Pres
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Posts posted by Pres
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With all of the consideration about supplies and material costs along with the past of Covid effects on business. . . I have wondered how your go to supplier is surviving. I was at SC in Pittsburgh last year and noticed how much they seemed at the time to be down on stock. I also have noticed that a supplier I had seen out east of me has not seemed to be open when I have been by.
QotW: Have you found a tightening of suppliers in your area or a shortage of supplies at your GO-TO Ceramic supplier?
I have been interested in making a trip to Bailey up in NY, but don't look forward to the drive. Used to swing by there on the way back from a vacation years ago. The new kiln came with 6 half shelves, but I would like at least another pair for firing patens, even two more pair would give me a decent glaze load pack. However, with NCECA coming to Richmond next year, I can take a hold til then.
best,
Pres
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As for decoration, have you ever thrown a cylinder, then decorated it by either stamping, or incising then shaping the cylinder into the shape you want? I find this a very satisfying way to work, and if you have letter stamps, or a decent script hand you can work wonders with phrases in the clay. Then after bisquefire before glazing you can use a stain/underglaze to work color into the script and wash off the high areas. This will allow the decoration to show up under glaze layers if the glaze layers are thin enough and not too dark in color. Check out some of the posts on my blog site. . . listed in my profile.
best,
Pres
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In the day, a Geil was my dream. Then reality living in the small town. . . downtown just did not pan out.
best,
Pres
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Have you explored the Digitalfire web site for information on your problem, or even downloaded their glaze calculator? Altering a glaze is a tough situation and takes lots of understanding. If you are just getting into glaze mixing I would try finding a glaze that meets your needs without making changes. Try Glazy or Digitalfire.
best,
Pres
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I have been putting books into the library of late, all coming down from storage in the attic after a long redo of the library that used to have mixed shelving and piles everywhere. However, as I started placing on Ceramics books, I wondered is it all for naught? After all, much of my search for answers is here, or elsewhere like Glazy or DigitalFire. Yet, as I empty boxes and look at titles and then at pages, I realize that these are old friends. They provided answers in the early days, inspiration by viewing famous works by potters, insights into techniques and good reading in general. So brings me to ask. . .
QotW: How do you rate as your resources. .. .coms, magazines, utubes, and books or other sources?
I personally, put books and magazines first and second. I like holding them and referring to them when working. Then I would place .coms, and finally utubes or other videos. Guess I am old school, but I have learned several throwing tricks that helped me solve problems for throwing off the hump, or throwing larger from videos.
best,
Pres
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@Carol L, I renamed your question so that it would get better traffic, and so that future searches would find it. My apologies if I cause you any angst.
best,
Pres
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Another hijacked/subverted strand!
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Pres
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I would not assume at this early stage that a bot even a monitored bot will come up with a correct answer all of the time. I would much prefer the expertise, knowledge and skill obtained from a lifetime of observation, experimentation and analyzation of a human. . . .especially one such as Tony Hanson.
best,
Pres
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For those of you in PA, or even NY you might find this posting on municipal of interest:
https://municibid.com/Listing/Details/57840976/NewNever-Used-Olympic-RAKU-Kiln-18
best,
Pres
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QotW: Have you ever been inspired/awed by seeing another potter working?
I can remember a long trip on the train from Tyrone to Chicago. . A.R.T. Facilities. I went to see John Glick do a demonstration. I had often read articles about him, seen pictures of his work, and really liked what he was doing. However, I was not expecting the number of ideas, and techniques he demonstrated in that all day workshop. He threw pots, and reassembled them, handbuilt forms using wooden hinged frames and decorated slabs, and so many other techniques. . . I was practically dizzy besides being sick as a dog from getting over the flu. I had the opportunity to see him years later in NC doing a demo with others at the Randolph Arts Guild
There have been others that have impressed me, but the trip to Chicago and John Glick really has stuck with me.
best,
Pres
- Rae Reich, Min and Kelly in AK
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@Ksmith, I believe you would get more traffic/help with your kiln problems if you would change the title to something like "Firing a newly installed used Cress FX1814 P- 19 amps kiln".
You may edit the title by clicking on the 3 dots in the upper right corner of the post.
Good luck with your kiln problem, and Welcome to the forum.
best,
Pres
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As @Kelly in AKsays, I used and older Walker pug mill, and it did not deair. It was a beast and took up space, but it is still running today in the same studio. . . . out lasted me!
best,
Pres
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When working with pugged clay, I used to wedge before hand. . . way I was taught. However, with deairing pugmills much of that is not needed. I think that wedging on the wheel with the coning up and down would help, and to start I would use a slap method with one hand or the other putting the pug down perpendicular to the wheel head, with the rounded sides to slap into a cone shape. Hope that makes sense. . . .then do your coning up and down a few times.
best,
Pres
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Last week @Kelly in AKleft a post in the QotW pool:
“What’s the worst ceramic screw up I’ve ever made?”
It’s a tricky one for me to answer. There are so many! If I had to gauge by number of pots ruined in a single go, well, I seem to do that as a matter of course with my own work. Those aren’t screw ups if they help me get the next round right. Okay, yeah, some are just plain screw ups, still an opportunity to learn from my mistakes. In my studio there’s no one to blame if something doesn’t come out right.
So then I go to other people’s pots I’ve ruined. I’ve blown up a few, enough to know I didn’t want to do that anymore. I’ve disconnected a (poorly attached) handle or two when loading the kiln. Some of those incidents are shared responsibilities, so I can’t take full credit for all the disastrous things I’ve been a part of.
Probably the worst is when I was learning to fire with a digital controller. I was a fresh-from-art-school tech at a community studio. They had better kilns than any I used in college. I was absolutely positive I put the numbers in right. Some how this bisque firing went awfully high. (?!) I had some earthenware pots in there, those came out great. Better than planned, clay was vitreous, the glaze was crystal clear, and fit like a glove. Completely unexpected. Everyone else’s pots, however, had become vitreous too! Cone 6 stoneware, I have no idea how hot that kiln got. I dealt with some unhappy campers that week. We learned how to glaze vitreous pots.
I suspect I fired it to cone 4 rather than 04, though at the time I was convinced it was an error with the controller. Never happened again though. Now that I think about it, it’s a wonder my earthenware didn’t melt all over everyone’s stuff. Could have been much worse!
QotW: What’s the worst ceramic screw up I’ve ever made?
My worst is a balance between two. . . One was quite dangerous as I was firing a salt load first ever firing reduction with gas. Catenary arch kiln with bricked up doorway. We, my firing partner and I, had bricked up the doorway without enough key overlaps between inner and outer brick layers. In the upper end of the firing, the kiln pressure bowed out the brick door nearly two feet. This was around 3 am, and we were the only ones at the studio. Found two T braces of metal nearby and braced in the doorway. Saved the firing, but then as inexperienced as we were we did not close the damper when we reached temp to throw in the salt. Therefore the firing was quite dry, but still glazed. Second was when loading a glaze kiln, in the HS, I did not double check the pots enough the 3rd year of teaching. Seems a student glazed a greenware piece thinking to meet the deadlines. I did not catch it, and the explosion of glazed greenware went everywhere. 3 shelves down to the floor, glazed shard sticking to brick, shelves and floor. Yeah, weeks of repair.
best,
Pres
- Min, Kelly in AK, Babs and 2 others
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@Katie S, Rating on the kiln from the manufacturer is Cone 4. Give away for me is the 120V with the 20 amp breaker. I would say you should be looking at a cone 4 clay body, or even a little lower, as the is the max on the kiln.
IMHO, of course, but the specs are there. Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, as it seemed you were looking for a ^6 glaze firing.
best,
Pres
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I would start by having a smaller bucket (5gal) for throwing to be tossed into and let set, then drain off the water after a day. If this is too small, use several 5 gal. buckets and drain and empty cycling through the buckets. This process should help you with the excess water problem, but you may also need to have a large plaster slab to put clay onto to dry it even more. several of these may make it easier to work get to the pugging stage. Old tech, but works. One last thought is that I have used large hanging bags like pillow cases to put slop into, allowing them to dry/drain then invert them to pug the clay.
best,
Pres
- Rae Reich, Callie Beller Diesel, Vik and 1 other
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So @Hulk, if doing a google search how would you target the forum directly in the search?
best,
Pres
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Hi folks, recent events have made me somewhat curious about where everyone comes from, and how you search the forum itself. Myself, I started following the forum after searching for help on adding "in shop" glazes to the HS ceramics studio as budget constraints were making it harder to have premixed liquid and powdered glazes. Back then I could search all of the strands of the forum by having a general search in the home page. If I wanted to I could be specialized by running a search in one section like " In the Studio" I first found the site from an outside browser. . I think it was Firefox at the time.
QotW: How did you originally find the Ceramic Arts Daily Forum, and how do you search the forums when looking for specific information?
best,
Pres
- Rae Reich and Kelly in AK
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If this object is solid, I would use a drill bit to drill a series of holes in the bottom of it to allow for steam to escape. They don't have to be large, 1/4 inch or so maybe four or five where they would not be seen well space apart in the bottom.
Welcome to the forum!
best,
Pres
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This Summer, I also have to finish setting up the library, repair siding outside of the library on the second floor over porch roof, clean the driveway area of winter debris and power wash the deck and the fence. Make repairs to the fence, and try to organize what isn't ceramic in the shop/garage.
@Mark C.don't mention snakes, as I had enough encounters with them when in Warner Robbins, GA and in northern PA. Coral snakes, Moccasins, and coral snakes are not to be messed with only respected with healthy distance.
@Kelly in AK, I agree with you, AK is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and needs to be seen. I have been there three times. Once drove a motor home with my Dad, Mom and Wife up. Left day after I finished teaching, and returned the day before she started. Great trip!! Other times have been cruises that really are nice, but dont get the job done!
best,
Pres
- Kelly in AK and Hulk
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Gravity is the big problem when gluing with a glazing. Geometry plays a big place in gluing also as the bulbous forms will have a tendency to slump., but then maybe you want that at times.
best,
Pres
Slip colours
in Studio Operations and Making Work
Posted
Good selection of washes, but we should be aware that some of them will not play the same in Ox as they do in Redux. One in particular would be the Glick Purple Red or any Red that uses copper for the color red. In OX invariably they will be green.
best,
Pres