I was wondering.....about some of my pots that I don't like for one reason or another. Time to dump and break them.  What makes you trash your pots? Sometimes the more I look at them, the more I like them, other times, the more I dislike them. Boring form, trash.  Uneven glaze, hmmm?  Blisters, trash.  Crazing, trash.  Glaze drips, keep, I like those.  So what makes you dislike your pots so much that you break them???

J

Views: 141

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I've taken in a number of ugly abandoned pots and gave then a new life with a low-fire glazing, with the occasional kyanite and frit filling for cracks or used for shape adjustment.

Re-imagining abandoned work becomes a fun game.

Hobby potter and Professional Potter will vary.

I am a professional potter so.......Any glaze Faults...get trashed. I don't trash it if it's ugly to me but a sound piece. Someone else will love it and buy it. My taste is not everyones'. Case in point. I had 8 cereal bowls that were not to my linking. One of those -should have tested this more before I ruined 8 beautiful matching cereal bowls. I let them sit for a while and asked a student  in my class what they thought. LOVED them - so I decided to put them in my shop and 4 days letter...GONE>. Someone will love them - they were technically great just not what I had planned. 

Chipped foot - maybe a second. spot missing glaze on the underside not seen - second. But that's it. I am picky and don't like stuff out there with my name on it that's not first quality. 

I guess that's one interesting aspect of re-imagining and repairing another artist's abandoned pieces - their name is on the piece rather than mine.  But they sell all the same.

I keep having an idea run through my mind regarding "trash".  I can't remember where or when I saw this but it never left my imagination.  What about breaking the pieces and imbedding the chards in cement to make cement pavers.  The ones I saw were random color pieces imbedded in the concrete.  The trick would be to be certain there were no exposed sharp edges.  Someday when I am not so broke I will make my idea happen.  The pavers need to be about 3" thick and I would like to make them in a round mold and by putting wire mesh in the middle of the pour it will be strong enough.  What do you think Lawrence?  Lawrence seems to be the McGiver of the pottery scene (said in admiration not mocking).

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

Use These Links to Support Us

Low cost flat lapping disc can be used on you potters wheel if you, drill bat pin holes in it, and provide a trickle of water to cool it. At amazon.com, 120 grit for aggressive material removal. Click the image to purchase 

Members have had great things to say about John Britt's new book, Mid-Range Glazes. Click the image to buy from Amazon.com

Purchase Glazes Cone 6 by Michael Bailey, The Potters Book of Glaze Recipes by Emmanuel Cooper, or Making Marks by Robin Hopper, all available at amazon.comMastering Cone 6 Glazes by John Hesselberth & Ron Roy is now out of print.

Harbor Freight is a great place to find unbeatable prices for better HVLP spray guns with stainless steel parts and serviceable economy models, as well as detail guns, all tested by our members for spraying glazes, as well as compressors to power the guns. As yet no one has tested and commented on the remarkably inexpensive air brushes at harbor freight.

The critter siphon gun is a spray alternative that is well liked by some of our members, and is available at amazon.

Amazon is also a competitive source for photo light tents for shooting professional quality pictures of your work. They also have the EZ Cube brand favored by several of our members. You might also want to purchase the book Photographing Arts, Crafts and Collectibles . . .

If you are up to creating videos of your work or techniques you might want to invest in a flip video camera

Following are a few scales useful for potters. Ohaus Triple Pro Mechanical Triple Beam Balance, 2610g x 0.1g, with Tare $169.00

And finally a low cost clone of the OHaus. The Adam Equipment TBB2610T Triple Beam Mechanical Balance With Tare Beam $99.62

ebay is a great alternative for many tools and the equipment used in the ceramics studio - kilns, wheels, extruders, slab rollers are often listed there both new and used.

Tips for Members

If you just want to spout off, it is best accomplished as a blog posting. If you want to get more guidance and ideas from other members, ask a question as a new discussion topic. In the upper right corner of the lists for both types of posting, you will find an "+Add " button. Clicking it will open an editor where you create your posting. 4/16/2014

© 2024   Created by Andrea Wolf.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service