Randy McCall on sun 5 aug 07
Some words of wisdom from you folks please.
I have recently had an art teacher that is coming in to the local high
school call me. She apparently has had some experience with making pottery,
but none using a kiln or firing it or the use of other equipment. The
school from my discussion with her has some equipment such as a kiln,
extruder, and she says a pug mill.
She wants me to go over to the school and spend some time explaining the
equipment and how to fire the kiln. She doesn't know a cone 06 from a cone
6.
I don't mind doing that to a certain extent, but don't want to get tied up
with a lot of free consultation.
Most of my experience comes from just doing it. No formal training, etc.
Does anyone have any suggestions for some books she can read or other
suggestions to get her started.
Randy
South Carolina
Pottery Web site
http://members.tripod.com/~McCallJ/index.html
Pat Lindemann on mon 6 aug 07
Hi Randy,
The Complete Potter, by Steve Mattison is a really good beginner text. I
have been writing some book reviews on clay, and that one is the one I just
did a few days ago. It has good photos of process, and explanations of lots
of different clay methods. A perfect text for the classroom!
Take care!
Pat in SD
On 8/5/07, Randy McCall wrote:
>
> Some words of wisdom from you folks please.
I have recently had an art teacher that is coming in to the local high
> school call me. She apparently has had some experience with making
> pottery,
> but none using a kiln or firing it or the use of other equipment. The
> school from my discussion with her has some equipment such as a kiln,
> extruder, and she says a pug mill.
>
> She wants me to go over to the school and spend some time explaining the
> equipment and how to fire the kiln. She doesn't know a cone 06 from a
> cone
> 6.
>
> I don't mind doing that to a certain extent, but don't want to get tied up
> with a lot of free consultation.
>
> Most of my experience comes from just doing it. No formal training, etc.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions for some books she can read or other
> suggestions to get her started.
>
>
> Randy
> South Carolina
> Pottery Web site
>
> http://members.tripod.com/~McCallJ/index.html
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
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>
Dawn Christensen on mon 6 aug 07
Randy
For the sake of those students please go over and help explain the
equipment. Stop and talk to the principal too and let him know you are helping.
Perhaps he would let you do it as a one day workshop and pay you, even if it's a
small amount. Approach him. Let him know the importance of safety (pug mill
without training-yikes!) and the cost effectiveness of running the machinery
properly. You wouldn't want anyone to get hurt knowing a little bit of your
time could prevent it. Maybe she will trade you some artwork and perhaps you
will make a friend. At the very least you will awaken a few new members to
clay.
I show my middle school students all the time because they are interested
and I take every opportunity to teach that presents itself. I do over see
their work and if they make a mistake they learn by it even if that means
cleaning off a shelf. She will have to take some responsibility for the learning
process but I am sure she will be grateful for the jump start.
I was not taught to fire the kiln at the undergraduate university I attended
but fortunately another art teacher showed me early in my teaching career
before I had done any damage. So much information is available on the web or
in used book stores for low prices. That being said many of us are visual
learners and just need to see it once.
The art catalog suppliers like Sax are also great resources. They come to
the school and are often former or retired art teachers. Even the pottery
supply catalogs offer good information if there is an interest. Libraries and
half price bookstores as well. Even Goodwill has books if you look. She needs
to do some research. Share our web-site and the archives site where she can
look up information. I have learned so much from you all. Perhaps she and
her students will too. Dawn
************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
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Sean Burns on mon 6 aug 07
>
>She wants me to go over to the school and spend some time explaining the
>equipment and how to fire the kiln. She doesn't know a cone 06 from a
cone
>6.
>
Hi Randy,
I have been teaching ceramics in a high school setting for 14 years- I
have 14 wheels- bluebird pug-front loader kiln- and mix my own glazes. I
learned from a co worker how to run a shop in a school setting properly.
It did not come overnight but I worked it out.
My two cents for you is to let the teacher know she can come by your
studio to get the input she needs- she has to come to you. If she wants
you to come to her she should arrange to have a consulting fee however
nominal for you- supplies?
I dont know how new she is but the school system should be aware of her
expertise or lack thereof- and should at least be aware of the liability
they are setting up for their community by not properly staffing the
faciltity- or providing the proper professional development for the
individual- depending on the type of setup- maybe it shouldnt be staffed
with someone of dubious credentials.
This probably seems cranky but most schools are mandated to staff
discipline areas with qualified teachers- and teachers are required to
maintain ongoing professional development activities- most school have
budgets for professional development.
I think it is great you care enough to ask the list and good luck!
Sean Burns
Williamsburg, Ma.
John Post on tue 7 aug 07
My wife and I are both elementary art teachers. On the way home from a
recent vacation we were discussing what we thought the 10 most
recognizable paintings in the world are. We wrote a list in the car and
then when we went into a restaurant for lunch we asked the waitress to
tell us about any paintings she knew. We figured she was a good
general-public-random choice to ask about famous paintings. As we
talked, the discussion turned to her art experiences. When she talked
about clay, her face lit up. I asked her if she still had the clay
pieces she made in art class. She did and she even described them to
us. I asked her if she had saved any of her other art and naturally she
didn't. That's because kids jettison much of the work they do at
school. (Watch how much stuff they throw out the last week of school.)
They always keep the things they make in clay. They keep these objects
forever. These objects are magical to them. They made them with their
own hands. Think about it, many times at home parents don't let young
kids use power tools or cook (not all kids get to live with
primalmommy). But in school, in a clay program or art class kids get a
chance to have total control and make something. I have had
grandmothers show me their pinch pots from grade school. Clay is
powerful stuff. They touch it, it touches them. But we on this list
already know that.
It would be nice if all art teacher preparation programs recognized this
and taught art teachers how to work competently with clay. And it is
disappointing that art teachers can get certified to teach without
knowing how to fire a kiln. This is the fault of the program they are
in. Teacher preparation schools vary widely in what is taught.
I knew how to fire a kiln when I graduated as an art teacher, but I knew
little about clay bodies, glazes, etc. The first year I was a teacher,
I watched how the kids responded to the experiences they had with clay.
I knew that I had to do more with clay because the kids got so much out
of it. I built a raku kiln my first year using instructions from Steve
Branfman's book. Once my middle school students saw that process it was
clay full blast at 100 miles an hour. I have taught in 10 different
public schools K-12 and have always had a positive response from the
students to work made with clay.
Here are some of the problems I see when I work with art teachers who
have little clay experience...
-They work with lowfire white bodies that are high in talc. These
bodies are not very forgiving. They often crack when they dry and so
the kids' projects don't even make it to the kiln. Then if the kiln
over fires (because the art teacher does not know how to properly fire
the kiln) the clay often melts down ruining the shelves. This is
because the lowfire talc bodies do not tolerate over firing like a
stoneware body would. A better clay choice is often terra cotta. Many
terra cotta bodies can be fired up to cone 3. Some can even go to cone
6 without turning into a puddle. They also look good with some of the
commercial glazes.
-They buy lowfire glazes from Amaco or someone else a pint at a time for
15-30 dollars. How can they afford to run a program when they spend
more on glazes than they do on clay? This is why many art teachers only
do one clay project a year with the kids. They can't afford to do
more. I order over a ton of clay a year for my elementary students. I
can afford this since I mix up 5 gallon buckets of glaze that only cost
around 20 bucks each to make. The total cost for going through a ton of
clay and glazing with 660 elementary kids is around a thousand bucks a year.
The other problem with Amaco and other lowfire glazes is that often the
ones that have the most visual texture and interest contain lead. I
have mentioned it before, but I know of an affluent private school where
the elementary art teachers make extensive us of a commercial lead glaze
that contains lead. When I did a workshop there and discussed this with
them, I could not persuade them to give up this dangerous practice. And
their kilns were unvented. The ones exposed to the most lead in this
case are the art teachers. They are in the room 6 or 7 hours a day
while the kids are there only once a week. Amaco labels their glazes
with numbers in regards to toxic materials, but I have yet to meet an
art teacher who reads these labels. Most just look at the color samples
in the catalog and order what looks good.
I think it is always worth teaching someone who is ready to learn. I
volunteered to teach all of the 25 elementary art teachers in my
district how to fire their kilns, make glazes and work with clay. 4
have taken me up on the offer. The other 21 are content either not
working with clay or doing one small project a year. They have no idea
about what they and their students are missing by not working in clay.
Having said all of the above, I have also been at points in my life
where I am just tired of always giving away my time as an artist.
Sometimes when I get requests to teach what I know I do, but other times
I need to spend my time just for me. I suppose how I responded to the
request for help would depend more on where I am at the time. It's easy
to find ways to work for free in the arts.
John Post
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Gayle Bair on tue 7 aug 07
This reminds me of an incident in CO about 12 years ago.
MY pottery teacher who had 30+ years experience teaching in schools &
colleges
offered his expertise before/during/after a new school was built.
They blindly went ahead never even acknowledging his repeated offers.
After it was built the new teacher had trouble firing the brand NEW CUSTOM
gas kiln which
was located in a separate room with 3 NEW electric kilns (at least 7cu ft),
shelving plus cabinets for supplies.
BTW the room was ROUND...... square gas kiln (it was big).
Everything was pretty cramped in there. Finally the new teacher
fired the kiln........ it set of the sprinklers. The new electric kilns were
toast &
don't recall the other damage or the cost.
We threw up our hands & dismissed the whole issue....
no sense banging our heads against the wall turned our energies elsewhere.
So moral of the story:
Be prepared & aware that offers of help are often rejected by those too
stupid or embarrassed to admit
they do not know everything about everything.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Sean Burns
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 6:18 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Art Teacher in local school?????????????
>
>She wants me to go over to the school and spend some time explaining the
>equipment and how to fire the kiln. She doesn't know a cone 06 from a
cone
>6.
>
Hi Randy,
I have been teaching ceramics in a high school setting for 14 years- I
have 14 wheels- bluebird pug-front loader kiln- and mix my own glazes. I
learned from a co worker how to run a shop in a school setting properly.
It did not come overnight but I worked it out.
My two cents for you is to let the teacher know she can come by your
studio to get the input she needs- she has to come to you. If she wants
you to come to her she should arrange to have a consulting fee however
nominal for you- supplies?
I dont know how new she is but the school system should be aware of her
expertise or lack thereof- and should at least be aware of the liability
they are setting up for their community by not properly staffing the
faciltity- or providing the proper professional development for the
individual- depending on the type of setup- maybe it shouldnt be staffed
with someone of dubious credentials.
This probably seems cranky but most schools are mandated to staff
discipline areas with qualified teachers- and teachers are required to
maintain ongoing professional development activities- most school have
budgets for professional development.snip>
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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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4:06 PM
sacredclay on wed 8 aug 07
Isn't OSHA rules supposed to be on a national level? I think those
teachers in the private school are the most foolhardy lot I've ever
heard of! Can't one speak to the head of the school, the school
board, or whatever it takes to safeguard their health? Where I'm
working,the gallery/studio is slated to be closed down in October,
reopened in the same month merged with the YMCA at a new branch.I've
asked where the kiln was going to be and they have shown me that it
was going to be right in the classroom with the rest of us people. NO
vents. I said that it needs to be in a different room with dement
blocks, not drywalls, and WITH A VENT, goddammit! OSHA rules requires
it. It shows how little they know! My boss wants me to come aboard as
a studio manager. I'm happy too, but there's going to be safety
standards.Obsessive? Yes, a tad, but for a good reason. many on the
clayart with their health issues has convinced me of the vitality of
caution. Now I'm off to the studio to breath fumes. Kathryn Hughes in
NC where it hit 100 degrees here. I don't sweat-I glisten! Also
recall a time when hubby and I got the whole restraunt discussing
what were the names of the seven dwarves with Snow White and no one
could remember the name of the last one. The cook opened the kitchen
door and proudly bellowed out the answer,"It's Doc!" Cheers gallores.
> The other problem with Amaco and other lowfire glazes is that often
the
> ones that have the most visual texture and interest contain lead. I
> have mentioned it before, but I know of an affluent private school
where
> the elementary art teachers make extensive us of a commercial lead
glaze
> that contains lead. When I did a workshop there and discussed this
with
> them, I could not persuade them to give up this dangerous
practice. And
> their kilns were unvented. The ones exposed to the most lead in
this
> case are the art teachers. They are in the room 6 or 7 hours a day
> while the kids are there only once a week. Amaco labels their
glazes
> with numbers in regards to toxic materials, but I have yet to meet
an
> art teacher who reads these labels. Most just look at the color
samples
> in the catalog and order what looks good.
>
>
Chuck Wagoner on wed 8 aug 07
Gayle said,
>>Everything was pretty cramped in there. Finally the new teacher
>>fired the kiln........ it set off the sprinklers. The new electric =
kilns
>>were toast.=20
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
This is a good time to warn anyone out there that has any kind of water
equipment near a kiln to consider the dangers of at H20 on a hot kiln.=20
In my home studio we fire our three electric kilns in the utility room =
in
our basement. It has a large exhaust fan in a window with plenty of =
external
air coming across the crawl space from passive vents, under kiln vents =
and I
also have an over head hood that can moved over any of the kilns. (I =
know it
may be over-kill, but better then having ANY fumes getting loose in the
downstairs studio or living quarters upstairs.) The overhead vent acts =
as
protection to keep anything off the kiln tops. Ok, Chuck you have that
covered.
BUT......
The other thing I have always been concerned about is the water pipes,
drains and water heater that run through the utility room where the =
kilns
are present. I use sheet metal to "divert" any leaks from the drains =
that
are almost right over the kilns for the bath tub and laundry which are =
not
high pressure, but could spring a leak. The water heater actually did =
fail
at the top input after years and managed to shoot some water ten feet =
across
the room so I put up a diverter there that would send it to the floor =
and
the drain. The only high pressure water pipes have no protection as I =
have
always "trusted" them to stay put, but as of now I am going to go ahead =
and
put up some "insurance" by wrapping them with some of the split foam
insulation that would let the water fall straight down since it is =
pretty
far away from the kilns.=20
Gayle's "sprinkler" post made me think about this concern.
I am also a High School Art Teacher and have been following this thread =
with
interest. While I am well versed with ceramics I have always appreciated =
any
help, and have received plenty, from those that "volunteer" to help out =
in
other areas of our school programs through their expertise and =
donations.=20
Lately we have been given a lot of darkroom equipment and help from =
local
papers and individuals. (Darkroom equipment you say! "The Worm turns".) =
We
use a lot of "junk" that people save for us such as wire, paper, paint,
containers, wood, and well you know "one man's junk".
Drawing on the expertise of those in the community willing to help is =
just
something we do. Someday when they hold bake sales to buy bombs and =
missiles
and we have better funding for schools it may not be as necessary, but =
for
now we have to the fundraisers and ask those "out there" that are =
willing to
help to "HELP". Thank you to all those that do.
In turn I have tried to help others starting ceramics programs. As =
teachers
know we get calls from many non-school related entities for help. We try =
to
do our best, although I have often been baffled as my suggestions are
regularly ignored until they find out through personal experience that =
"an
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Chuck Wagoner
North Vermillion Jr/Sr High School
....and frustrated CUBS fan. ("It" will happen...nobody knows what "It" =
is
but it will happen is the mantra this year.)
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