Lucia Matos

I talked to the folks at Peter Pugger yesterday and what they say is, once you have mixed one batch, you can let it pug into the nose and then mix another batch.  You can just chain it until you're done mixing (I'm talking about mixing from dry).
I swear, multiple people (I thought) insisted the Bailey is easier to clean, but now that I've looked at them both in detail, that just can't be true.  Especially with Min's report of a 2 hour cleanout process.
What I found really helpful is that Peter Pugger has a cleaning breakdown for each model so you can SEE just exactly what comes apart when you have to clean.  You have to go to the individual model and there is actually a tab in the info section just for cleaning.
I was told that the mixing (from powder) capacity for each machine is roughly half the hopper size due to the way the volume changes once you wet it down - you can put roughly half the amount by weight of the dry in and that fills the chamber.  Once you add water it mixes down in volume.  So for mixing from powder
7SS -  14 lb hopper capacity = 350 lb/hour, 7 lb mixing = 100 lb/hour 9SS -  25 lb hopper capacity = 500 lb/hour, 13 lbs mixing = 150 lb/hour 20SS - 45 lb hopper capacity = 600 lb/hour, 23 lbs mixing = 180 lb/hour Honestly even the 7SS seems like plenty for me.  If it takes me an hour to mix up 100 lbs, that doesn't seem like that much to me.  I just can't see ever meeting the potential capacity from the 20SS.  I can see a pretty big jump in output between the 7SS and the 9SS but the jump to the 20SS seems very small given the hopper capacity is nearly doubled. 
7SS - 1/2 HP motors for both pugging and vacuum  9SS - 3/4 HP motor pugging, 1/2 HP vacuum 20SS - 1 HP motor pugging, 1/2 HP vacuum Apparently 240V is an option on any of these and I'd probably go for that - I have a 20A 240V circuit (well actually it is marked 220V in the electrical box, and my HVAC is marked 230V on the units) in the garage that I can't imagine ever having another use for, and these draw 4A, 6A, and 8A respectively (pugging motors) on 220V.  I'm a bit short on 120V circuits out there, rather save that capacity for other things.
I'm not saying the 7SS is my best bet, but I don't see that the 20SS is a clear winner here, either.  Given the smaller motor and overall power available, I can see where the 7SS could be outgrown even by me (old decrepit neophyte that I am); but I don't see a clear advantage to going all the way to the 20SS either.
Right now I'm inclined to stick with the 9SS.  The only advantage for me that I see with the 20SS is that the nose cone and the hopper are 2 separate pieces which should make clean out easier - with the 9SS, that is one piece and even though it weighs about the same as the 20SS nose cone alone, with clay in them, the 9SS would weigh less - BUT I would have to horse it off there without banging it into the augur.  On the 20SS, the nose cone comes off separately and then you take the (empty) hopper section off for cleaning.  Of course I could always just rig a sling to help with removal.
I wish I could try one and see!  Anybody out there have the time to share your experience owning/using the smaller Peter Puggers?
Pye
 

Light Dome makes light poles that span the top of the canopy. Go to their page HERE and look at the menu on the left.
And thank you for the kind words!

What type of canopy? Popup?

No matter how you end up building your bars, make sure they either telescope down to about half the length, or come apart into shorter segments. A 10 ft long pole is really hard to fit into a vehicle!

How mechanically inclined are you, Lucia? You could get a length of 1/2" black pipe at a big box or hardware store, have it cut to the length you need and threaded on the fresh cut end. Then you could thread elbows on each end, get additional pipe cut to height and threaded to fit the elbows at one end and flanges at the bottom end to mount to some sort of base or the floor itself. Then you could use shower curtain rings to hang your curtain or lights. You could paint it all to match your decor...

That's brilliant! Thank you very much!
Lucia

That's brilliant! Thank you very much!
Lucia

I use telescoping crossbars similar to the ones you linked to. I bought them from a photo supply website too.
 The hooks on the ends are conduit straps, which I spray painted black, then attached them to the ends of the crossbars with some heavy duty wire.
https://www.amazon.com/Morris-19405-Pipe-Strap-Steel/dp/B00VNJQLT6

I blame Etsy for the white background thing. White is fine for product description photos, but that style doesn’t get a lot of traction on social media anymore. I wouldn’t recommend using them as your first choice in that space. Insta is trying to be Tiktok so they’re switching emphasis to short form video, but that’s a whole other discussion.
For jurying and documentation, you want no shadows, and you want the pot to appear to be hovering in space. If you do that on social media, It’s harder for people to imagine that pot in their space, because it’s not presented with context. So they look at a pot and think “oh that’s nice!” And keep scrolling. If you even take that same white background and create some shadows with a bit more sidelight, people can start imagining the piece on a shelf or in a space. If you add a single prop like a cutting board, they start to imagine it in their space.

Hi Lucia!
I agree with everything said above, and will add that you want to increase the depth of filed to get the back edge of the lip in focus. Also crop them closer, and I wouldn't mind seeing them a little bit brighter (although that could be an issue with my monitor, not your photos). I tend to shoot a little bit lower on the pot, so the back edge is just showing a little bit. As you get higher above the pot the form can start to distort and look odd. Shoot at the highest resolution you can so that I can resize to whatever is needed. Always keep the original big file.
You'll find that certain surfaces and colors make for better photos than others. Back when I had a much larger glaze pallet, I always used my matte glazes for show entries because they made for great photos.
There's a lot more leeway nowadays for what's acceptable in show entry photos. You don't have use the old school gray fading to black, but it's always a safe bet. I have a hard time getting that type of image to look good with the very glossy pots I make now, so I've switched to a solid gray background with a natural wood foreground (so that my pots don't look like they're floating in a gray void). I get into just as many shows with that setup as I did with the gray-to-black fade. On instagram you'll see a lot of really nice images with a plain white background, shot in a light tent. Ultimately they just want something that shows the pot very well and doesn't distract from it.

Hi Mea,
Thank you so much! I just ordered the background. 
I just to tell you that I love your work and I also loved your online glaze courses.
Thank you again!
Lucia
 

If these are for jurying, they look “proper” to me. 
My one suggestion, invest in a backdrop that gradates with more contrast. Whiter in the front/bottom and much darker in the back/top. It will give the photo more depth, and make the pot stand out more. I like the Flotone “Thunder Gray” backdrop. 

Yep, the Thunder Grey is the go-to for jury backdrops. Plain white backgrounds are pretty unforgiving to shoot on. 
It looks to me like you have your light source slightly above your subject and to the right. Did you use a bounce card to get more light onto the side of the pots opposite your light source, or is your source just angled really nicely? If not, a piece of white foamcore angled to reflect some light back in to that side would be the only other nice to have I can think of. 

Thank you so much for your comprehensive answer. I forgot to include that this is for art fair applications.  I am not selling my work yet, but I am learning how to do it and getting ready for starting applying for next year shows. Thank you again!

Thank you so much for your comprehensive answer. I forgot to include that this is for art fair applications.  I am not selling my work yet, but I am learning how to do it and getting ready for starting applying for next year shows. Thank you again!

The definition of proper really depends on how you intend to use them. Photos for juries have a very different set of best practice recommendations than something you’d use in a marketing email, which are different from your website or social media feed. The best practices for those situations are almost polar opposites. If you could tell us what you need them for, it’ll help narrow the field of advice a LOT. 
I can tell you a couple general things before you answer that though.
The one thing that will apply across all photo needs though, is to adjust your white balance in post production. Your images look a bit on the green side on my screen, and its unclear if the shallow bowl in the second image is a brownish black, or if it has a bit of copper in the glaze mix. The thing that helps most people’s photography most is figuring out white balance. 
When you say this is “only” a 500 KB image, that’s actually the top recommended size for a website image. Optimal suggestions for websites are 200KB, and even smaller for things like email marketing. Slow download times due to overlarge images will cause website bounces and can affect your SEO rank in google. People might not open emails that require a lot of data to download, and social media platforms shrink the heck out of file sizes automatically. Computer screens only have so many pixels they can light up, so past a certain point the extra data is a hinderance. Unless your photos are going into a print publication, shooting RAW is overkill. For a lot of current practices, a few cheap props, tissue paper for diffusing window light, a good cell phone camera and Snapseed or Lightroom are sufficient equipment. And maybe an appropriate tripod/gorilla pod. 
 
 
 

I would love to attend a workshop by Anna Silverton, Rupert Spira or Clare Conrad. And most of all, if they were still alive, Lucie Rie,  James Lovera, and Otto and Gertrud Natzler. 

Marcia Selsor

Best sellers are the Enormous Coffee Mug (I do make a smaller mug too but the enormous ones sell better), and the Bowl with Chopsticks.
Edit to add: my whole line of work contains about 40 different items, ranging from $10 to $225. These two items are roughly 20% (dollar-wise) of what I bring to each show. I don't recommend making only mugs and eating bowls, that wouldn't add up to a good sale. I'm just saying that mugs and small bowls are an essential and substantial component to a functional potter's line of work. 


 

Go to my blog site, as I have posted the CM article that I co-authored with Madeleine Coomey there , February 18, 2019. It makes minor changes to a Ryobi battery powered caulking gun by using available plumbing pieces.
 
best,
Pres

Oh yeah, I use a hand held power extruder for handles and other small pieces. Have used glaze calc software for years, as I really hated doing the paper work in college. Also have a recipe spread sheet to automatically figure batch weights. 
 
best,
Pres

Reclycling/wedging from dried clay is awful for me. I am saving up for the smallest cheapest pug mill I can find and Advancers (can't lift shelves so good anymore).  My favored equiptment is my tabletop Bailey slab roller, followed by the heavy Shimpo banding wheel.  I gave myself the gift of fully outfitting my studio from the git-go, upon retiring from my "day job", so there is nothing I wish I'd done sooner. Having my kiln right here is beyond awesome--there is no public-access kiln anwhere close by, plus the over-time, ongoing, expense and restrictions of having to use their clay/glaze/firing programs etc. would not suit me long term. So, I guess it is my L& L Easy-Fire that is really the winner! 

Whilst out on the bike (and waiting on glaze load to cool off), was reflecting on what I'd read in my notes, then aha! How useful notes can be, sometimes.
Detailed firing notes, detailed results - clays, glazes, what worked, problems, etc. Don't count on remembering, heh.
For example:
  > notes support my guess that yesterday's much longer firing time was related to more mass - an extra half shelf, and lots of ware - for the cool down time is also much much longer (still waiting); those times and temps can be helpful.
  > notes indicate that reclaim glaze came out well on one of three clays; I couldn't remember which one, aha.
  > the tin chrome red I'm using sometimes catches little flecks of blue, why? More to th' point, can the look be repeated? Not completely sure on why, however, results indicate that yes, the look is repeatable - the "secret" is in the notes.
  > am getting closer on evening out the firing, particularly the cool zone right at the top. Notes help, for I'm not quite able to remember what I'd tried, when, for how long, nor the bend in cones.
There's more ...take notes.

wheels under everything you will move, and you will move things if but to wash that floor.   Harbor Freight stores have lots of types.  avoid plastic wheels that are inexpensive.   buy full bags of the commonly used glaze ingredients.  the best containers i have used are the Rubbermaid totes but they do not seem to be in the big box stores anymore.  Sterilite is very brittle for holding large quantities of heavy ingredients.  rubbermaid might sag but sterilite cracks.   do not leave your purchases in the original bag!  store them in something strong enough and easy to open, preferably on wheels.  bags become dusty and there is no way to open them repeatedly that will not cause a dust storm under your nose.   buy a respirator first thing.
second purchase is a decent cut off wire that you can control.   fishing leader lines come in different lengths, i find a 12 inch very useful and a 9 inch is always in use.   attach round metal key rings to the ends.    take your key rings to a fishing supply place that is not too big so there will be an employee who can advise you.  these wires are already braided so they cut clay the first time and last for years.
label everything.  not on paper that is taped to a container, tape will  dry up and fall off.   use a sharpie directly on the container.  you can remove a label if you change things.  just use hairspray and a cotton ball to wipe all the sharpie off.   hairspray works better than acetone and smells better.
there are a number of posts about setting up a studio, i do not know how to retrieve them from this website but if you search, you will find some really great ideas.   i do have strong opinions on most things because my education has been the school of hard knocks.   trying to save you some pain.

Hi folks, no new suggestions for a new QotW topic in the pool or elsewhere. So I will pose another question once again.
Lately, I have been thinking about the direction the new kiln is taking me, and what that means. I also have realized that maybe my age is showing because I still like to do some things in old ways. 
As far as the new kiln goes, the process of calibrating the thermocouples is pretty much completed. Only the next glaze firing will tell. I find the ease of firing with the Genesis controller mixed, as even though I do not worry over the setting for a firing,  I do have a tendency to double check color against the firing graph. I guess the kiln controller if my step into the future.
Things that I do that are old school will include the use of a triple beam balance to weigh out glaze chemicals, wedging clay, and reclaiming scraps. Setting the weights on the triple beam balance makes me think about what I am doing. . . kind of a second check, as is marking the chemicals with grease pencil on my plastic sleeved recipe charts. Keeps me focused.  Wedging, actually helps my back believe it or not. The pushing down while rotating the clay and body eases back strain for me, and is one other reason I reclaim scraps.
QotW: What things do you do that would be Old School, and what do you do that would be considered Embracing the Future?
 
best,
Pres