Clay Studio Open Tomorrow 11:00-2:00

I know that my last post said that the clay studio would be closed tomorrow (New Years Eve day).  However, I've been working on some projects and am not doing anything during the day . . . so I am going to come in and hold Open Studio during the regular Tuesday time (11:00 AM until 2:00 PM). 

I'd welcome the company if anyone wants to come in and join me!  :)

Mindy

Holiday Hours

The clay open studio will be closed Christmas Eve/Christmas Day and New Year's Eve/New Year's Day.  However, I will be in town over the break, so if anyone wants to come in and work on Sundays, I will be there!

Clay Open Studio CLOSED 12/24 and 12/25

Clay Open Studio CLOSED 12/31 and 1/1

Clay Open Studio remains OPEN on Sundays during the holidays

Also, note that the Arts Center office is closed during some of this time (from 12/22 to 12/29) so if you have the monthly membership you won't be able to come in and work during that week (unless you come in with me on Sundays).

Bisque Fire Loaded

We loaded bisque last evening at class, including many of the Open Studio pieces. Because some of our pieces and a couple of the OS pieces were not yet bone-dry, Dan programmed this for a 5-segment slow ramp-up firing. Mindy can unload these at Sunday OS.

Glazes

We have three new glazes in the closet, one a cobalt (tile #9), one a copper (tile #13), and one a creamy beige (mistakenly labeled #19--more about this in a moment). These are based on Cindy Hart's G1214W base glaze + colorants.

Somehow tiles ended up with duplicate numbers, and the bucket presently labeled #19 was identified as a brown glaze. It is not. It is a creamy beige/tan glaze and should have been labeled #21. The photo here is of Nancy's bowl from the glaze firing unloaded yesterday. The light half is the (approximate) color of the glaze I'm describing; it seems a bit darker in this photo: 

Last night before leaving class, I put a temporary note on that bucket in case anyone will be glazing today. I'll go in to the studio this afternoon and properly re-label it. I'll also add colorants to the remaining bucket of G1214W base to make the brown glaze (#19):

Glaze Kiln Loaded 10/13/13

Hi all!  I loaded a Cone 6 kiln today at 5:00 PM.  The exciting thing is that I included test tiles (that Meredith and Susan made) for some of our new glazes!

I was able to fit everything in except for the four pieces below.

Meredith will probably unload it during Tuesday Open Studio in case anyone wants to come in and get their pieces!  Then she'll load a bisque.  (I'll probably stop in towards the end of Tuesday Open Studio to look at my stuff).

Ready-to-bisque Ware Needed

To repeat a note I put on our Facebook page: Our current class would like to load a bisque kiln next Tuesday. If you have greenware ready for firing, please put it on the bisque shelf. You'll probably have to search for space - our pieces are plates.

Start time for OS Weds. night

We will still meet at 6, I just wanted the title to catch people's eyes.

I have a monthly meeting just prior to OS that will come up again this week. If you get there and don't see me a few minutes before 6 please do not worry! I'll be there!

Most months I've been able to get there right at 6 - last month I was about 2 minutes late :(  but please hang on!

Bisque Started 9/30/13

I loaded a bisque Sunday afternoon (slow bisque with a two-hour preheat).  I was able to fit everything in except for some of Deb's pieces that were still a bit wet (although one was ready to go in). Should be ready to unload on Tuesday. 

If y'all glaze some of these pieces this week, I should be able to load a glaze kiln next Sunday.

Pig Party!

I started a Cone 6 glaze kiln today around 4:30. 

Let me tell you, there was a pig party happening on every shelf.  I hope they don't cause to much trouble in there with their loud music and dancing!

New Greenware Measuring Device is in the Studio

Here's what it looks like!  To measure your greenware piece, place it in the corner of the box (thanks to Solveig for providing the illustrative bowl).

In a nutshell, measure all three dimensions (height, width, and depth).  You may round up or round down, depending on how close the dimension is to the inch measurement marks.  Then, multiply together and multiply that product by .03 cents.

You'll need to place a slip inside your piece with your name, a short descriptor of the piece (this could be "medium bowl with double rim"), the date you placed it on the shelf, and the dimensions.  The Art Center will bill you at the end of the month.

Tommye asked that the new policy start this September.  So, anything placed on the "to be bisqued shelf" from now on needs to have a slip in it.  Previously fired works (that are waiting to be glazed in the bisque stage) and works currently on the shelf are "grandfathered" and you won't be charged for them.

Here's some more photos that give close-ups of the measuring process:

 

"Speed is NOT your Friend."

A recent kiln blow-up in a glaze firing led us to some online searching to try to understand the cause. When I posted a query to Electric Cone 6 & Other Ways w/ Clay, one of the responders referenced the article "Speed is NOT your Friend" and posted its link at Dogwood Ceramic Supply.

The article explains in detail why we don't want to dry pieces too quickly,  fire pieces that aren't bone-dry, or open a kiln too soon after firing is complete. While some of the article gets a little complex (OK, a lot complex), it's worth a read--especially to understand the heating/cooling processes a kiln goes through.

We're still trying to figure out why several of the bisqued "cookies" shattered, damaging a few pieces (shards embedded in glazed surfaces). We know the kiln was fired at medium speed, not fast; the cookies had been used before so they weren't wet; there was no glazed greenware in the load.

We'll keep mulling this over.

Say hello to Hairy Buffalo Aug13 glaze

Kinda fun! :)

Thanks Nancy for providing pic.

 

Studio Policies

The revised clay studio policies are now posted in the blog. We're still working on plans for the daily non-monitored open studio hours and will fill in the details as soon as we can. In the meantime, please review the policies, enjoy open studio time, and check out the new fall schedule for ceramics: you might find a class you'd like!

Glaze kiln started tonight

FYI :)

The rumor of the demise of our glazes has been greatly exaggerated; and - the return of Philly Green!

I've heard lots of rumors of how we're almost out of the current glazes. While it is taking a little longer than we'd hoped to get going with our "Cindy Glazes," I cleaned and sorted all our existing glaze last night to see what's what and this is what I found.

These are glazes we still have (anything not on this list was completely dried out or just had a few cc's left :)

• Jen's juicy
• red orange liner
• antique iron
• Ernst green
• cream breaking red
• bone
• temmoku gold
• waterfall brown
• anderson ranch red
• black aka licorice (glossy)
• satin matte black
• burgundy
• amber (I was able to revive it I think - I switched it to a smaller bucket - please feel free to check and see how it's doing and use it if it's ready! - not very much but enough for pouring)
• tan (reviving also in a small bucket, enough for pouring - please use!)
• woo yellow dark
• Linda's yellow MV (? this had my handwriting on the outside it looked like but I have no idea when it appeared; I know we didn't make it with Ernst - I have no idea what it looks like)
• spearmint
• commercial matte white
• commercial matte blue
• commercial clear (the one that does not really come out clear but faintly whitish and does some pink/purple-ish --if I remem. correctly--  when it's thick)
• clear gloss (this bucket did not look familiar to me either)

Some of them are too low to dip but still have a fair amount - many have 1/4 or 1/3 bucket still, tho a few are ones no one uses, 'tis true.

What we might do soon is another glaze poll to find out which we might go ahead and toss. I know a few are from various classes and don't really work with our cone 6 firings, etc. 

And perhaps the most exciting thing for some of you: Meredith and I mixed a new batch of Philly Green (it was the top choice from the poll of glazes you'd like to keep). It has not been tested yet but I will do test tiles tomorrow night and if anyone wants to go ahead and use it you're certainly welcome.

Also we're starting something that they do at Hartworks: glazes (of the same cone number) which are way too low to use but there is just a bit left, they pour together and have a running mixed-leftovers surprise glaze (which obviously changes from time to time as more leftovers are added, etc.) Meredith and I started one; so far it contains: leftover Philly Green, leftover commercial matte blue and "Mystery White." Look for it in a bucket labeled "Hairy Buffalo Leftover Glaze." :)  I'll do at least one test tile of it tomorrow night so we can see how it turns out with the current mix - cross your fingers!

Please do try to get in and do some glazing if at all possible; we are anxious to do some more test tiles for the Cindy Glazes and we'd like to have a full kiln if we can. There are still a lot of glazing possibilities with the choices above and Mindy ran a big bisque Sunday so there are lots of pieces anxious for glaze!

At the very least, go in and see our nice clean closet, which you can now actually walk into and thru without tripping on glaze buckets! It looks great, if I do say so myself!

The skinny on plans for the studio - we need you to weigh in on glazes!

We know everyone has heard about the studio's move toward establishing new policies and creating new glazes. Hopefully this post will allay some worries and clarify a bit. The goal is that any changes will be first and foremost aimed at improving the TAC clay studio: making it self-supporting, having more consistency in the practical workings of the studio, keeping a variety of stable glazes and a good inventory of tools, getting in more students and potters, maintaining equipment we have, purchasing more and better equipment ... a second kiln, maybe a pug mill down the road, etc.?!

Policies: Various modifications are in planning stages re Open Studio schedules, policies, pricing ... you name it. But no changes are official yet, and nothing will be etched in stone. If we try something and it turns out not to work for us, we will adjust it. Please stand by for these.

Glazes: Simplifying our glazes will save a lot of money and help with consistency of glazing results, and make the studio a bit safer to boot. We are currently storing a number of chemicals we don't need, many of which cost a fair amount, and many of our current glazes have very few common ingredients. As most of you know, we also have had quite a bit of inconsistency over the years with how glazes have acted, etc., in the kiln. Some of the glazes we use would probably work better with special programming in the kiln (ramping up the temperature, for example). Such programming is not very practical for open studio firings since we have many different potters' pieces and glazes being fired at once.

Therefore, we plan to switch to a different family of glazes which have lots of common ingredients, simpler recipes, and some safer chemicals, and which will all fire consistently with the same kiln programming. With these changes, we can save money and make glaze results more consistent.

The test tiles many of you have noticed in the studio represent only a few of these new glazes, a couple of colors in matte and in glossy with black and white slips on the edges. Here is what we will consistently have in the studio:

Glossy:
white, black, clear, blue, green, yellow, cream

Matte:
white, black, blue, and one or two others (we can poll for everyone's
preferences)

We will also have the white and black slips for regular use.

In addition to these, we will continue to have two of our current glazes. This lets us keep a couple of particularly fun glazes that people have fallen in love with over the years, but we still would be able to keep the amount of necessary ingredients, and therefore costs, down.

Between all of these choices and counting the possibilities added by having the slips, we will have over 100 different choices of combinations of glazes. We will have this range ALL THE TIME because it will be easier to restock glaze since the ingredients will be more affordable and easier to manage in the studio. Potters will always know what to expect, both in what choices they have and in how each glaze will act with our standard kiln programming.

Everyone will still be able to use their own personally purchased cone 6 glazes just like now.

So! Now it's time for you to weigh in on which of our current glazes you would like to keep. Please click the link below and vote for your preferences. We will keep the top two favorites for sure, possibly three. Only monitors will see your answers, so please do fill in your email where it asks. This is just in case we have a question.

Please click here to vote 

A note about email notifications

Oops - some of the formatting of email notifications had changed since I looked at them last and I didn't realize. There were a few bits in the original post here that were not accurate - below is the new and improved, entirely accurate, version. Sorry to have confused people even further!

The email notifications have caused some confusion.

When you get a notification that there is a post on the blog, you are welcome simply to read it there in your email, or you can go read it on the blog by using the hotlink at the bottom of the message.

Please note that your email notification will only include the text of the latest post to the blog, nothing else from the blog. If the post mentions other parts of the blog (the sidebar, the other pages of the blog, or the tabs, etc.) they will not be visible to you in your email.

If you use the hotlink in your email to go to the post in the blog itself, you will see the other parts of the blog. Again, this is not absolutely necessary if you just want to see the latest news that was posted.

Please note that the hotlink at the bottom of your email will only take you to that particular post, not the homepage of the blog, so if you like to bookmark things, don't use that link. Click "home" once you get to the blog for the main page/URL or here it is if you'd like to copy/paste from your email: http://tacclay.blogspot.com 

Again, if you would like to be removed from the notifications list, just let one of the monitors know. Please be sure to check the blog regularly for info after that so you don't miss anything important. Think of the blog as an extension of the white board in the studio. Everything from kiln firings, to Open Studio cancelations, to studio problems, to celebrations (like: Have you seen our incredibly fun new shade on the window?!*) will be posted on the blog. It will be assumed that all regular Open Studio attendees and monitors and clay class instructors are aware of all blog announcements.

*No, seriously, have you? It is great! And should keep our plastic covered work cart cooler... now if we could just get everyone to close the plastic promptly and completely! Ahem...

Hi!

Hello and welcome to our new TAC clay studio blog. This will be a place to see any and all important TAC news and info without any sign-in or membership requirement.

Up to ten people can receive automatic notifications when something is posted on the blog. For now, this list includes monitors and the most regular OS attendees. For the moment, comments are not being forwarded to anyone but monitors. If you would like to be added to the comments notification list, please let the monitors know.

If you comment on the blog, please keep standard internet etiquette in mind when commenting and don't forget that this blog is public. Do not share any sensitive information on the blog.

The blog is not to be confused with the Facebook group. The Facebook group will continue to have more social and incidental postings, but necessary studio information will always be posted here on the blog since not all open studios potters are on Facebook. Monitors will manage the blog, and not all of them have access to Facebook. If you do have crucial info which should be posted here or which you see on Facebook and think should be shared here as well, please let Meredith or Mindy or Susan know ASAP. Their emails are linked in the sidebar.

Obviously certain things here are still in progress. Please explore the tabs above (for pending materials like policies, etc.) and the links to the side. Please send any links you'd like included in our list to Susan (link in sidebar). Eventually we'd like to create a photo page as well, and we will most likely use a photo of our own (one of our potters' or a studio pic) as the blog background, too. If you have photos you would like to share, please keep them handy and watch for announcements about this. 

Any and all comments and suggestions for the blog are welcome. Please let the monitors know via the links in the sidebar if you have general info or suggestions.