Sabotage?

[Rae Reich]

So, it looks like it forms a glaze on the bigger blobs of the upper shelf and its plate. That wouldn't be plain copper or or carb. I put a penny (a real one) once, on a kiln shelf for a firing and it blackened and boiled and melted down into the shelf. Bad idea, I'm sure it's been done before. 

My point is that it seems more like a copper glaze. Is there any copper glaze in the studio?

[NotJo]

Hi All, and Somerville, Ive never posted before, but I love this forum and a good mystery! I'm just wondering if the kiln's been repaired recently (perhaps between those two firings of yours)? And, not familiar with the wiring of these (is it a Skutt?) but is there an element missing from the groove shown in second photo? And, do you remove the bottom shelf between firings (I'm  lazy and pretty much leave mine in)? The amount on the floor makes me wonder if something was scraped against, or removed from the wall when the shelf was out, or burned off the end of that other element to the right that seems to end abruptly. Maybe it was shortened recently? (what are the pins that hold the elements in made of?).  Or, different track, do you use witness cones to peep in on that may have been stuck into a blob of contaminated clay? I always use whatever is closest at hand to put mine in, as long as there's no plaster lumps... Please do post if you have any more evidence/hunches!  Thanks also to all the good folk who take the time and effort to post here and help others. Very informative!

[Benzine]

On 2/21/2019 at 3:39 PM, Mark C. said:

I think a small group of masked men snuck in, in the middle of the firing-They maybe where armed or NOT. one was at the door keeping an eye out and two where working the kiln.

One was in car waiting outside-one had locksmithing skills -one wqs a potter who knew how to screw up only this layer of pottery and no other shelves.

They where recently discovered and exposed as the Pottery Hit Squad.No job to big or small-wreking havoc anywhere on the planet.

They can parachute in or dive out of a submarine anywhere they are needed .

Sabatoge? thats the name of the game for these guys-also the name of this pots and soon the name of a new board game.Look for the ads in the back of CM soon

You to can guess who did what with whom and what kiln ?? You can guess the electric level 4 shelves with iron filings or a bag of copper oxide.

 

This reminds me of the time, that I "Broke" into my college's Ceramic Studio.  It was over Thanksgiving Break, I needed to get a project done, and knew I wouldn't get it done, with only the class time we had.  Some of the Graduate students told me how to get in.  It involved a rarely locked loading dock door, a coat hanger, and a spy tune playing in my head.

After I had been there working a while, I hear a door open, and ducked out into the hallway.  The Department Head, had come to check the kilns.  Either she didn't question, why the studio lights were on, over a break, or just didn't care.  Either way, as soon as she left, I went back to work.

[Denice]

Sabotage does happen in school situations.   I had my work chopped up with a axe on Christmas break when I was in  high school.   Someone was really pissed at me,  the only reason I could come up it the art teacher had me grade his papers handed in by students.  The worse grade I ever gave was  a D and that was when someone didn't try and just scribbled a design.   It didn't really bother me I just started on new work.      Denice

[Hulk]

Could happen - my pieces stopped mysteriously chipping, cracking and falling to pieces after moving to the highest row of cubbies (afraid of heights culprit exclaimed "Oh").

[Babs]

Sad stuff to read.