: Pres - Viewing Profile

123pop, on 19 June 2013 - 06:14 PM, said:

Remember that there are basically three types of water occurring in your pots. Mechanical water-making the clay pliable, which evaporates as the pot dries. Atmospheric water-basically the dryness the pot will get depending on humidity or your pot will get no drier than the humidity of the day. Chemical water-part of the clay formula that breaks down during firing. In most firings you will have moisture during the water smoking(lid cracked, plugs out, switches at low)this is basically the atmospheric water leaving the pot, then up to 1100F @ you will have the chemical water changes.

So you understand my exasperation when dealing with this topic. You have more credentials than I certainly and could have made well in the "studio life". But as you say, if it fits-yeah it did for me and seems to for you. You probably also know that the extra studio areas you received to make you a "jack of all" as an art teacher did you well. That said, it is great that you have such a strong background in one medium. I wish I had had the background there, I got mine from hard knocks of solving dozens of student problems everyday for 36 years. I guess my education just took a little while longer. Point being, which you pointed out-Good teachers are great because they can. I have always said that if I had to rebuild society after an Armageddon, I would start with the staff at the HS I worked at. Simple practical knowledge used to solving problems in a practical world.

OffCenter, on 19 June 2013 - 12:36 PM, said:

Great idea, Jim, I've got some old plywood doing nothing, will work well to cover the wedging table.

Denice, on 19 June 2013 - 08:21 AM, said:

My grand daughter is 11. We started with pinch pot w footring, then a box with cut lid, and the last few days we have done a serving platter, and a soap dish/tray. I think next we will do a little puzzle work with cut slabs and multi angles-sculptural. She has a good attention span, and 1 1/2 hrs is not too long for her, but about the limit.

This is the wheel I was talking about. It has a slight back that gives some support, and the seat kind of slopes down pushing you towards the wheel. Height adjustable as you see, and less than $100. I have tried all sorts of stools in the studio, including a 3 legged shower adjustable stool thinking I could do better cheaper-NO. This is what I put into the classroom 5 years before retirement, and never had a problem. Should have known better for home. These were originally by CI, but now Speedball.