Pres
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Posts posted by Pres
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When I taught adult classes, 9-12, we would have about and hour of class time then studio for 2. Class time was active demonstrations on my part from how to assemble clean 90 degree slab corners to using a slab roller or an extruder. Vocabulary always included, along with the correct name for tools, processes, and materials. Loading the kiln was a demonstration and at time a group project along with critiques at unload.
best,
Pres
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The Hulk recently ascertained in the QotW pool. . .
We read John Barth's short story "Lost in the Funhouse" in undergrad English (literature concentration); when/if one has seen and understood how the funhouse works, one can't very well go back to and have the first time through experience again. The concept might go somewhar near "knowledge is suffering" - suffer to get it, suffer because of it, and then suffer some more. Is it worth it? Uuuhm, o'course't!!
Whal, writing as art or not art might be easier to agree on that ceramic work ...or is it?
Any road, formal education/training (that isn't crap) is worth it, imo, howeber, you gonna suffer, an' one can't go back neither.
I'm assuming, rightly or wrongly that he is considering the value of formal education in the process of dealing with Ceramic? So I will ask, in paraphrase: Did you have formal education dealing with your introduction and growth in Ceramics? If so how do you value this formal education? If not, do you miss the opportunity to get formal education?
Whooooo. . .As a teacher, it is logical that I support the value of Education. I do, with some reservations. . I don't know as I really have had need of Calculus, Advanced inorganic Chemistry, or Quantitative Analysis, but when it comes to Art, I found that the things I missed most from my High School years was mostly about Art, and the Arts. My introduction to Ceramics came in my third year of college, and I was blown away! Literally, to know that there was this wheel and the feel of the clay and OMG I just had to learn all about it, and it has been a journey, through undergrad and grad school. However, if to go back and do it all over again, I would have been more organized about it. I took classes Ceramics, did not enter a Ceramics program. Big difference. However, I am a good self learner, and over the years have read well, learned and taught. . . all of this leading to my understanding of Ceramics I have today. Not perfect, but works for me, so in the long run, no regrets. Suffering, no, something that brings me so much joy could never make me suffer. . .as when kicked by a bad load, or flopping pot, I get up and start over again.
best,
Pres
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I do the same when I bisque, putting anything I can in side or between pots. I box bowls and plates and put smaller pieces between them. I fire pots upside down next to right side up pots to take up as little space in the curves of the forms.
best,
Pres
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Load was in night before last, cut it back to go to bed as it was not reaching temp. . . heat color was around 1900F., Woke yesterday morning early, 4am. Thought it is too early it won't over fire as I had cut it back to 65%. Got up at 7 and checked to find all cones FLAT! Unloading today. First look says someone was looking over me. .. no crawling, no pinholing and the color is muted, but acceptable. Should have paid more attention as I knew it was firing better after changing a bad element.
Grinding today, and glazing next load.
best,
Pres
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These handles are extruded, easier than pulling, but I do miss pulling handles.
best,
Pres
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Glazing today as the weather is clear and sunny. These have been base glazed, and there are 7 more boards like this one, some with honey jars, and teapots.
best,
Pres
- Min, yappystudent, Gabby and 1 other
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LeeU posted in the QotW question bank: Here's one: tell us about your best handmade/homemade tools. A member just posted about having made a black walnut throwing stick. I felt immediate envy! I did make my own chattering tool at a NH Potters' Guild demo, and that was a blast. It is my only self-made tool so far and I treasure it--it works great--I did a good job with it. Would love to see some pics-homemade brushes, wood tools, metal tools, whatever.
Hand made, don't really have a single one that is homemade. However, I bought a throwing stick at the NC Ceramics conference a few years ago. Jack Troy was demonstrating a throwing stick that I thought would be nice to have. They were on sale there, so I bought one. It hung around the shop for a few years and then about a year ago when throwing chalice bowls I started using it for shaping, then for mugs, and then for teapots and other forms. . . love it.
Most of my tools that one would considered handmade are really recycled! The bamboo kitchen tools that I cut the handles off of to make ribs.
The band saw blade that I cut into lengths years ago for the HS for trimming blades for the students. I rounded off the corners, removed burrs and made a series of blades ranging from 3" to 8" long. We used them for scraping/scoring/smoothing when handbuilding. They were great for squaring up corners, or scoring before applying slip or Magic Water.
There are the chucks made from plumbing parts to trim chalice stems, or to trim the underside of flat ribs and help with centering a spoon for joining.
I also have made my own dies for extruders, and recently repurposed a power caulk gun to use as an extruder.
best,
Pres
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Min asked recently in the QotW pool: Kiln stuffers, what does everybody make to fill those little empty spaces in the kiln?
Hmm, Min I should have open spaces in my kiln? Naw, just joshing! For over 35 years of loading my HS classroom kiln I had to use every spot of space in the kiln whether loading bisque or glaze. Most of the time we had a pile of sculptural handbuilt projects, and one would set on the shelf, one would be on a brick right next to the first with the overlaps saving space. Thrown bowls were put in right side up, upside down, with things underneath or inside. Mugs were crammed in wherever, pinch pots the same. Some bisques used no shelving at all, just everything carefully stacked in to the walls on top of each other. . . very carefully. Same for glaze loads, I would sometimes have shelves 12" apart with 1/4 shelves and broken shelves in between creating overlapping layers. Yeah, I really didn't have to fill space, but even I had to fire test tiles, and they went in along with the rest. . . filling spaces.
best,
Pres
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On 7/29/2018 at 6:14 PM, LeeU said:
I can tell you what I do with my Bailey table-top slab roller. I mostly handbuild and usually I stack and slam (Michael Wendt method) but I like variety so I also just make a bunch of thin slabs and stack 'em together 2 at a time, run them through and then turn and run again in the other direction, add 2 more, with 2 more run-throughs, until the max height is reached-it helps a lot with nicely pugged commercial clay right out of the bag.
I do a lot of stack and slam using two different consistencies of clay. Lately I have found a course wiggle wire is even more effective, especially when spraying some moisture on to the slabs. The wiggle waves hold the water better.
best,
Pres
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JohnnyK,
Looks great, the old splash pans were pretty weak, your solutions look quite good. I bought two of the CI's back in the day for the HS using district funding. They were cheaper at that time, and were pretty good. They are still running also! I hardly ever demoed on the MP, only on the HP. Most of the time my centering style would make the MP groan, or worse yet, stop. I probably would get along better with it today. However, my CXC is still kicking. I still have a fond spot for the large work table and the decent torque of the HP.
best,
Pres
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Mark,
Nice work, squeeze bottle looks like it works very well. Another option for folks out there. Thanks for posting. . . .now post a pic of the squeeze bottle. Love the iron rich glaze. I used to use a spodumene that looked similar.
best,
Pres
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22 hours ago, Gabby said:
When I participated in a barrel fire, I used banana, dried mushroom, copper scrubby, coffee grounds, horse hair, and a feather.
Yesterday I opened a previously unopened bag of red clay I have had since March and was surprised to smell and see some mold on the outside. So that's in a couple of things I threw yesterday. Is that safe? What will mold do in firing? My unintentional organic addition.
No problem with mold, it usually makes things a little more plastic, but will only burn out in firing. Now if it were mossy, then has to be removed before using the clay, especially for throwing.
best,
Pres
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Lots of times, when experimenting with clay body additions, a test tile or test piece is helpful to ascertain correct temp, or any other oddity that might show up in a finished product. Especially if you added something that caused melt down or extreme blow up, rather have it happen in a small piece than a large finished project.
best,
Pres
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Recently LeeU asked in the question pool.. . "There are some posts in the archives about using coffee grounds for texture or glaze effects, and some old Clay Art posts about using everything from crushed walnuts to granite dust. What kinds of organics have you used recently? Did it “work” or not so much? Please specify if fired by electric, gas, wood, or raku, in oxidation or reduction." If I get this question right, I imagine it is What kinds of organic materials have you added to your clay or glazing recently? Please specify if fired by electric, gas, wood or raku, in oxidation or reduction.
I have worked at Penn State in graduate classes(credit, but non-degree). While there we did quite a bit of experimentation with Don Tigny. I did add straw, chaff, raw oats, wheat, and other materials that were organic to the clay bodies, especially when working with raku. I also put the proverbial banana on the top of plates and lids, or just the peels, peach skins, apple slices, and even flowers on while doing reduction gas. I really did not fire these kilns. Then I did salt where I tried some pieces with organic and mineral materials added to the clay, but as at the time I did not understand how to work with the chunkies in the clay while throwing they were not very successful percentage wise.
Later I had a workshop that used sawdust added to the clay, and pearlite added to another body. Both of these to help speed drying for 2 day workshops.
So what have you done to you clay and glazing that may be of interest to the community?
best,
Pres
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Mark,
Thank you for the kind words. . . means a lot coming from a real pro. I have found the electric extruder to be so easy to use, and I find that I use the clay a little stiffer than when pulling; it makes it easier to attach and shape without distortion. The honeycomb texture comes from an MKM rolling stamp or a simple silicone hot pad from Bed Bath and Beyond. I have found applying the textures before shaping and then using a throwing stick to shape is really pretty efficient. .. . looking like a lot more work than it is.
best,
Pres
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1 hour ago, cml said:
@Pres Are these done on the wheel, or are they hand built? If there are wheel, how are you managing to keep such nice texture on them? Are you adding the texture when it's closer to leatherhard?
Actually the rollers and stamps are applied before shaping right after the cylinder is thrown. This expands the textures, smooths them a bit, softens edges.
No old lady, I am not getting rich, just a labor of love, wholesale, but not bad. teapots are higher return, but all in all I'll be fine. Hoping to save enough for a new L&L with controller!
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Working on the next order for Savannah Bee, mugs, teapots and honey jars. About two thirds complete, all teapots, ready for glazing, 30 mugs and 25 honey jars in present load. On the workbench two days ago was this. . . .
All extruded handles!
best,
Pres
- oldlady, Min, Callie Beller Diesel and 4 others
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Once again, I am trying to come up with a QothW, as there are no new ones posted in the question pool! Sooo as not too long ago someone posted about backfilling handles, and I have also posted in the studio about doing extruded handles, I will post here about the shape of the handle curve. I am certain that most of you have a preference in how the final curve of the handle looks. So here is the question: Are your handles the ear type, the D, droopy D or other shape?
I have been doing handles on mugs this last few days, all extruded now with the electric extruder. What a time/effort saver. At any rate, once I put the handle on at the top, and drop the bottom and join both with magic water I add a center ball, impressed as a thumb rest, at the top and two smaller ones on either side pressed in with a rounded wooden rib to finish the handle lines into the mug. Then I arch the handle to a slightly drooping "D" and back fill the bottom. These usually fit well for two and 3 finger use depending on the mug size.
So how do you do handles in regard to the final shape of the handle as it profiles on the mug. By the way, even my teapot handles have the droopy "D", but they droop a little more.
best,
Pres
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Hi folks, no new posts for the QotW so I will resurrect one from a while back: What is your latest environmental companion in the studio?
I stated this question with the addendum of latest, because just today I used my phone streaming Pandora via bluetooth to my hearing aids! Really cool, but I found that it used the batteries to the Comm Pilot that makes the connection. Only could use it for about 5 hrs.
Maybe have to pick up a battery pack to plug into as it is rechargeable from USB.
best,
Pres
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Maybe have to pick up a battery pack to plug into as it is rechargeable from USB.
QotW:What is the value of formal education in developing Ceramic skills?
in Int'l Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) Operations and Benefits
Posted
Most college undergrad have kiln loading done by assistants. However, in Art Ed. courses of Ceramics they often include demos and actual loading and firing of kilns for the obvious reason that the student then will be the teacher in charge of loading and firing later. I got much of my understanding of firing from undergrad early. In grad work I fired gas only a few times, but then I had a lot of electric experience. Some things like packing the kiln, kiln wash and stilts were the same, but the gas kiln is much more hands on. I do not fire an electric with any controller or setter. Fired up and down by eye and color temp with cone pack for accurate ^6 most of the time. Last firing did not go as planned! OOPs!
best,
Pres