Showing posts with label workspace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workspace. Show all posts

Sunday, December 17, 2023

This is not sustainable

Last Wednesday I hit the clay. In no time at all, both the breakfast bar and dining room table were covered with works in progress.

Breakfast bar

I have a list of pros and cons for creating a workshop in the garage - the only con is the expense - and keep adding to the list everyday. Even if I don't continue with pottery, the workshop will be an asset to the house. (Around here, few people actually park their cars in their garages, as the garages are usually full of junk.)

Dining room table

I'll have to discuss with my daughter, as she is the home designer in the family.

Meanwhile, more tools! And glazes!

Wooden forms

Hole makers

Paddle

Glazes

I learned something new this week regarding glazes, or at least some of the glazes I have on hand. Most are for cone 6, but several are for lower cone values. This might explain why some of the pieces they fired at the maker space did not turn out very well, as I was putting them on the mid-range shelf, not the low-range shelf. My pea brain was thinking of how hot I wanted the stoneware clay to get in order to vitrify, not taking into consideration the limitations of the glazes I had chosen. Live and learn!

Monday, July 24, 2023

Frustration builds

I was hoping to report some good news today, but the kilns are STILL not working. In fact, the one that last worked has its controller guts exposed. It does not look hopeful. The plan is to visit another maker space later this week, to see what we can see.

Last week I glazed another slip mold figurine, this one a goat. Today I brushed clear glaze onto some test tiles that I had coated with lumpy slip that had been colored with mason stains.


I'm almost done with the mason stained stoneware "river rocks" that will serve as test pieces before being stacked on a skewer for my viewing pleasure.The workspace in my garage is an ongoing project. I've been packing up stuff to bring home, so it needs some serious reorganizing.


One of the pottery groups I follow on FB is Hand Built B*tches, if you are interested. Someone I follow on IG is Dowidat Ceramics - I've purchased some of her pots. Everyone is such an inspiration.