EWWWW!! I keep getting bubbles on my finished pieces. I have tried up to 40 minutes hold time at 1270 degreess, but they still show up! I am getting rather frustrated by it all. I can "repair" them by adding glaze to the holes (that are more like inverted craters going all the way down to the...

Hi folks :-) Being just a beginner when it comes to turning, I need to get rid of bad habits before they lock on. One that I have notice now is that I somehow pull some of the clay too far up, so that I get an extra loose lip at the top. My only guess is that I was turning with long fingernails -...

Hi! I got a recipe and ingredients to make paper clay from my teacher, but it doesn't work - it always loosens after firing! If it is just thin places, can I "just" add some clay, dry and refire to bisque? What makes the paper-clay adhere properly to the bisqued clay? Any smart recipes without a...

I have noticed that my flat pieces are showoing a tendency to cup upwards as they dry. Is there anyway to prevent this? Thanks.

I tried to change the subject title, but it reverted back to the other one.. I would love to hear of other's test results. Here's mine for Waterfall Brown, though not terribly accurate because it turned out to be overfired to at least cone 7. Waterfall Brown is the only one I have tried so far. I...

Are there any other news groups or lists that deal with kilns, glazes and details about clay? Thanks! Sue

My week started off normal... made my clay order from one of my two usual suppliers but chose to order 1000 pounds from great lakes clay co. They say they can get you a freight order in 3 days and make special arrangements so it doesn't show up frozen(problem in north midwest winter) SO ANYWAY...

The following is a very good glaze when fired to 1265'C on white stoneware in an electric kiln. I use it all the time, its very stable does not run when soaked for 18 minutes. Potash Feldspar 44 Quartz 14 Bone Ash 14 Talc 10 A.K. Ball Clay 8 H.V Ball Clay 5

I want students to be able to see the 'blue' they are painting on with cobalt. Has anyone played with adding food coloring to cobalt?

Hi All I'm designing a small studio addition for my SO's pottery studio. It'll be about 12' by 22'. I'm trying to decide on a heat source for it. Fuel will probably be natural gas. What do you use? I'm thinking it's probably good to use a source that doesn't blow air around, but I'm not sure how...

We have always bisque fired to cone 06. One of the potters has suggested firing to cone 04 to help eliminate various glaze problems. Any opinions on this?

Hello, I have invented a new type of ceramic "heat retentive plate" that you preheat in a microwave oven for just one minute, it stays HOT for 1/2 HOUR and the rim remains cool for easy handling. Please see: http://www.heatstoragedish.com I will answer any questions and teach anyone interested how...

Me again! Nag, nag, nag! HEhe! I know the 3-4-finger "grip" to bring in the sides of a pot, but there is a special grip used to bring in the top! I just don't have it described or displayed in any of my 10-12 books that describe throwing!!! ARGH!!! Could someone describe the grip, or, even...

When I look at some of your websites (e.g. Shambala etc) I get envious at just a great way of reaching the public and sharing works with fellow potters. But I don't have a clue how to make one (a website that is) and don't have the dough to pay someone. I know there must be a zillion books on...

I want to trap evil spirits in pots.What do I need ?

There is another Polish/Russian word which has veery distant Chinese roots: Pol. farfura ('porcelain'), Russ. farfor - Turk. farfur - Pers/Arab fagfur ('a Chinese province, a title of Chinese emperor') - Old Pers. bagapura, translated from Chin. tien-tse ('son of Heaven') What Chinese...

My wife would like to redecorate our toilet... Of course I will need to dry it out completely. Anyone know what cone I can take a "vitreous china" toilet bowl or sink bowl to? Chris in Austin, Texas

The commercial clay menders may be applied to dry greenware and don't crack while they (menders) are drying. I want to paint slip all over a piece to smooth it out more, but the piece is dry. I've heard that if you mix vinegar with the slip, it behaves similarly to a clay mender. Does anyone...

This is curious to/for me (and may well be an aside, please forgive me if it is). I've thought a pot being about the pot, not about the potter. The pot has resonance with it's audience or not. To me the potter is quite apart from the pot. The pot is a living being on it's own (success) or it isn't...

Hello. I'm taking a Beginner Wheel Throwing Class at a local studio, but it turns out I'm the only beginner there, and after about 15 minutes of demonstration, the instructor cut us loose. In the two hour class, everyone made 3 or 4 bowls apiece, and I could barely get the clay to center on the...