Pres

Sit for throwing,  mostly standing for hand building,  usually up and down like a yo yo.   Use to sit a lot because of my bad feet, now that I am older everything hurts so I just keep moving.  Denice

My wedging area is a good height for standing, and I find it easier that way - leverage? The glaze mixing space - at the exhaust fan intake - requires standing. When glazing, I'm standing when stirring and dipping. There are several other tasks that require standing, and I get up from the wheel fairly often.
Otherwise, I'm looking to have a seat - several lil' nagging conditions make being on my feet a lot uncomfortable.
Also, at the wheel I'm dependent on the splash pan and my knee area for bracing arms/hands.
Your question has me reflecting on the many adjustments made, over the years, t' work around, aaah, limitations. I'm very fortunate!

Hi folks, no new questions in the pool. . . but I have been thinking, and doing some reading.
Often when working I stand, especially when handbuilding, Standing gives me much more leverage when wedging, rolling out slabs or coils. Later, when assembling I find myself standing over the banding wheel while working and while analyzing and planning the next stages of the piece. I stand when putting handles on thrown mugs and other forms. I stand when decorating with brush work and other forms. For me standing gives me more control over my view of the pot from different angles, up and down. I think much of this comes from standing in front of an easel when working with canvas or stretched watercolor paper.  
However, when it comes to throwing, I still sit with an adjustable chair that has a tilt leaning me towards the wheel. I often will change the height of the chair when throwing as the pot gets taller or if throwing off the hump. I often will end up standing in final stages of tall pieces so that I can reach with a straight arm down into the form. Everything seems quite natural, and I have not had back problems in many years, so do as I have come to be used to.
So I will ask this: QotW: Whether hand building or throwing, assembling or decorating, do you stand or sit?
 
best,
Pres

Hi folks, no new questions in the pool. . . but I have been thinking, and doing some reading.
Often when working I stand, especially when handbuilding, Standing gives me much more leverage when wedging, rolling out slabs or coils. Later, when assembling I find myself standing over the banding wheel while working and while analyzing and planning the next stages of the piece. I stand when putting handles on thrown mugs and other forms. I stand when decorating with brush work and other forms. For me standing gives me more control over my view of the pot from different angles, up and down. I think much of this comes from standing in front of an easel when working with canvas or stretched watercolor paper.  
However, when it comes to throwing, I still sit with an adjustable chair that has a tilt leaning me towards the wheel. I often will change the height of the chair when throwing as the pot gets taller or if throwing off the hump. I often will end up standing in final stages of tall pieces so that I can reach with a straight arm down into the form. Everything seems quite natural, and I have not had back problems in many years, so do as I have come to be used to.
So I will ask this: QotW: Whether hand building or throwing, assembling or decorating, do you stand or sit?
 
best,
Pres

I also love buying historical books about art.  When I find them at a estate sale it is like finding a treasure trove,  they are coming down in price now because younger people just want to look it up on the internet.   I have quit buying so many books recently ,   having  two estate sales after  my mother in-laws death I realized I need to downsize my stuff.    Denice

I'm heading the other way-still subscribe to CM since the early 70s although at times I wonder why-
dropped pottery making as it aims more for beginners and I got little from it.I donated all my issues to a local fire arts center
These days it more technical reading for me-Kilns and materials-glazes-high fire reduction and salt
less about technique these days for me
I am no longer expanding library and will down size it in next year or two.
 
 

In my early days, I read whatever I could get from the local library, or was available in the pottery room at the local community centre.
 
Now, I'm more choosy, but most of my reading is this forum, and the rabbit holes (links) provided by everyone here.

If I have a interest in a technique that I haven't tried yet I will check it out video's on-line first and make sure it is something I want to delve deeper into.   My next step is to start investigating books on-line on the subject.   I will start out with one or two books and may order more later.   Our local library stopped expanding it's art book collection,  they said not that many people checked them out.   I don,t mind buying books,  no one would write them if people didn't purchase them.     Denice

Hi folks, 
I have a new question for you this week, involving reading.
QotW: When looking for Ceramics related reading material, do you look for technique\, guided process, aesthetic, or historic related reading?
In my earlier days, when learning how to throw, and make pieces, I would often select suck up any reading material I could on technique. Looking for all of the ways to throw, trim, assemble and anything else. I was voracious in my perusal of Ceramics Monthly, and then when Pottery Making came out it was my new favorite. I have always been more about technique,  figuring I could figure out the process of how to make something. I got tired of reading someone else's analysis of an artists work early on. To me work speaks for itself. What I see and feel if anything is up to me. However, when it comes to histories I enjoy the progress of an idea through history, and the migration of a process through the parts of the world. It is amazing how much we have learned from other cultures about ceramics, and even how much we have lost from other cultures as we displaced them. Truly fascinating.
So once again, I will ask
  QotW: When looking for Ceramics related reading material, do you look for technique\, guided process, aesthetic, or historic related reading?
best,
Pres

I guess I always determine the load so I always try and choose the stacking as appropriate. Seems like I am solely responsible. I never infill a kiln with things that don’t need firing, It does serve a purpose for many though.  I will maximize the space available as practical. I just see it as using more electric so I see little value in that unless attempting to simulate a condition.

interesting question.   most of my work is flat so it fits with one and a half inch posts on many shelves.   however, i made 2 vases years ago, maybe 2016 and they are very tall.  one is eleven inches and the other is twelve and a half.   i do not normally bisque but had a load for a friend so i added these square vases.   fired on their sides with the larger one hanging over the shelf in the test kiln.   
i might contact washington street studios for a cost of glaze firing them.    or make a dozen more and fire them here.   can i sell that many?

I use pieces to direct flame path along with the height between shelves and how tightly packed is very specific to each and every shelf especially at the front of the kiln. How I set the work on shelves determines whether the bottom back will be more even in temp to the top front ...so... what would that be? A bit of both?

Its both for me  to some degree but load is usually the main idea but  what goes in is more driven always by what I need for orders/sales than any other factor. I fill the kilns full-stuffed no matter what and extra bisque gets stored away and piles up at times. I like to make lots of extras and smalls so the spaces get filled. I'm all about maxium use of space these days. I just finished a piece on tumble stacking for CM just on that subject of maxium fill in for a bisque. Look for it in the future -its more about electric bisquing than my gas kilns. Pots do not go bad and having more in all states is always a good thing-whether green ,bisque or fired-its all good.It all sells in the end so really its a no brainer for me.
Right now I have boxes of what I call show pots that are just for shows-not for my outlets as I do not offer them-like cannister sets ,teapots,large vases and huge bowls, larger pots and platters. These pots are waiting for an art show this summer and have been boxed up for many months now since my xmas sale in 2020.

@Min You are right there, but I thought it was a good question for discussion as we have some out there that make for the load like @Mark C., and others that just load what they make. I believe there are more in the second category than the first, because most do not make for large scale production, but more towards an inventory for shows that they make replacements for when coming back from a show that just renews their inventory.
 
best,
Pres

This is a bit like which came first the chicken or the egg. 

Load determines stacking.  I know what I can and can't stack, and I know what needs to be in the load.  
r.

For me it's a combination of both. Most of my decisions about what to make are driven by sales. But the final decisions about quantities will also include "how many will be most efficient in terms of kiln stacking?" 

Stacking determines the load. I cut out a posterboard template of kiln shelf that I put the pots on for each shelf. Planning starts at the design level when possible. For example if I know I'm going to have a bunch of wide bowls to fire I make sure I have pots that will fit in the shadows to maximize shelf usage as much as possible. I try and have a lot of bisque on hand so I can plan the load to have as little dead space as possible.

Once again there is no new question in the QotW pool so I will pose one. 
I have been thinking of statements over the last year by potters who figure the size of their pots to the shelf heights they load. This is much different from me as I guess I throw together all sorts of mixed loads. I may have 20 mugs, 4 plates, some pitchers, or some small bowls and some large bowls in one load. However, some people run 50 mugs and a great number of bowls, or other things, not having the variety of forms or sizes and heights that I run. 
My question for the Question of the Week is:  Does your stacking determine the items in the load, or does your load determine the stacking?
 
best,
Pres

I moved this from the "Studio" area because I believed the content is more about feelings, and perception than process. Even though @LeeU's work is in evolution in the process and use of surface it is also as she describes it an evolution of the mood or feelings her pieces represent during the process. All of this seems to be more about the aspect of creativity and art as often referred to as aesthetics.
 
best,
Pres

I moved this from the "Studio" area because I believed the content is more about feelings, and perception than process. Even though @LeeU's work is in evolution in the process and use of surface it is also as she describes it an evolution of the mood or feelings her pieces represent during the process. All of this seems to be more about the aspect of creativity and art as often referred to as aesthetics.
 
best,
Pres

When working with ideas rather than forms, often it is a matter of what if, and why today, or how do I feel, not just about the work, but about myself. I imagine that we will have many artistic expressions over the next few years concerning lockdowns, viruses, masks, and so many other aspects of the pandemic and the way it brought many to their knees>
 
best,
Pres

When working with ideas rather than forms, often it is a matter of what if, and why today, or how do I feel, not just about the work, but about myself. I imagine that we will have many artistic expressions over the next few years concerning lockdowns, viruses, masks, and so many other aspects of the pandemic and the way it brought many to their knees>
 
best,
Pres

When working with ideas rather than forms, often it is a matter of what if, and why today, or how do I feel, not just about the work, but about myself. I imagine that we will have many artistic expressions over the next few years concerning lockdowns, viruses, masks, and so many other aspects of the pandemic and the way it brought many to their knees>
 
best,
Pres

Mine is about 30 degrees off at cone 6, about 10 degrees at cone 04. No voltage issues, plenty of power. I've had several customers in the past 6 months experience the same thing. I think it's just a difference with the programming in the controller. I even used my old TC blocks just to see if that made a difference, since they have a different terminal material.
@Pres If you plan to do your own program anyway, just run a firing with cones you can see, and shut the kiln down manually when the cones drop and use that temp as the peak for your firings. That's what I do for my glaze firings.