Glazing while visually impaired

[Rodney Allen Roe]

As I've mentioned before I am considered blind for legal reasons.  I have some central vision and no peripheral vision.  The deficits that interfere with making pots are a lack of depth perception, altered color vision, abd real problems with brightness and contrast.

Throwing isn't much of a problem since it is "in the hands".  Glazing on the other hand is a headache.  I've gotten interested in raw glazing and single firing.  What I've run into is a problem glazing the interior of deep pieces.  I pour glaze into the pot, swish it around and then try to pour it out without spilling it down the sides.  That hasn't worked out very well.  Drips and runs can't be cleaned off as they can with bisque ware.

I've solved the problem of exterior glazing by placing glaze in a container deep enough to invert the pot and immerse the pot up to its foot. (I've been making a foot on everything in order to have something to hold and a visual line that shouldn't be glazed.)  Still, I intend to get the equipment together to spray glazes.  I like the look of blending of one glaze into another.

What I'm looking for is a suggestion for glazing the interiors of pots.  Since I can't see how near the top the glaze is when I pour it into the interior I have run the pot over which has meant inverting it and pouring glaze down the sides trying to even up the coverage.  Likewise, I can't see the glaze coverage in the interior, especially when I've created a neck on the pot or choked the top.  I've taken a sponge and sponged glaze onto area where I think there might not have been coverage.

Any ideas?

[Robert Coyle]

I can sympathize with your problem Rodney. I am not blind myself, but my 98 year old  mother in law is pretty much blind with macular degeneration. She is not a potter. she is a quilter which may be even a more difficult task. She has only peripheral vision but somehow manages to thread needles, sew seams, and match colors with only occasional help.

I think the key is realizing that other senses might be better used to accomplish tasks. One of the problems she has is that she still tries to see rather than use touch or hearing. It is hard to give up a life long habit. People who are blind from birth do much better. Their hands and ears are their eyes.

Needless to say, in your case, your tactile senses are already being used. As far as pouring, many blind people learn to judge by weight how full a vessel is. They also "cheat" by putting an index finger inside and fill till it hits the finger tip.

I would assume that you are glazing the inside of the pot first. You should be able to wipe off enough slop over on the outside so that the outside glaze will cover the small residual amount of inside glaze that may be left after wiping. This would be harder if you are glazing completely dry pots. When I single fire, I always glaze them when they are leather hard. That way mistakes are relatively easy to correct and they turn out just fine.

Think of mechanical aids that might help out. I made a sewing "fence" for my mother in law, similar to a saw fence. She can put the seams of the cloth together and sew a pretty even line using the fence as a guide.  Years ago they used to make a glazing fountain that squirted glaze up into an inverted pot with no slop over or dry spots in the inside. You might be able to rig something similar using some of the small submersible pumps that run on batteries.

As for dipping the outside, you could rig a dowel  that stuck up out of the glaze bucket so that when to pot was inverted over it, the bottom stayed above the level of the glaze. Fire a lump of clay with a hole in it the size of the dowel as an anchor.

Anyway keep trying and make something beautiful.

[Rodney Allen Roe]

Thanks, so much.  The glazing fountain is an intriguing idea.  I might be able to use a small pump that sprayed glaze with holes large enough to prevent clogging and allow cleaning.  Dipping hasn't been as big a problem as pouring.  I still have a pretty good sense of touch.  I use finger over the edge technique when I'm pouring a cup of coffee.  The difference is that the coffee is hot and the glaze is not and therefore more difficult to feel. 

All of this has been a challenge which is what keeps me going.

Rodney

Robert Coyle said:

I can sympathize with your problem Rodney. I am not blind myself, but my 98 year old  mother in law is pretty much blind with macular degeneration. She is not a potter. she is a quilter which may be even a more difficult task. She has only peripheral vision but somehow manages to thread needles, sew seams, and match colors with only occasional help.

I think the key is realizing that other senses might be better used to accomplish tasks. One of the problems she has is that she still tries to see rather than use touch or hearing. It is hard to give up a life long habit. People who are blind from birth do much better. Their hands and ears are their eyes.

Needless to say, in your case, your tactile senses are already being used. As far as pouring, many blind people learn to judge by weight how full a vessel is. They also "cheat" by putting an index finger inside and fill till it hits the finger tip.

I would assume that you are glazing the inside of the pot first. You should be able to wipe off enough slop over on the outside so that the outside glaze will cover the small residual amount of inside glaze that may be left after wiping. This would be harder if you are glazing completely dry pots. When I single fire, I always glaze them when they are leather hard. That way mistakes are relatively easy to correct and they turn out just fine.

Think of mechanical aids that might help out. I made a sewing "fence" for my mother in law, similar to a saw fence. She can put the seams of the cloth together and sew a pretty even line using the fence as a guide.  Years ago they used to make a glazing fountain that squirted glaze up into an inverted pot with no slop over or dry spots in the inside. You might be able to rig something similar using some of the small submersible pumps that run on batteries.

As for dipping the outside, you could rig a dowel  that stuck up out of the glaze bucket so that when to pot was inverted over it, the bottom stayed above the level of the glaze. Fire a lump of clay with a hole in it the size of the dowel as an anchor.

Anyway keep trying and make something beautiful.

[Kabe Burleson]

Hi Rodney. I am blessed with good eyesight so I may not be of much help. I saw a video once of someone who used a shop-vac to glaze coffee cups he just used the suction of the hose to hold the bottom of cup as he dipped it. seems like it would be hard on the shop_vac.but it does work well. You do not need a foot and you do not leave finger prints.  That was for the outside. For the inside you said you it is harder for you to feel the glaze because of the temp maybe you could drop a large fishing bobber or a flat piece of cork in the pot before you pour the glaze. That would float on the surface and you could judge from that when it was close to full.  Maybe you could heat or chill your glazes before you used them. I'm sure there is a solution. Happy firing

[Rodney Allen Roe]

Kabe, I had no idea that a shop vac was that powerful.  I'll have to experiment with how much weight it will support.  Very innovative idea.

Kabe Burleson said:

Hi Rodney. I am blessed with good eyesight so I may not be of much help. I saw a video once of someone who used a shop-vac to glaze coffee cups he just used the suction of the hose to hold the bottom of cup as he dipped it. seems like it would be hard on the shop_vac.but it does work well. You do not need a foot and you do not leave finger prints.  That was for the outside. For the inside you said you it is harder for you to feel the glaze because of the temp maybe you could drop a large fishing bobber or a flat piece of cork in the pot before you pour the glaze. That would float on the surface and you could judge from that when it was close to full.  Maybe you could heat or chill your glazes before you used them. I'm sure there is a solution. Happy firing