liambesaw
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Posts posted by liambesaw
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33 minutes ago, glazenerd said:
I was in a high end antique store in Williamsburg, Va. In 2007 admiring a Dresden vase. On the next table was a vase with floret looking shapes that caught my attention. The clerk had no idea what kind of glaze it was. I spent almost an entire year searching for a similar glaze: then one day I typed in " crystal glaze", because that was the appearance of it to me. The first website was William Melstrom from Texas; lo and behold I had been looking at crystalline glaze. I had no prior experience with or interest for that matter in pottery, although I did help my wife glaze bisq ware some 20 years prior.
After doing some research, I ordered the kilns, rollers, and sundry items required to make this speciality glaze. So I jumped into the rabbit hole from the outset, and here I am ten years later. I noticed early on that crystals formed differently on different clay bodies; although I made no changes in recipe. Those differences lead to extensive research over the last five years trying to understand why. And now I know why.....
Tom
Sounds more like an journey of self-punishment. I thank you for your sacrifice though, I've learned more than a little from your explorations posted here on the forums.
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Welllllllllp, I ended up having time to go get clay over the weekend. Picked up 500lbs, as well as some glaze chemicals I wanted. I threw a big 15lb moon jar out of recycled clay last night, wow what an experience! It was probably a little softer than I should have thrown with but it was a lot of fun and great practice for throwing bigger. My new goal is to center and throw a 25 pounds vessel which is I think the max my rk2 is rated for. I probably won't be able to fire a piece that big without modifying my kiln, but I guess it's a personal challenge. Anyhow, with all of this brand new clay in my hands I need to get busy throwing some real stuff too. Bowls, bowls, bowls.
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42 minutes ago, Min said:
What makes the most sense of everything I read is it was a marketing move. Playing off words that use names in a generic way, like “peeping Tom” or “Jim-dandy” “Jolly Roger” etc. The “z” sound in lazy with the first “s” in susan just was pleasing to the ear of a marketing person.
Seems the term was first published in a Vanity Fair advertisement for a “Revolving Server or Lazy Susan” in 1917. It was described as “An impossibly low wage for a good servant and the cleverest waitress in the world.”
From what I read they have been around since the 1700’s, when they were called whirling domestics or dumbwaiters.They were silent waiters hence the word “dumb”. Landowners who couldn’t afford enough servants used them to help with the serving. (this term went on to become the small freight elevator by that name) I spent way too much time reading about them today, got to the point where I felt I was going around in circles.
Interesting! Thank you!
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25 minutes ago, LeeU said:
Glazing for this weekend firing. Opps.
Noooooooooo
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1 hour ago, Min said:
My suggestion for a question of the week would be do you have any ceramics trivia that isn’t common knowledge?
I make quite a few Lazy Susan’s every year and inevitably get comments from women named Susan. I spent some time today looking up the origin of the name, turns out it wasn’t named after a lazy woman named Susan after all.
Is it bastardization of a French phrase or something?
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Well my wet box froze last night, as I have no room for it inside and the temperatures dropped into the 20s here, had a few mugs and a really nice large lidded jar waiting for handles in there, it's now something more akin to modern art haha. Serves me right for procrastinating and not doing handles over the weekend!
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Been doing noodle bowls this week but took a break to make this jar. Had to mix it up. Over the weekend I did a bisque and a glaze firing of some mugs for Christmas gifts, they turned out OK, had some bowls in there too which turned out better. Will focus on bowls the rest of the week, want to make enough for a kiln load by the weekend and see if I cant get them bisqued and glazed. Looking for a used kiln this holiday season for bisquing since that part of my firing takes the longest and I have to babysit the kiln the entire 12 hours. It would free me up to do other things.
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I only ever buy 500 lbs at a time, I have no room in my 980 sq ft home so it's stacked on shelves in my shed/studio. I may bring a few boxes at a time indoors just so I don't have to worry about trying to throw with cold hard clay though.
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I wish I had an economical way of preventing it, but it's gonna be in the 20s at night this week and even with a space heater going it sometimes isn't enough. But I've got a trick up my sleeve for at least this cold snap... I'm down to my last bits of clay and won't be able to drive down to Seattle pottery until probably after the new year... So take that mother nature! Hah!
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4 minutes ago, Gabby said:
Very interesting! What are the dimensions?
Well with the lid on it I'd say between 18 and 20 inches, I'll have to measure when I get a chance, it's about as tall as I can go in my kiln though, I have a stick to measure that because with the shelf on the floor I have 20 inches.
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43 minutes ago, Roberta12 said:
What part of the country do you call home, Liam?
Seattle. Doesn't get super cold, but I throw mostly between 10pm and 2am, so it's cold enough.
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19 minutes ago, Rae Reich said:
Very nice, @liambesaw! Aaaand you've discovered the joys of throwing with stiffer clay. I prefer it.
It's definitely more work to wedge, center and pull but it seems to take a beating really well. Just finished throwing a couple 10 pound pots with the reclaim, it definitely needed a softer touch but good news is, it's still plenty plastic!
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Well worked my way through all of my bags of iron-rich stoneware.... Or so I thought. 100 lbs of reclaim looks just about ready to throw with, so I'll be wedging up some of that tonight to see if it's still got legs. While burning through my bags I used this stuff called Goldbar Brown and it was pretty stiff, but it made throwing large pretty easy, might have to pick some more of it up if I like the fired appearance. I made a pretty good sized lidded jar with it and I know with my standard clay I would have had the torch out a few times at least.
- Benzine, VladCruceanu, glazenerd and 1 other
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I might have to insulate my shed this summer, that's a lot of work though... Tearing down all my ware shelves and moving everything out... But 80 degrees sounds pretty dang spiffy.
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Wow, I struggle to keep my "studio" in the 50s even with a propane heater!
One thing I have found very helpful is I picked up a little 2 quart crock pot for 7.99 at Target and I turn it on when I get home from work and it's darn near boiling by the time I get my kids in bed and am able to get out there. I just top it off with some cold water and it's just about right. I turn it off when I start throwing and it stays nice and warm for a few hours.
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Beautiful view Lee!
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Ran out of my normal clay so I've been going through some other dark clays I bought to try out. Been working on a new form I like so I've got a handful of these drying up right now, all different weights. The one in the picture here is 7 lbs, have a few 5 lbs ones and a few 2 lbs ones as well.
Ended up recycling 50 lbs last week, I have wedged most of it, still have about 15 lbs to wedge and bag. Not sure how long I should let it sit before trying to throw with it.
I have 50 lbs of porcelain and another 100 lbs of white stoneware I want to get through before I make another clay order, so I'll be cleaning my wheel and tools at some point this week. Hey I might even get some free time over the 4 day weekend hah.
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I've seen italian potters firing electric kilns in reduction by introducing a sugar-alcohol mixture towards the end of a majolica firing. Looked messy though, not something I'd want to do.
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12 hours ago, LeeU said:
Yesterday someone presented me with an unexpected gift. I'd been driving a friend around for months because his car died with no hope of resurrection, he had no money/no credit, and he only just finally obtained a vehicle. It was a "thank you"--a little red box he picked up at a collectables consignment shop. It has a name in gold on the bottom left, so I looked it up. Imagine my surprise to learn it is a vintage Russian lacquered trinket box.
However, reading further, I suspect mine is a product of cultural appropriation, as there is a flaw on the side where the lacquer is slightly split. In this case, I am OK with it being a knock-off, if it is, becasue it's still a cool box, the 'thanks' was nice, and I learned about some art I'd never heard of.
Fedoskino Pegockuho Lacquered Jewelry Box, Russian: The Three Sisters
"PEGOCKUHO" is the Russian word for "factory". The word "FEDOSKINO" is a village near Moscow, Russia and is the home of the longest standing miniature lacquer trinket box industry. The history of this artwork spans back to the 19th century and is known for its high-quality artistry and craftsmanship. These unique miniature oil paintings gained popularity and stood out with the addition of gold leaf, mother of pearl, and metallic media. Using these components helped to replicate and capture the true beauty of nature on these vintage boxes, constructed by a specialized papier-mâché process (which uses a clay primer-justifying my posting this on a ceramics board LOL/lu).
With the opening of Russia in 1990, the art of Russian lacquer miniature painting has gained worldwide appreciation and these small treasures are highly sought after by collectors. As a result, many Russian boxes are now being produced by untrained people using inferior materials such as wood, poured acrylic, or pressed sawdust-board called argalite. These imitation lacquer miniatures are being sold on the streets of Russia and through venues like eBay. Many of these fakes have the name of one of the four villages and even the name of a well-known artist added to fool the uneducated buyer. (Emphasis mine/lu)
Well that's not really appropriation, that's just forgery.
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32 minutes ago, Rae Reich said:
I have an old kiln log page that shows a radical jump to ^10++ and the notation TED GOES TO SLEEP
Comiserations
Haha yeah, my own dumb fault of course. I was in reduction starting at cone 4, when I turned down the gas to soak it allowed more air to burn and the temperature went up. It's always a good time for a lesson, that's what I say!
QotW:When, where, what, or who influenced you to begin your journey into pottery? If you care to share: what was it exactly about pottery that drew your interest?
in Int'l Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) Operations and Benefits
Posted
I was always exposed to ceramics from kindergarten on through college. Didn't have money for a wheel, kiln, clay, etc until my mid 30s where I am now. My recent inspiration was my neighbor who is a metal and woodworking artist, I told him I used to really enjoy ceramics and he said I should just do it. So I did.