Pottery Stairs!

The Cony Street pottery Stairs are out! These have not made as many appearances as they do some summers - fewer class demos & the long delay in firing my own kiln mean there just weren't as many pots to sell here. I've got a good lot now, though! Local peeps can pop by, choose their pottery, & then eitehr mail me cash or a check in the provided envelope, or pay via CashApp ($FineMessPottery) or Venmo (@FineMessPottery.) 

Special Patreon perk: for subscribers at all paid levels, I will ship items from the pottery stairs! Unfortunately I do have to charge shipping, but otherwise it's the same great pricing that locals enjoy.

 

Lil Suppers are out!!

June rewards are out of the kiln & WOW are they nice ! I have more rewards than I have patrons at the Air ($25) tier, so the first 3 new patrons at that level will get an extra reward. Subscribe at this link to get yours! 

The firing overall was...good. More gray than I prefer, but nice enough, with a handful of amazing. (I feel like I say this every time! I've had maybe two firings from which the bare bmix came out that peachy-rosy-gold that I love so much but I keep trying to replicate it. Probably should start looking for a flashing slip that will give me the results I want. ) Anyway! A good firing is nothing to sneeze at. Here are some of the best pots: 

About 3/4s of the kiln already has a destination (YAY!) but expect a shop update soon. 

At Last! Image Transfer Success

 I've been trying intermittently to figure out this underglaze image transfer technique. My transferred image has always degraded badly - large sections not transferring at all, or areas turning into blobs. Recently an artist I follow on instagram - Janna Dewan, a master of image transfer - shared a brief video depicting her process. This allowed me to see what I've been doing wrong! In short: I was either trying to transfer too dry or too wet. 
The line drawing - the first layer - must get bone dry. The color layer must get bone dry. The white slip layer - the background - must dry to a leatherhard sheen. No additional water added to the newspaper, please! (I was SURE that I was supposed to saturate the newspaper with a wet sponge. Nope!) I had been missing the pony roller step. 

You can see more pics of my efforts in this post for paid subscribers at my Patreon, but tbh (lol I told you I suck at sales!) you can probably get what you need to know from Janna's video. Try it out & let me know how it goes! 

Class Demo: 2-quart casserole

A student took this video of my 2-quart casserole class demo. The second half, the lid, will be available on Patreon. 

After firing, this piece will hold about 2 quarts. 

April Rewards!

I had no idea so many people were into stickers! Since I started the patreon page a year ago, I've had several people ask if I would offer stickers. Like everything I do, it took me a while to get around to it, but I did get there: this month's reward at the $5 level (the Water tier! Earth, Water, Air, Fire, get it?🙂) and up, is a sticker! You may remember this image from the t-shirts I created - you can still get one of those here -  and I still had the .jpg lying around. Stickers it is! 

I used a company called Sticker Invasion, who are reasonably priced but maybe a bit slower than the larger operations? My sense is that it's one guy, doing everything, not unlike Fine Mess Pottery, and I do have a soft spot for very small businesses. 

I ordered some extra, so I will have some for sale at the Maine Pottery Tour (come visit!) 

I've also ordered screens made from Little Chair Printing, with which I can screen print tshirts, aprons, and tote bags. I did make the sane decision not to try to offer a screen-printing event at the tour, but now I have a whole year to re-learn this process, so I can do it next year. Those practice pieces - the ones that are actually successful - will probably find their way to patrons too, probably at the Air & Fire Levels. Maybe I will make artwear out of the ones I goof up! 

Centering Larger Pieces

Often the limiting factor of how large you can throw is, how much can you center? I have a new (free!) video on my Patreon page demonstrating a method of centering for larger pieces that will help you get around that limitation! Check out the preview clip here, then head over to Patreon to watch the whole thing (again - this one is free &available to everyone!) If you find it helpful, you can subscribe (free, or starting at $1.50/month) while you are there. :)

Plate-O-Matic

I learned this super-easy slab technique at the Kansas City NCECA conference. The conference used to feature a space they called the Process Room, in which artists would do quick, half-hour demonstrations of a specific process. (Fun fact! I demonstrated oval stretched butter dishes in that space, at the same conference.) The Process Room was wildly popular; it required an overflow room, and many conference participants parked themselves in the front rows for two solid days. It has not been a feature of recent conferences. I don't know why but if I had to guess, I'd say it's because it was a boatload of work & we didn't get paid? Just a guess. 

But I digress.

In the video I use a repurposed hump mold made of fiberboard from GR Pottery Forms. They are intended for potters to drape slabs over top, then pop the clay off after it's leatherhard, and they do work well for that purpose, but I find the platters made that way to be quite static. The Plate-o-matic process allows for some post-forming manipulation, so the resulting piece can be more dynamic and fluid. If you prefer, you can make your own plate-o-matic dies out of 1/2" slabs of clay, cut to shape & bisqued.

I've got a new video for paid subscribers at my Patreon page, demonstrating this technique! Check it out at this link.  

The Dark Time

 I once read a theory that sometime in our evolutionary history, humans (or pre-humans) were a hibernating species. In late December, this theory rings true to me.

At this time of year I am reminded that I am a mammal, safe in its den; warm, with plenty of food, surrounded by other soft, warm mammals. The ancient lemur in my brain insists that there's nothing to be gained by moving from this space, until the return of the light. Unlike our evolutionary ancestors, I even have streaming video!
Every year I have a long list of things I hope to accomplish...(read more)

The Week of Tools

 

I didn't mean for this to be the week of tools; it just shook out that way.

It started in one of my classes, when a student brought in a piece that had run badly in the kiln, with the bottom ground & smoothed beautifully. She had achieved this minor miracle using Diamondcore's grinding bats. I started musing about possibly getting a set myself - although, the way I fire, glaze runs and sharp bottoms are uncommon - when another student took me aside & offered to pay for half of the set if I would grind a bunch of bowls of hers that ran, that she was especially disappointed with. I took the deal & BOOM! there's tool number one.

Except.
Using those grinding bats is LOUD. And slow. And about a thousand times harder than just using a bench grinder, which I own.  I still think of it as my Dad's bench grinder...READ MORE

Blah, Blah, Blah...

 ...Patreon. 
The weekly (free!) photo dump post is up. Thanks for reading! If you feel like subscribing - even for free - that's helpful to me, as Patreon puts pages with more subscribers higher in the Search results. 

Either way, happy Sunday!
OH WAIT I ALMOST FORGOT

The Pottery Stairs are out on Cony St. 

Prevent Warping with this One Weird Trick!

One Weird Trick is a recurring feature at my Patreon page, usually for paid subscribers; this particular trick is so useful I wanted to make sure as many potters as possible saw it. The newspaper traps a pocket of air inside the pot, and also lends stiffness to the rim, allowing you to get it off the wheel without creating a distortion that the clay might later "remember," even if you re-round the rim. 

The video is here in its entirety, but if you liked it or found it helpful, subscribe at Patreon for free, or paid options start at $1.50/month. Thanks for being here! 

 

One Weird Trick, Chapter 2

 I've been doing a new thing over on Patreon: trying out the tricks I see potters using in Instagram reels. they are - naturally! - harder than they look. It's one thing to see someone who has done it hundreds of times, & quite another to see someone try it for the first time. It gives you an idea how difficult it would be to learn. 
Anyway, I've got a new one! Posting it here for you to check it out. If you enjoy it, please follow me on patreon. Lots of free content, & even more for paid subscribers. 

 

One Weird Trick

I'm introducing a new semi-regular feature on my Patreon page: One Weird Trick! I'm going to try out some of those clever techniques you see in instagram reels - most of which are harder than they look! I can't promise I'll do them well, but I'm gonna give it a shot!

Today's video: Bubble Glazing! 

Mixing Up Trailing Slip: A How-To Video

 

There's a new post for Pottery patrons up at my Patreon page! It shows you how to mix up trailing slip using a smoothie blender, some porcelain, and a deflocculent. This here is a sneak peek; subscribe at the $5/month level to see the whole thing. Thanks in advance! 

Slab Built Coffee Pour Over Cone!

 

The necessary proportions for a slab built cone are the same as those for the  thrown version, but getting there obviously requires different steps & a different set of skills. I've got a new post up new post up for Patrons of my Patreon page detailing the process step-by-step. 

This one is for paid members, but there's lots of free content, too. Mosey over & check it outnull! 

My First Live Wheelcam Event

Many people love to watch potters throw! With that in mind, I did my first live wheelcam event today, throwing bowls & mugs for about 40 minutes. You can see this video below, but if you'd like to get invites to future wheelcam events, subscribe to my Patreon page at the $5/month level. Bonus: if I get enough subscribers I can buy a quieter wheel! 

Bonus for Pottery Patrons!

I have an exclusive offer for Patrons at the $5/month & up levels: get 10% off your purchases at Fine Mess Pottery during the Maine Pottery Tour! 

Check it out at this link to become a patron or learn more. Thanks in advance for your support! 

Embedded Contrasting Clay: A Slab Built Serving Dish

Made this loose checkerboard pattern dish with my Thursday night class! If you try this in your studio, make sure the shrinkage rates of the claybodies are compatible. 

If you enjoy this content, consider joining my Patreon page! 

 

Let's Talk About Slip!

Sgraffito tile with decals

The word "slip," in a clay context can be kind of confusing, in that it can be applied to so many different things that are similar in form but vastly different in function. Slip refers to any mixture of clay and water, so, the lumpy slurry that we use to attach handles is slip; the smooth, deflocculated mixture that one would pour into a plaster mold to make ware is slip; the yogurt-thick material used for decorative trailing is slip, and so on. These each require different proportions of clay to water, different clay material ingredients, different additives.

A key thing to know about your slip: what clay condition is it meant to be applied to! key thing to know about your slip: what clay condition is it meant to be applied to! Leather hard (or wetter) is pretty common, but by no means universal, so make sure you know before you mix or use a slip: is it for wet/leatherhard clay? Greenware? There are even slips intended to go on bisqueware....Read more

New! A Patreon Page

 

So, I got a wild hair this morning & decided to create a Patreon page. I hope to share videos, tips, & tricks gleaned from my 30+ years as a pottery & ceramic educator. You can join the page for free - eventually I hope to have paid subscribers but I haven't figured that bit out yet. (This is another opportunity to LOL ALL DAY at the folks who think I'm soooo tech-savvy! I am whatever the opposite of that is.) 

I've posted an instructional video this morning, on throwing a mug. Check it out! 

*Actually I just realized: it would do my page a world of good in terms of visibility if you would join, even at the free level! More popular pages rise in the search. Thanks in advance!  😘