Clay Studio – Page 3

All I Wanted for Christmas Was a Clean Studio

So here’s an attempt to summarize what has been going on in the clay studio for the past two months. If you’re looking for pottery, you’ll have to look elsewhere. I haven’t made a pot in about two months. I hope I remember how…

wheel, wedging table, tools

What I’ve actually been doing is putting up some new shelves and cleaning every square inch of every surface. I started way back during Christmas Break. And right now I have a completely clean and organized studio which I hope improves my efficiency when/if? I ever start making pottery again. (Don’t worry, before I added the images to this post I got down into the studio and threw about 15 cylinders.)

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Clay Studio Notes – September 2012

A few new additions to the clay studio:

: plastic containers

: new stamps

: letter stamps

: humidifier

: glaze pitcher and mug

: glaze pitcher

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New Pump for the Clay Studio

studio mess

You may be asking youself “What happened to this poor guy’s studio? It seems like those shelves are in the wrong spot for an efficient workflow!” In which case, you would be correct. The other side of the studio was just as bad: an assortment of tools, plumbing supplies, boxes and pumps.

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Clay Studio Notes: July 2012

Reclaiming Clay

I’ve been reclaiming some scrap clay. It’s a little bit like getting free clay! I let all the clay dry out really well then let it sit in some water for a couple days. Then I used my cordless drill and mixer to mix it up into a nice smooth creamy chocolate pudding. I want to just dip my whole arm in there! I’ve got myself a 5 gallon bucket that was nearly full when I started. Now I’m slowly drying it and adding it to the new clay that I bought as I prepare it for throwing.

reclaiming clay

I don’t have a plaster table to dry it on so I just scoop it onto some platters that cracked during the bisque firing. I put these bisque trays up on little stilts so air can circulate underneath. The bisque really sucks out the water and speeds the drying time. When I put them out in the sun I can have clay almost ready to use in a couple hours. One thing I learned is that the edges dry a lot faster so I pile on extra around the edges and make the clay thinner in the middle.

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Cheap Sprinkler = Texture Machine

The cheap $10 sprinkler that I probably got from Walmart finally broke. So, drawing some inspiration from my clay guild surface class, I decided to take it apart and see what kind of parts it was made of. From a texture perspective: goldmine!

sprinkler parts for clay texture

It took a little sawing to get into the gear box but it was worth it. I can’t wait to try some of these on some actual pots. I think some of the new glazes that I recently tested will look nice over some of these textures.

Also, a little bonus texture: I snagged a few of these baby rings. Thanks Quin!

baby chain texture

We’re going to have some fun now!