It's a Fine Day to Mix Glaze

That's not a thing that you'll hear me say too often, but circumstances have conspired to make this the perfect glaze-test mixing day:

1. I have my new digital scale to test out!  It's a 7001DX, which I got at bigceramicsstore.com; it was only about $50 with the shipping. (If you click the link it's about 3/4s of the way down the page.) Since it has a 7000 gm capacity, I think it will speed up my glaze mixing considerably, and offer fewer opportunities to screw up a whole bucket of glaze without even realizing it until I unload a kiln full of ruined pots. Not that that has ever happened to me, but it seemed like only a matter of time, when I had to weigh out ingredients in several increments.
2. Val Cushing's  handbook arrived in the mail today; you would not believe the wealth of information in this spiral-bound volume. I'm so excited to read through it I can hardly sit still! Professor Cushing offers this book for $28, which includes shipping; you can get your copy by sending a note and a check to:
   
   1497 Water Wells Rd.,
   RD 1, Box 236 Alfred Station NY 14802,
   607 587 9193
   
   And - icing on the cake - Professor Cushing signed my copy! He says he likes the name Fine Mess Pottery. :) The book is also available at Amazon, if you prefer to shop electronically.
3. I have a test firing coming up with Liz Proffety, a mid-coast potter I met through a Watershed event. Liz fires ^6, I fire with soda: together we are like chocolate and peanut butter. Two great tastes that taste great together: Cone 6 soda! I plan to use the Cushing handbook to re-formulate some of my glazes to see if firing to a lower temperature will work for me. As always, I will share my results here. 

Look at the time! At my latitude, daylight hours pass quickly this time of year, and it's well to make the best of them.