: perkolator - Viewing Profile

Got a phone call and email regarding a Tech Job at the Sonoma Community Center, in Sonoma California. Don't know anything about it other than what was sent to me. Not sure how much advertising they're able to do for the position, so here ya go:


SONOMA COMMUNITY CENTER
ARTS STUDIO MANAGER/TECHNICIAN JOB DESCRIPTION

Position: Arts Studio Manager & Technician
Hours: Part-time: 20-24 hours/week
Salary: $15.40 per hour
Status: Non-exempt
Supervisor: Arts Education Manager
JOB SUMMARY: This position oversees the maintenance of all aspects of SCC’s
visual arts studios. Works directly with arts education manager to ensure an
organized, cohesive working environment for students, studio members and faculty

RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Manage open studio programs and coordinate studio monitors
• Daily studio upkeep
• Kiln maintenance
• Printing press upkeep
• Handling raw ceramic materials, glazes, printing solvents, etching
solutions, inks and painting media
• Mixing and reclaiming clay and glazes by hand
• Order and pick up raw materials and clays
• Maintain functional, clean and safe studio working environment
• Work with program manager to identify and implement necessary studio
upgrades
• Other duties as assigned by program manager
QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS:
• Minimum bachelors degree or equivalent in ceramics
• Ability to self-direct
• Strong background in visual arts
• Working knowledge of studio equipment and management
• Strong organizational skills wth regard to studio inventories, Materials
Safety Data Sheets and general studio safety
• Working knowledge of gas and electrical safety
• Strong technical background, experience firing & repairing gas & electric kilns
• Ability to lift 50 lbs
• Strong verbal and written communication skills

TO APPLY:
Please send cover letter and resume to:
Toni Castrone
Executive Director
Sonoma Community Center
276 East Napa Street
Sonoma, CA 95476

Wondering if anyone has any tips or recipe suggestions for dipping/coating and firing some dried flowers, and keeping the detail?

I've been asked to see if it's possible to slip and fire a wedding bouquet of flowers. I'm somewhat familiar with firing slip-soaked fabrics (like crochet, fabric, stuffed animals, etc) - and that's fairly simple since the cotton will soak up slip no problemo - but dried flowers is a bit different since there really isn't any mass to absorb the slip, and they are so fragile. I was thinking some sort of slip containing calcined clay and pyrophyllite might get me in the right direction. I already tried a few attempts with a casting slip and a brush-on slip, but I wouldn't really call them successful. I think flower-type has a lot to do with it, but planning to experiment more with some various dried flowers i've got laying around to make sure it works before messing up her actual bouquet. Next attempt will be to do a quick dip to get into the crevices and then layer more with a sprayer.

Just wanted to see if anyone has tips on where to go next since I know slip-drenched fabrics are very common, but not so much flowers.

I'd like to gather a list of all the good/heavy duty epoxies and glues/adhesives that artists use on their ceramics and other sculptures/artwork. If possible, can you provide the name of the product, where someone can buy it, the types of surfaces/materials you were bonding, how well it holds/held, and overall impressions?


In our studio I always tell students not to buy a one-part adhesive for gluing their sculptures together - this is because they are weak and don't make good structural bonds. Sometimes they can be useful when getting two objects fused temporarily, while using a long-cure epoxy. I explain that they want a 2-part epoxy since you have a resin and catalyst to form a chemical bond - which generally forms some of the strongest bonds without welding or fusing the objects with heat. I also explain that the clear epoxies tend to be weaker compared to opaque epoxies, and that the slower it cures the stronger it usually bonds.

We are a big fan of the PC product line and favor PC-7 and PC-11 for critical structural bonds. Usually, the bond is stronger than the clay and when/if you break it there will be clay or glaze stuck to the epoxy proving the clay/glaze breaks first. I just read on the PC website they have a PC Super Epoxy "syringe-type" adhesive that seems legit since it has similar testing strength to the PC7 - I've never seen it on the shelf before but I might have to find some to test. We buy PC products at ACE Hardware - never seen it at any of the big-box Orange/Blue stores.

I've seen students use a plethora of different adhesives and have seen first hand how well some do/don't do what they are purposed for. There are some 2-part "syringe" epoxies seem to hold just OK but usually not so great since they are mostly the clear variety (LocTite brand for example). Things like Gorilla Glue are a joke, not to mention are a PITA in terms of how messy it gets once the glue foams up when reacting with moisture in the air. JB Weld can sometimes work, but it really depends - and the 24hr version is superior in strength. Liquid Nails/construction adhesives don't really work well either unless you're laminating something on a horizontal plane and use a lot of it. I have seen some people have good results with E6000, but the problem with this stuff is the flexibility. 100% silicone works pretty well for sticking to glazed surfaces and is relatively inexpensive - but doesn't apply to every situation. Some students try to come in with Krazy/Super Glue or even hot-glue and I just laugh - chewed bubble gum probably holds better on ceramics.


Side note - I've found one of my preferred "temporary" bonds that can be added to ceramics is "poster putty" or wall tack/museum wax. The stuff works VERY well when placed between the adjoining parts of a piece built in sections and needs to come apart later - works great for eliminating wobbles instead of using shims when the section doesn't quite mate up like you intended. Usually, we'll just roll it in a coil or place pea-size balls where they need to be, and use it like a gasket. I've even held 2-3# ceramic objects on a vertical surface with a marble-size wad of it as a test - held for several days until I removed it (don't recommend for anything you care about falling to the ground ) Can be purchased at any office supplier and is very inexpensive - and can be reused!