Pottery beginnings

HorseloverFat

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Generally anything shipped should contain @20% water.
That said, clay materials will make a slight difference in "ready" time, but they all should roughly fall into the same "window" of readyness
Haha! I’m experiencing lessons in this currently..

Sooo I’m building a well.. (well, well, well) Not to the “brick detail” yet buuut... i Ran out of “ready clay” (that I “started” yesterday morning) at “roof time”... soooo I gotta put this..
D027D60A-D9A0-427D-A0BD-CC8E2A18E60D.jpeg
Like this...
BC037BCE-2F5A-43A7-B38F-7DC2B77B7F56.jpeg
Until this..D472D044-74BA-44D3-892E-FCF1B2DB5386.jpeg
Is “ready”...

I LOVE CLAY!!
 

sorce

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Haha! I’m experiencing lessons in this currently..

Sooo I’m building a well.. (well, well, well) Not to the “brick detail” yet buuut... i Ran out of “ready clay” (that I “started” yesterday morning) at “roof time”... soooo I gotta put this..
View attachment 396676
Like this...
View attachment 396677
Until this..View attachment 396678
Is “ready”...

I LOVE CLAY!!

That's dope.

Me too!

I have about 6 old coolers I've been using for storage. It's like a simplified "wet box".

Instead of putting water under set plaster and all the work involved, just use a wet sponge to regulate humidity.

I'm going to drop a video, which may be the first of a series.
Stay tizuned.

Sorce
 

HorseloverFat

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That's dope.

Me too!

I have about 6 old coolers I've been using for storage. It's like a simplified "wet box".

Instead of putting water under set plaster and all the work involved, just use a wet sponge to regulate humidity.

I'm going to drop a video, which may be the first of a series.
Stay tizuned.

Sorce
I can’t wait!!
 

sorce

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This is really an excellent way to go. If you need something larger, an old refrigerator works well too. Unplugged of course.

I can hear it now...

"What the fuck is this, I thought I told you to stop bringing stuff home."

🤣 It's a question in words, but the punctuation is fully unnecessary! Lol

Sorce
 

sorce

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Generally anything shipped should contain @20% water.
That said, clay materials will make a slight difference in "ready" time, but they all should roughly fall into the same "window" of readyness. Where porcelain on the early end may bend a little, and grogged stoneware may be a little dry, which makes more mess when scoring. But everything in this window can be used to make a useable product.

The safest, most consistent, and efficient way to get to this window is simply the material you are working on.

Since Plaster and Drywall both wreak havoc if they contaminate the clay, and they dry too fast, till they contain too much water, then they dry too slow, which leads to frustrating inconsistent....

I use and fully recommend ONLY HardiBacker 1/2 "cement" board.

Don't know if it's available in the UK, but I swear to God I'd pay to have it shipped in, it's that valuable.

Grogged stoneware can be rolled out instantly, porcelain takes a bit longer, but this time also allows the more compression ribbing porcelain appreciates to remain straight.

6-12 strokes straight down, 1/4 turn, repeat till all 4 directions complete, flip, repeat the process.
Grogged stoneware is ready when both sides are complete.
Porcelain after both sides are done twice.

Side note...
It takes some practice, but I've found that holding the (wooden) rib at different angles is also better for each.

Stoneware, / ➡️.
Porcelain, ⬅️/.

Sorce

☝️ That's the text that prompted the video. Hopefully they're more pro by the time this series is over.


Your viewership and subscription is appreciated.

Kindly,

Sorce
 

HorseloverFat

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☝️ That's the text that prompted the video. Hopefully they're more pro by the time this series is over.


Your viewership and subscription is appreciated.

Kindly,

Sorce
At the part about “clay having memory”.. I was all *tucks chin into neck and looks around* “Who says that?!”

Badass, my friend.

I cannot subscribe on my phone.. but when I get by the PS3 I shall!!
 

HorseloverFat

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☝️ That's the text that prompted the video. Hopefully they're more pro by the time this series is over.


Your viewership and subscription is appreciated.

Kindly,

Sorce
I like THESE for “lats” 🤣

1A7816A9-0281-4B6F-8308-875A606C4DC5.jpeg
yes those are mo-freekin K’Nex!
 

penumbra

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☝️ That's the text that prompted the video. Hopefully they're more pro by the time this series is over.


Your viewership and subscription is appreciated.

Kindly,

Sorce
Nice job Sorce. The magnet idea is brilliant. I have many of those magnets I use for therapy but I never thought about using them for thickness gauges when cutting a slab.
I will be watching.
 

sorce

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@CodeMonkey I hope you don't mind hosting the intro of these, I just don't feel they deserve a thread of their own.


Part three will be inside seam finishing and feet.

Sorce
 

Mapleminx

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I've finally taken the plunge and started playing around with clay to make pots.

After a few years of being inspired by all the talented people on here I thought I'd give it a try, and I love it! It's like being a kid again, except with chemicals and a kiln...

Here's a few pics of my first attempts.
The amount you learn from a single firing is incredible.

If anyone has good resources for inspiration or techniques, please fire away!


View attachment 396343
View attachment 396351
View attachment 396344View attachment 396345View attachment 396346View attachment 396347View attachment 396348View attachment 396349View attachment 396350
Oh wow! Loving these, especially the yellow and the two whites. Can’t wait to see what your next experiments bring.
 

TinyArt

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@CodeMonkey, especially, in case it makes white clay more appealling...

For what it's worth, folks, I stumbled across examples of milk-glazed pottery on Etsy, and looked it up -- milk has been in use since ancient times to make the vessels water-tight -- AND it comes out dark brown! (Not sure what clay body colors were, initially, but the warm/chocolatey/sable color variations were quite nice.)

No idea if it works as well beyond low-fire use. No idea if it could make low-fire survive real winter.

Would love to see it tested -- might make white clay pots much nicer looking, if nothing else!

...TinyArt, pottery fan-girl
 

sorce

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see it tested

Marcia made me do it!


20210912_100417.jpg
20210912_100428.jpg
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I forgot this one was glazed, came out pretty interesting.

20210912_100505.jpg

To get the right effect, you have to dunk em around 1650F.
I would guess one could let a high fire pot cool to this point before removing it for the dunk.
Buuuuut ......

Sorce
 

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HorseloverFat

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@CodeMonkey I hope you don't mind hosting the intro of these, I just don't feel they deserve a thread of their own.


Part three will be inside seam finishing and feet.

Sorce
NIIIICE!!

So many lil details there that’re gonna help me a TON!

So much different DISCUSSING techniques, than seeing them.

Much appreciated, brother!
 

TinyArt

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To get the right effect, you have to dunk em around 1650F.
I would guess one could let a high fire pot cool to this point before removing it for the dunk.
Buuuuut ......

Sorce
Whoa!!!
Cool, but scary-sounding process... 🤔
...AND not the same animal!

Here's the Russian pottery on Etsy:

And other hits that seemed interesting:

...simplest go-to-it explanation

...opens with a pic of a pot made in white clay 😀


Hope it's fun/useful!
 

Katie0317

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Looks like it will have an interesting surface that will create a unique patina.
 
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