shawnhar
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Posts posted by shawnhar
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1 hour ago, kaygeepotter said:
conservative use of anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen or naproxen sodium. Gentle stretching and strengthening can be valuable. Steroid injections can be helpful but often are temporary in benefit - and one doesn't want to do that often due to problems associated with them. Trigger finger often requires a fairly straight forward surgery, but any surgery comes with risk and, possibly, unintended results. Again, an orthopedist who specializes in hand function is vital. I agree with Mark C. and Russ that you might want to work with another physician who will not brush you off. Best of luck. As an older (elderly?) woman, I have had to make adjustments to accommodate my body and my mind. It is doable. And rewarding! Good luck.
This...
It sounds like your physician could be the but of an old joke...
Doc, it hurts when I do "this". Doc- then don't do "that".
I wish you luck and hope you can find a way! - I like the idea of throwing small items, less clay is always easier on my bones.
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On 7/3/2022 at 2:20 PM, Callie Beller Diesel said:
I have more than one friend IRL who make a solid living only (or 95%) making mugs. Have a look at Blair and Sarah Dawes at Salty Sea Dog Designs, and Pixie and Shpriken (they don’t like using their given names) from Shprixieland Studios.
That is awesome thank you for the inspiration!
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On 6/30/2022 at 6:16 PM, Mark C. said:
I know a potter who only does custom mugs-thats the whole business
That would kill me _ can't image the shard pile of uncle Joe and happy dad mugs in his studio
Yeah but... he only makes mugs!
That was my dream, to just make mugs, they are my favorite.
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On 6/30/2022 at 3:27 PM, Callie Beller Diesel said:
As an extra level of hedging my ceramic bets, I make duplicates of the item. It never fails that if you only make one, it screws up, but f you make two, they both turn out. As a bonus, presenting the client with a choice of the 2 finished items gives a sense of abundance and extra care taken on them. Sometimes they purchase both, sometimes not. I don’t upsell it. If the original client doesn’t buy the duplicate, someone else does. This also helps with profitability.
This x1000
I learned this the hard way!
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I will put a dragonfly on a spoon rest, or make "one like that, but in this glaze". I will make a berry bowl in "that" color, with a saucer for drips, etc....
But real custom work is a no, even though, I end up doing it anyway, my wife thinks my abilities are greater than they actually are, so I end up making a garlic keeper or something I don't normally make. I always feel the customer is a little disappointed, at best.
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12 hours ago, Min said:
Special or custom orders tend to come back and bite you.
I hate them. My wife and I have a running joke that I will divorce her if she takes another custom order.
- Bill Kielb, Min, Pres and 1 other
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10 hours ago, Min said:
Even at cone 6 they can warp quite easily.
This makes me very sad... Iv'e had my eye on some 26" for my big kiln because of the price, but why would anyone ever buy these if they warp at cone 6? That is the most common glaze firing.
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37 minutes ago, Bill Kielb said:
@ATauer is the overglaze completely opaque? Maybe a test tile with black underglaze applied over the very white clay and wiped out or a wash of the underglaze applied just to darken the clay as necessary and then just glaze with the teal glaze. Usually the color of the clay affects the look of the final glaze. Just a thought you might experiment with.
This is what I would do, just hit the bisque with black underglaze as if it were a wash.
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On 6/15/2022 at 6:38 PM, Denice said:
I wouldn't dream of telling my electrician that I can wire my own kiln because I watched a couple of video's.
I would! (And I did)
I love books for learning things like how to wire electricity, or replace the ecg valve in your car, but I HATE books for learning movement/skill things, like pottery or guitar.
Find what works for you, and don't be afraid to fail up.
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Thank you!
- That was exactly the kind of info I needed, you guys are awesome!
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Sorry to ask but I have had no luck searching other than one post that said 12-14 hours.
Finally got my big kiln wired in and will be testing soon, but I am missing how long to set the timer for. I have a bunch of failed pots I will be loading the kiln with so it will still have the same mass as a "real" firing, but only a few "real" glaze pieces. I plan to do low 1hr, med 1hr, then high.
How long after the switches are moved to high does it take this kiln to typically reach cone 6?
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17 hours ago, LeeU said:
Maybe I am missing something, but it looks to me like a simple incised & twisted handle application, so why would it be impossible to (very closely) replicate the style on a new mug? Just curious.
I made the handle by slapping the clay down like you would if you were going to make a slab without a roller, but it results in a pretty random set of ridges and valleys.
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15 hours ago, Babs said:
Ok you will replace, but not free of charge?
I thought you were giving him a freebie.
No freebies unless it was my fault, but I give them the option to replace the one they broke for half price.
I look at it like a wholesale price for customer retention/good will and it's less than the cost of advertising with a more positive interaction.
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20 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:
@shawnhar People can go through artistic growth spurts! A lot can happen in 6 months.
I hadn't thought of it like that, but I agree completely! Thanks
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Thanks all.
I don't usually make mugs like that, but sometimes I like to add an unusual one to the mix, sometimes it's just the handle, sometimes textured with slip, etc... to make a unique item. There are lots of folks that buy those simply because they are really different, in fact those usually sell faster than the "normal" ones.
My policy was assuming they would break a regular one, (I make 3 shapes) and just grab one off the shelf. The customers are well aware of the fact that reproducing one of the weird ones is not really possible and I have had folks just straight up buy another mug because they broke a weird one, but this man was very attached to this mug and asked me to try. We discussed it and tempered expectations. I',m going to make 3 and he can pick the one he likes the best, or one from the shelf.
@Babs He bought it this past Winter, the picture is one I took when I made it.
@Callie Beller Diesel That is actually a mug I made this Winter so I'm not sure how much my work has "evolved" since then, lol, and yes, the weird handle was the biggest factor.
@GEP I would maybe tell this customer to pick another mug, but I am really low on stock right now and they are all "normal", the unusual aspects of this one was the reason he bought it, so I agreed to try, plus he is the only person to ever ask for it. I can reproduce the technique used to make that handle, basically slapping the clay down like you would if you were going to make a slab without a roller, but it results in a pretty random set of ridges and valleys.
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I have a policy where I tell folks I will replace their mug, spoonrest, sponge holder, etc... all the day to day use stuff, for half price if they bring me the broken pieces back.
In 3 years no one has taken me up on it. Well, today it happened, but yikes, the one time the person takes me up on my offer... and it's "that" one! I told the customer it will never be the same, there is no way to recreate that handle, sigh...
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No way the VL lite can do 20lbs, you would be lucky to do 10. I can stop it with 5. The Wisper is WAAAAAY better, but even it would probably struggle with 20lbs. You want to use large amounts of clay go with a Skutt.
- Piedmont Pottery and Russ
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If you look closely you can see hundreds of little blisters. I think they were always there but you have finally "rubbed through" them with your spoon and stuff can now get in there. If the "stuff" is just coffee then I wouldn't worry too much, but if it ain't coffee stains it could make you sick, so no, not food safe.
Having said that, a rock from the woods is "food safe" if you heat it up enough, just sayin, 450f heat kills everything
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On 4/3/2022 at 3:56 PM, Mark C. said:
Most of my smalls are no trimmers these days-you learn to add the undercut and drop edge to the thrown form when throwing-these include mugs -all sizes and spoonrests and sponge holders.
All bowls are trimmed as well-no matter the size.Most forms take longer to trim than throw
Same for me.
I don't trim unless I have to, I give my pieces a visual foot while throwing and be done with it.
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4 years later...
in Studio Operations and Making Work
Posted
Well, I am officially a potter now, sort of. Still a long way to go but the foundation is there. We have a retail store that has done well and I finally left my corporate job to pursue pottery further (and our store). We have a shelf in the store to sell my wares and it does around 1k a month, I know it's not much but that is passive, it just sits there. looking forward to this next chapter in our lives!
My sponge holders have come a long way!