Pres

Gabby recently asked in the question pool. . . . Recognizing that some days are obviously different from others, and some here have studios that are available only in warmer weather or not in really hot weather, what is the typical day, hour block by hour block, during a time of year you are at your ceramic work? The interesting thing in these is the variety in the time of day people spend at their creative work, some starting in the morning and ending at 4, say, others starting at 4 and going into the night, some working at a stretch and others doing a couple of shifts, and so forth. There is also variety in how they spend the times they are not working. Some have a habit, like a walk. The choreographer Twla Tharpe, I believe, takes a cab to the gym every morning for a couple of hour workout. Some people have time specifically dedicated to reading (most of the writers do) or to family/spouse time. In reply to this of late it has been problematic getting into the shop, and once in, a problem getting out of the shop. I will often go to breakfast with my wife around 7:30, come back to the house around 8:30, check the forum here, check email, check news, while putting in laundry, waiting for the drier, folding clothes and getting other things done. About 10 am, I may get into the shop, but sometimes not until 12:30, then I may work until 6 or 7 pm, and sometimes back at it until 8pm after some dinner. Weekends are the same, Sundays hardly ever unless pressed, Thursday no afternoon, as I bowl, and if the weather is nice I kayak at least once a week. . . . this Summer none yet. Hey! I'm retired! Now if you had asked me that question in the mid to late 90's, I was in the shop earliest of Spring every night after school from nearly 4 til dinner, 7 til ???? Then back to school the next day at 7am. I did Saturdays all day, and some on Sunday if needed. Once school was out it was in the shop before breakfast, then breakfast, then lunch, and dinner. . . the only breaks in the day til 10 or 11 every night. No in the long run, not fun, and doing shows did not pay well. When offered a itinerant professorship at a local college with me in full control of the curriculum, teaching for two weeks to make more than I made in the entire Summer, I relaxed and made pots when I wanted. best, Pres

Folks, lets give credit where credit is due. I am only a facilitator on the this Qotw thing, as I try to choose questions from the question bank that is in the ICAN forum section. LeeU posted this question just last week, and so here it is. . . thank her. Thank you LeeU! best, Pres

Yeah, I am on medicare, and have T2 diabetes. I would not want to be looking for insurance at this point as the premiums for T2 are through the roof. I am controlled, and don't have to take meds, but anyone that knows me knows that I am very strict on my diet. I don't test, unless feeling ill, but have had an A1C below 6 since 2010. Diagnosed in 2009 just 3 months before retirement. Yappy, sorry to hear of your condition, but you seem to be handling things well, and still learning. . . thats a good thing. Keep on keeping on as much as you can. Loved the Oregon coast, lived in Seattle for 7 years. great times. best, Pres

I'll be looking for it! thanks, Pres

LT, Good thought, I had already considered that, and also had thought of using the housing/crank of a meat grinder with a lead threaded rod to push clay through the barrel of the extruder I already have, just haven't got it all figured in my head yet. Threading on the two tubes is the same diameter, but different thread. If I could find a coupling that would attach the one to the other I would be nearly there. best, Pres

Today I was extruding handles with the hand extruder. Really wish I could find an old time Wad box or Dod box, as the screw crank on that would be a lot easier on the hands. However, by the time I invest in one probably cost as much as a Bailey 4 or 5" extruder. Still adapting the die to exactly what I want, design them in Corel draw, print out templates and cut with a zip saw, very carefully. best, Pres

Many potters throw standing up. John Glick was one who went to great measures to stand trowing, and actually used a back brace connected to the wall to help him. https://objectiveclay.com/blog/2016/2/7/its-hard-to-be-a-potter-with-a-hurt-back https://objectiveclay.com/blog/2016/2/7/its-hard-to-be-a-potter-with-a-hurt-back http://www.johnglick.com/articles/Sciatica.pdf These links should help yo out Gabby with your back problems and throwing. best, Pres

LeeU, recently in the question pool, asked: I've been thinking a while about those of us who have spoken about various limitations, challenges, health impairments, disabilities, and so forth. Some folks have had to leave the Forums and reduce their work because of certain conditions of body and/or mind (tho I believe they are integrated, not two separate issues). There is no Forum particularly suited or appropriate for discussion about one's aches and pains, or serious impediments that affect our ability to work in, and enjoy working in, clay, or work-arounds that help make it easier to function and hang in there. So, my question is: Either generally or specifically, what do you think, feel, and/or do when confronted with moderate to serious/severe limitations of some aspect of health that alters how you work in clay? I guess I have been complaining quite a bit over the last few years, hate to be whiner, but I have had to make some adjustments as the hands especially have gotten older. I used to abuse them, using the back of the hand to compress bread thickness slabs into a block when wedging, slamming the back hard into the block then adding another piece of clay. Then later I had a cyst and bone spur on my rt thumb, and had the cyst removed, and the dr. removed some of the bone spur. The joint deteriorated, and now I have a bone spur on both sides of the thumb. This has made things more difficult in one studio area. . . pulling handles. I have covered most of this else where, but short of the long is that now my mug handles and teapot handles are extruded. Still apply them like I used to, but the handle is now using a putty gun type of extruder. I have found that much of the pain from arthritis as I get older is actually alleviated by moving. If I use my hands, especially in the studio, they don't hurt nearly as much as if I have pampered them. So I try to get into the shop as much as possible, do the total gym thing and get plenty of exercise. It really does help. best, Pres

Gabby, They are for Savannah Bee, a honey company that is now selling my honey jars, mugs, and soon teapots. Nice catch on the decoration. I stamp them before shaping, that makes the images larger where they get expanded. The lids are stamped after trimming. best, Pres

LeeU Advanced Member Members 520 1,014 posts LocationNew Hampshire Report post (IP: 65.175.181.4) Posted 11 minutes ago I've been thinking a while about those of us who have spoken about various limitations, challenges, health impairments, disabilities, and so forth. Some folks have had to leave the Forums and reduce their work because of certain conditions of body and/or mind (tho I believe they are integrated, not two separate issues). There is no Forum particulary suited or appropriate for discussion about one's aches and pains, or serious impediments that affect our ability to work in, and enjoy working in, clay, or work-arounds that help make it easier to function and hang in there. So, my question is: Either generally or specifically, what do you think, feel, and/or do when confronted with moderate to serious/severe limitations of some aspect of health that alters how you work in clay?

So the pool does not have any recent contributions so I will ask:Do you use cloth towels, paper towels or other when in the shop to dry your hands, and clean things off? I have a tendency of using cloth towels in the shop, mostly the size of hand towels. I use an apron with clips on the front to hang the towel to. I used to use towels over my legs when throwing, but then when I got the new apron. . . this works much better. Cleaning hands etc, I usually clean off in throwing bucket first and then in a clean bucket of water to finish and then dry off with a towel. Dirty towels go into a 5gal. bucket of water to soak, then another to rinse a few days later. Then laundry. How do you handle cleaning hands, especially when pulling and making handles and applying them. I am always wiping my hands when working that way. best, Pres

Mark, That is what I call production. Heck I don't even have the space in my back yard for that much! Keep potting on! best, Pres

Working in the brick garage in Summer is an advantage as it stays cooler. This is yesterdays completion, as more were thrown. still need to rub off nubbies. best, Pres

As there were no new questions in the pool, and as I have been going through a bit of change of late. . . I will ask: When/How do you decide to take the next big jump, and change things around about your work? I have gone through about 5 variations in my work that I would call major. First when I started out, I was doing cone 10 redux, and using college glazes . When I started teaching, we were using ^06 glazes, and white clay from Amaco. A year later I took over the class and moved to ^6 with commercial glazes. A little after this, I started working at home as I had finished my 36 credits for permanent certification in PA. I bought a kiln (L&L) a used Amaco motorized kick and started firing ^6 with my own white glaze that was a dipped Bristol, with atomized textures from stains over top, brush strokes, and sgraffito. This lasted for a few years until I realized a couple of things, first in my area, I did not have enough pots doing part time to do good shows, and bad shows were not worth the time. At the same time I got a Summer two week job as an Interim Professor at a local college, said job paid me more than I could make at Penn State after 5 months of hard work after school and weekends. Lately however, my main concern was integrity vs sales. Finding that in most cases one begets the other. If you make good pots, and no one else has the same, you can sell well. However, as I am now 68 nearly 69 I really don't want to do the show route anymore, and neither does my wife. . . .big no there! Now my changes have been about form and style, actual texture has become major, and durability of glazes certainly has improved. I have gotten rid of the atomizer mostly in favor of a spray gun, I dip another white much more durable than the Bristol, and work with glazes I have mixed from research formulas or Insight, over the white sprayed on as in In-glaze. Change has come slowly at times, and in other cases very quickly. My new direction may last a few years, but then part of the fun is getting there. . . . wherever that may be. best, Pres

I have moved/merged the posts dealing with Lusters to Working with Lusters. I will leave it in the Studio Operations and Making Work area. best, Pres

Nancylee, we have discussed this in some other threads. I have had trouble having fingerprints made. Such a pain. Imagine the difficulty of id ing a body if little else is found. Now that we have dna testing not so much a problem. best, Pres

Callie, it was easy, I had my wife take the picture of my hands! Of course she had to ask the weird questions! best, Pres

Working hands, Mea! best, Pres

Yeah the older we get the more the bruising seems to happen. . . not even knowing how! best, Pres

Yeah, for the hands, I have most look like a lot less for wear than mine. As to the fingerprinting, I found that out a long time ago when I had to get printed for something. Couldn't get them, seemed there were two reasons, now swirls and did not seem to hold the ink well! Wonder why? At any rate folks, lets see those hands! best, Pres

I usually don't cut them much as when working they just wear short. I have not been in the shop for a few days, but back into it today. More orders. best, Pres

Yappystudent recently asked in the Question Pool for the QotW: Show of hands, pictures of potters hands. Really isn't a question, just a request so I made it into a question. . . What do your hands look like? So here are my hands, older, yet still in use!

Ohhh am I jealous of your system, now where to hang that chart!!! best, Pres

Callie Beller Diesel asked a question about organization a while back: I'm sitting here trying to organize some new things into my schedule, I am wondering how other full time clay folks organize their clay time vs office time? Do you dedicate certain whole days to one task or group of related tasks, or do you do some office work and some clay work every day? How does it change throughout the year, and how has it changed over time? Anyone with insights from other industries? When you were transitioning from more structured jobs to full time clay, how did you handle having to organize yourself? For those who aren't doing this full time, how do you organize your clay time into your schedule? What challenges do you have, and how do you problem solve? I am retired, and over the years have had a ton of paper work to do, and of late, I have to admit, I usually am last to do it. I keep the records for our family LLC up to date, and am still trying to determine how to keep them for the pottery. I keep receipts, billings, and other things, but have not organized them of late. For years I had counted off the pottery on taxes, but last year was the last of that according to my tax accountants, I didn't really make enough for it to matter. Maybe 1K a year. Here it is only June though and I have much more than that with the wholesale I am doing. Thankfully, I do not have to worry about sales tax. Did that in the 90's and it was always a bit of a hassle. As far as getting into the shop. I have a listing of orders I need to get done, have it prioritized, and have started on making again. I try to get at least 3 days a week in, and try not to do too much on Sunday, and save Thursday afternoon for bowling. I have funeral urns for two dogs to make, 20 communion sets, more mugs and honey jars, some more teapots and Christmas gifts for family. I am also waiting to hear about some more wholesale orders that have been mentioned. Presently I am trying to better organize as the one car garage has gotten really small as late. I am thinking of a wheeled platform for the heavier glaze materials, and glazes to wheel them out for use from under a large heavy shelving unit. I will move the bottom shelf up and use all of the shelving with much more order. That will probably mean moving some things out to a small shed in the unused driveway. I also want to move this shelving unit that stores all my glaze materials so that I can insulate the metal garage door. Then put it back, seal up windows and such. Lastly to figure out the best heat situation for the small brick garage/studio. best, Pres