the hopper, sealed up the output end with the end cap and a damp wash cloth. First run of Fall was dry, but did not over work the machine. It is still running today! What a beast though.
best,
Pres
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@Callie Beller DieselSounds like a trip to the supplier is time for all sorts of get togethers. Hope you have time to get to the pot shop!!!
best,
Pres
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@Bam2015, I have been to Bailey's a couple of times, mostly during camping trips when I could get the wife and kids to agree to a stop. I usually had a car full of camping gear so would only pick up a few hand tools or brushes, maybe an underglaze or two. Still nice to visit.
In all of the trips to New England, never stopped at Sheffield Pottery.
best,
Pres
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Last Summer, I took a trip to Pittsburgh to buy some materials that I hadn't purchased in a long time. I happened to pull out the receipt today when working on taxes. Added up the mileage, and the lunch for my wife and myself. . got me thinking. How far do some folks have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store. I sometimes think I am lucky to have Standard Ceramics at least 2 hrs away from me, otherwise I would be looking in there at least once a month.
QotW: How far do you have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store?
best,
Pres
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Hi folks, I have been dealing with a major amount of flooding and freezing in the shop. This last week I found that the snow and ice build up outside had invaded the shop in some way. . . as yet to be determined. However, as I was walking around in the shop the other day I realized that I had made a thoughtless error. I had walked into the shop without thinking of possible electrical fields on a wet icy floor. I then realized that things should be OK as I had installed a GHCI on the circuit for the sockets which included the shop lights. If it had happened before I had installed it, I probably would have been zapped! This has brought me to wonder. . . .
QotW: What safety devices do you use in your shop?
best,
Pres
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I find it interesting that no one mentions a wheel, but then we all assume that would be provided!
best,
Pres
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I have been thinking about getting back into the shop. . . . that is really hard to get into now as the garage door had a large snow pile in front of it, that was soaked with ice that melted under the door and refroze all over the floor. No damage, as everything is on shelves, but really not good to walk on yet. However, I was thinking of what tools to get together for working in the house. This brings me to ask, , , ,what tools are essential?
So QotW: What 5 tools are essential for throwers? For handbuilders?
I'm not going to put my two cents in yet, why spoil the fun, besides it will be interesting to see what folks think are "essential".
best,
Pres
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Since my thumb surgery, I can no longer pull handles right handed, and am too awkward with my left hand. The power extruder gives me plenty of pressure to create well made handles that fit my mugs well. I do add a bit of stretch by slamming on flat surface diagonally to thin the bottom of the handle slightly. adding lugs in the bottom and thumb pressed balls in the top finishes the job. I have tried nearly every technique under the sun to make handles that look good, feel good, and hold up well. . . . extruding fits the bill the best.
best,
Pres
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Last QotW I asked about types of glazers. I have been thinking lately about the abundance of resources for the wide variety of firing temps and atmospheres. When I first started doing cone 6 there were few formulations available for the temperature. Internet was not there, it was before the M^6 by John Hesselberth, Ron Roy . It was also before the Bill Van Gilder Wheel Thrown Pottery book. However one could carefully peruse issues of CM, PMI, and others to find some of the cone 6 glazes being used by potters. I started a small notebook of hand written glaze formulas in college, and kept with it off and on, but I was not very religious about it until I started setting up a spread sheet with all of the recipes/formulas that I used or might use. Now with the internet out there with Pinterest, Glazy and so many others, there is little reason not to mix your own glazes. My personal spread sheet has become more extensive as I put in formulas from books and these other resources, and yet even now I have gotten behind. I guess at times when you find a set up that works you stay with it not making changes unless you have to or force yourself to.
QotW: Mixers: where do you get your recipes/formulas for glazing?
best,
Pres
) and Spring coming on! Hulk stated:
QotW: Do you have any pottery secrets that you do not share? If so how has your outlook on sharing with others changed over the years?
in Int'l Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) Operations and Benefits
Posted
I have a few glazes that I have not posted the exact amounts of the "color" oxides, or the glaze itself. However, as these glazes are readily available and I give the original source, and since I list the oxides, it is possible for anyone to figure out the glaze. In this case it is a matter of leaving the originator of the glaze credit.
best,
Pres