liambesaw

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

I don't. 
 Someone else has got to do for me what I can not do for myself.  Bless, them, one and all! The mentors, the ass-kickers, the nudgers, the badgerers, the bribers, the seducers, the cheerleaders, the chastisers, the carrot-holders, the stick-holders, the muses & the jump-starters. Bless them all.

Set a schedule and adhere to it.  If I'm potting this week I will write down what I need to accomplish and then when I put the kids down for bed, I go out to the shed and do it. 
This can mean making pots, decorating, glazing, etc.  But it can also mean cleaning, organizing, taking photos, listing items on my website, filming or editing video, etc.
Just about everything in my life outside of work and family is pottery themed.  I stay away from social media to avoid having my ideas and styles tainted by others.  I do use it to post my work and answer questions, but that's all.  It can be a big time suck if you let it.

Would make your job a lot easier 

Happy Valentine's Day 

Waxed and ready to glaze
1 bottle, 1 vase, 1 bowl, 10 mugs, 11 berry bows
and 4 plates that are our 15yr anniversary/test design for shape, weight, durability since it was last week's class subject, feeling pretty firmly in the intermediary category now, gettin there. It will be so awesome when I'm not throwing "a" bowl, I'm throwing "MY" bowl, another thousand pounds or so maybe, hopefully, lol.

it is very hard to explain that i do not mean drown the pot and hold it underwater until it screams.   a quick dip will not get the pot wet, it will not even shine.  but the moisture will prevent the pot from greedily sucking up the wet glaze leaving an uneven surface.   and that quick dip takes less time than tediously wiping all surfaces.
usually there were more than 20 pots to glaze each time at my studio, they were dipped in water first and lined up before stirring and sieving the glaze.  by the time each pot was glazed, some time had gone by and they were never "wet".   
there are many words to describe moisture content, dry, damp, moist, wet, dripping.    it worked for me for many years until i started spraying glaze on greenware and single firing.  might work for someone else.
 

I also do not water my pots down.  I don't do anything to them before glazing except blow them off with an air hose to knock off any dust

It can be, depends on the clay. I never dip pots in water before glazing, they are always dry when I glaze.
@Pir, I'ld rub those pinholes over with a dry fingertip when the glaze is dry.

I have a new kiln being delivered next week!

I am investing in me. I've had several heavy-duty, do-or-die, metamorphoses (body/spirit/severe loss etc.) incl. minor TBI from external sources and now new damage from  decades of SSRIs used off-label (i.e. not for depression). The discontinuation syndrome process took a brutal 3 years, but I am now over a year clear of them & doing well--except for the TBI.  It is astounding to actually see it on a brain scan!!!  I have finally accepted the reality of certain limitations and become habituated to using effective work-arounds, consistently.  So my investment for claywork is to maintain the consistency of employing imperative work-arounds and take my today's Self into emerging new directions. 

I bought another Peter pugger to help with clay body mixing (two bodies mixed together ).
I also just had a APL suspensionplasty with biotenodesis screw in left thumb. in laymans terms they cut out my trapezium bone out of thumb and use part of a thumb tendon to suspend the thumb over that hole. My surgeon did 3 techniques on my thumb to strengthen it.this was lastTuesday-i'm off of painkillers now and have a brace for two weeks then a cast for 4 weeks then rehab for 4-5 months . my thumb will have to be taught to work again as its immobile now. the other fingers are sticking out and i have use of them. The restriction of use is no lifing more than a cup of coffee.
i choose this coivid time to be down from clay to rehab as we cannot travel and are hiding ot on the property for a long stint.I did make lots of greenware and in few weeks will help my assistant glaze and fire a small kiln load to keep my outlets supplied duri ng this break. one armed now
my wife needs the same surgery as soon as i'm healed.

Right now I am 90% sure I’m going to do this, though I still need to convince myself of the last 10%, but I think I’m going to get Lasik surgery. I recently turned 50, so this will be my 50th birthday present to myself.  I was originally planning to splurge on a nice vacation, but those plans went out the window with covid. Lasik is probably more useful anyways. 

Hey--this is some serious art here! This is the art of resilience and adaptability. It is the art of pleasing women who shop at gift boutiques and are obsessed with gnomes. It is the art of kicking Peter Voulkus out of one's head and replacing him with a big nosed little creature in a valentine hat. It is the art of survival.  And, truth be told, it is the art of having a bit of fun. But we shall not speak of this ever again.

They're still a myth to me

They're still a myth to me

big pot practice

The mold on the lid is actually efflorescence.  It happens when kilns get wet.  Soluble salts migrate to the surface where the water evaporates, leaving a fuzzy layer of salt and discoloration.  It will eventually go away.

Working on test for a  Greek mythology set.

Lucky them!  It's beautiful!

I spent the weekend glazing the rest of my bisqueware I had saved up, finishing bottoms and taking pictures.  Going to be listing it all on my online store and having a fun sale sometime in the coming weeks.  I have some stuff I know will be popular just from how many people on instagram, facebook and reddit have reached out to try to snipe things early.  
I participated in my local clay art associations pot swap this year and will be sending out this plate to the person whose name I drew!
 

Hamer's "The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques"
A favorite of mine.

I spent the weekend glazing the rest of my bisqueware I had saved up, finishing bottoms and taking pictures.  Going to be listing it all on my online store and having a fun sale sometime in the coming weeks.  I have some stuff I know will be popular just from how many people on instagram, facebook and reddit have reached out to try to snipe things early.  
I participated in my local clay art associations pot swap this year and will be sending out this plate to the person whose name I drew!
 

I spent the weekend glazing the rest of my bisqueware I had saved up, finishing bottoms and taking pictures.  Going to be listing it all on my online store and having a fun sale sometime in the coming weeks.  I have some stuff I know will be popular just from how many people on instagram, facebook and reddit have reached out to try to snipe things early.  
I participated in my local clay art associations pot swap this year and will be sending out this plate to the person whose name I drew!
 

I spent the weekend glazing the rest of my bisqueware I had saved up, finishing bottoms and taking pictures.  Going to be listing it all on my online store and having a fun sale sometime in the coming weeks.  I have some stuff I know will be popular just from how many people on instagram, facebook and reddit have reached out to try to snipe things early.  
I participated in my local clay art associations pot swap this year and will be sending out this plate to the person whose name I drew!