Pres

I use a stick blender with a plastic cover seal, wait until the dust settles, and will be fine. best, Pres

Another thought here of help is to become friends with the folks in the Federal Programs offices. I had several of these taking the adult ceramics classes over the years including the director. Also had an assistant principal take the class, along with secretaries of upper administrators. When someone experiences ceramics on a learning level, and learns how to work with the potters wheel, glazes, helps to load a kiln and unload it. .. things become real and relevant. best, Pres

I use something similar to the "squirrel mixer" it mixes well, and works the stuff off the bottom. I don't have any glazes that hard pan. best, Pres

Over the years as a teacher, I have noticed several benefits to a wide range of students. There are those that take ceramics to fill a schedule, yet find that they are seduced by the feel of the clay in their hands, or the ability to visualize and create in 3 dimensions with a material that is lasting and quite durable. There are students with poor health or debilitating diseases that are unable to write for long or do other things, but the simple manipulation of the clay, and the drive to create something with such a malleable material strengthens the muscles in the hands and the arms allowing the student to write longer without tiring, and to do other things never done before. Then there are students that fill the schedule with something they underestimate, and end up finding connections to architecture and engineering, chemistry and physics, or even sculpture and fine arts or even the study of history and civilization as influenced by ceramics. Long gone are the days of the ugly ash tray, or the misshapen mug as new art teachers have backgrounds that cover the years of the revivals in the 60's through the nineties. However, getting an administrator to spring money for a kiln is difficult. I started with an old box shaped kiln and ended up in the end with two large L& L's with setters. Start small, work out a proposal, write up the unit for ceramics or even a proposal for a whole class. Check with NCECA for resources on classes and curriculum ideas. Peruse the internet for examples of exemplary practices in grade school ceramics. Don't give up, keep diligent. Over time you can win them over, but it takes constant harping to do it, Not every day , but at least once or twice a year. best, Pres

Hi folks, last week was pretty specific about floor covering to assist in alleviating pain, and trying to stay healthy. This got me to thinking of the discussions that involved working on the wheel, and even working in the shop on various projects. I am one of those that still sit to throw, using a chair designed for throwing (Speedball) yet, I have a stool in the studio that is of variable height that I use often when doing detail work at the wedging table, or when glazing or other sorts of table work. I especially like the stool when doing slab assembly and detailed incising in clay slabs. This stool is heavily padded with an easily cleanable surface and also has a foot ring for when the stool is set higher. QotW: Sit or Stand, and on what type of Surface/Furniture? best, Pres

There has been quite a bit of discussion lately among the mods and others about aches and pains. Specifically back pains of late. This got me to thinking about the things we as potters can do to alleviate back pain or to prevent it. . .So I will start the discussion off with: QotW: What type of floor or floor coverings do you have in the shop? Myself, I have concrete a floor that is over an underground river. This floor in the winter is Ice cold, and in the Summer often damp from moisture below. I have covered much of the wedging area with puzzle locking foam, as it is relatively firm, and yet shock absorbing. It also separates the floor area around the wedging table and work areas from track areas or the areas where wheeled dollies will roll. I believe it does help when wedging rather than on the bare floor. best, Pres

I have edited the title here @dawn neusinger. This will allow more direct traffic to your question, and allow our search engines to pinpoint the question in future searches by others looking for the same information. Welcome to the forum. . . lots to learn here, and a good community! best, Pres

Never did wood or other types of fuel firings, but thought it would be fun. Funny as I live very near a very renowned wood firer. best, Pres

My firing experiences over the years have been limited in some ways, and yet extensive in others. While in college undergrad and grad, I was involved with reduction firing to some degree, loading and unloading, helping with firing and firing a salt kiln with a partner. All of this was done with cones and rings for the salt. Lots of fun, but not much use for someone living in an urban environment. I started firing Ox electric with an old square Amaco kiln in my first year of HS teaching. It had a setter, and would reach ^06 for glaze. . .just barely! Then I was involved with planning for a new building where there would be a Jewelry & Metalcraft/Ceramics classroom. We ordered a new L&L stacking octagonal kiln with setter/timer rated to ^10. We changed clay bodies from buying from an art supply house to Standard Ceramics just south of us by 2 hrs in Pittsburgh, clay bodies were ^6. We fired lots of pots for the kids, and liked the setter. However, when it came to buying a new kiln for myself, the same L&L, but with a special order no setter or timer! I had wanted complete control over the firing much like the firings with the gas reduction kilns. I wanted to be able to set a slow cool down to 1000F. and to choose a hard ^6 or a soft one. In this manner I would baby sit the kiln til all times of the day and night until fired. Lucky for me I was younger! Then @36 years later the old L&: was worn out. My wife bought me a new L&L kiln with all the bells and whistles, and not I fire a program that allows for all of the particulars I liked in my manual firings without the constant baby sitting. QotW: Do you fire your own kiln, is it manual by cones, setter, or program? Do you fire Ox or Reduction, and to what cone? best, Pres

As others have said, much of the glaze surface could be had by a speckled clay body. However, if I were experimenting, I would try using iron rust mixed into a White or off white glaze, you might even try adding some Rutile, powdered to a glaze white glaze as it has a tendency to make a more buttery looking color. . . then add the iron rust to that. When I say iron rust, I mean to scrape some rusted metal to get irregular sizes of iron, then grind it some to remove the larger particles screen it through a 200 to 300 mesh screen. Depending on the size of particles you with to include in the glaze. Then comes the fun part, deciding how much iron speckling you want in the glaze. Lots of testing, but could be a great learning experience for some more advanced motivated students. (For some reason or other, I got this on to another strand about a glaze search. . . Mod-Min brought my error to my attention) best, Pres

Lately I have been using the web of my first two fingers to compress the lip, Used to use the chamois or a piece of folded paper towel, but would not be able to find the chamois all the time. At times would use a fishing float on the chamois to let it float in the water bucket. Over the years have used nearly everything possible to compress lips, just to see what I liked to use. best, Pres

Definitely a thickness issue. Years ago, I had a student that made animal objects at home with our clay. They brought them in while still wet for me to fire them. looked at the pieces that were about 8 inches in length and 5 in width. Felt way too heavy. So I told them so and we decided on a plan to lighten them up without losing the form. On the legs, she cut long deep grooves and then used a child's spoon to hollow out the inside, then sealing it back up with a slab of clay the same thickness as the leg area, We followed this plan with all the body parts, and found ways to leave hidden air holes to help with drying and firing pressure. Drying was done over a two week period, and firing turned out well along with the final glaze firing. Years ago, but I remember it well . . . . especially the excited smiling face after seeing them being unloaded from the kiln. best, Pres

Last week we explored a little about feet on vertical forms, and alluded to the importance of lips on vertical forms, mugs, cups, pitchers, vases etc. Which of the following profiles would you attribute to you forms? Do you use more than one profile, or do you have a profile that is not listed here as in 7. I think most of us started out with something like 1 or 2, when beginning to throw, and often maybe felt that wasn't enough and went to 4 or 5. Just my thoughts. QotW: How do you finish the lips of you vertical pieces? Please explain, and provide pictures if needed. best, Pres

I guess I'm one of those that unloads the dishwasher from the top down. . . water dripping on other pieces. My answer to this is rounding the inside of the foot ring or cutting grooves in the ring to allow drainage. Just and aside from a practical solution to maybe a non existent problem. .. . Depends on how you look at it. best, Pres

In reply to your inquiry, I learned pottery when in final years of undergrad school, was hooked. My tools come from decades of buying, adapting or making tools that fit my needs. Over the years my needs have changed as arthritis and other things have changed the types of things I do. Because I can't pull handles anymore. . . I jury rigged an electric putty gun to extrude handles. I made ribs and trimming chucks to specifically throw chalice bowls and stems. I was always a teacher in a HS, not a full time potter but addicted just the same. I don't intend to quit, and at the same time love getting dirty in the clay. All that @JohnnyKhas said goes for me. I have been doing this for over 50 years. . . it has been hard work learning, and it is a skill, I doubt is there is much that could be done now that hasn't been done to make it easier or better. best, Pres

The foot that creates a shadow at the bottom of a pot is excellent in so many pieces as it keeps the pot from looking like it is part of a table/counter/ what have you. However, when you introduce a foot ring, you bring in a new problem. . . how will the foot ring drain in the dishwasher or even after hand washing and set drying in a dish rack? Just thought @Kelly in AK not criticisms. best, Pres

I taught for 36 years, much of it Ceramics day to day. Not really work of the physical type that potters do, but still a lot of clay, wedging, throwing, demonstrations, lectures, and coaching beginners and intermediates. Retirement brought on some regular throwing, lots of bowling, and other activities that taxed me. Now in my mid 70s I find that it is easier to get tired, delay going out to the shop, or to not take that kayak out as often. Luckily, even though I have quite a bit of arthritis in my hands and other areas, I still enjoy working with the clay and creating one of a kind pieces. . . for my self, or my vision. So what if I make less, there is no need there to sell, but still the need to make . . . hope to continue on til gone. best, Pres

I have used similar products frequently with stains and glazes. As @Chillystates not great for overall glazing, but useful in many ways. I you have highly textured surfaces you may use stain or glaze at angles across a piece to accent the texture. These work well over a base coat of glaze, dipped or sprayed on. At the same time the slow build up of color over texture will show many variations of depth in the surface. The latest slab/wheel combination piece in my galleries is an example of a highly textured slab surface with cobalt and iron stains applied first, painted and sponged glaze added on second, and thirdly a series of sprayed on glazes that I was not familiar with only using test tile references to build up the surface. Load the image into an edit program an look at it closely. . . . you may be surprised. best, Pres

Strangely enough, over the years lips, and feet have been important paths I have followed. As @Mark C.says each potter has to find their own way of doing it. All of us probably started with #1 when learning, and then modified as we became more aware of the importance of feet. . . . and lips. best, Pres