The alternate title of this post that I was rolling around was “What I Really Got for Christmas” as a callback to my previous post about a clean and remodeled studio. As you’ll see, I have done my fair share to help the economy, especially the clay tool and pottery literature economy.
rollers
I love tools. Any kind of tools but especially clay tools. So it was a great day when I saw that ClayKing.com was having a Black Friday sale. Some things were over 50% off! I picked up a few rollers which I hope to use for texture and maybe add some interest to handles.
glazing tools
I picked up some glazing and decorating tools as well. A cheap plastic banding wheel, glaze tongs and slip trailers were all on sale. The metal pipe-looking thing on the left is a siphon blower. It wasn’t on sale but it was something I “had to” try. You can fill it with glaze and then blow through the handle and it sprays the glaze onto the pot (or wall, or whatever is within range). It should come in handy for some special effects that wouldn’t be worth the effort of pulling out an air compressor.
bead tree and high temp wire
I also bought a bead tree and some high temp wire. I don’t think this stuff was on sale but I’ll try it out when I make ornaments or pendants. Maybe I’ll even make a bead or two. And I got a small pack of kiln shelf liner for no specific purpose but it might come in handy at some point.
plastic-ware and pipe cleaners
I bought a few plastic items from Walmart. I’m using the plastic trays to hold my tools at the wheel and a few other places. I think it will keep my space slightly more clean. I use the measuring cups to dip glaze from the glaze buckets. The scoop might be useful when measuring glaze ingredients. I’ve used one of the pipe cleaners to wax and clean out the holes in ornaments.
plastic bins on clearance!
I picked up the plastic bins on clearance at Walmart for $2 each. Perfect containers for my stamp collection!
crockpot and soy wax
My wife picked up a crock pot for me on Black Friday for $10. I ordered some soy wax from Amazon after reading that it might work better than paraffin. I hope to be able to melt the wax in the crock pot and then dip the bottom of my pots in instead of brushing on wax resist. Maximum efficiency!
robin hopper books
Here is the real Christmas present. I gathered up my Christmas money and ordered the Hopper Collection from Ceramic Arts Daily. All three books for $100 instead of $45 each. What a deal!
I’m about halfway through Functional Pottery. So far it has been more about history and culture of pottery but now I’m getting into some of the mechanics and applicable information.
Thanks to everyone who donated to the book fund for Christmas! And thanks for reading.