mel jacobson on fri 25 apr 08
i have gone over this many times...seal or not seal concrete.
i did not seal my studio.
i use the garden hose and spray it down a drain hole
that goes outside. perfect.
i have found that running water is not a big need.
i use two five gallon buckets. wash stuff, use it
for clay and glaze.
add to the five gallons each day. warm fresh water
for throwing.
bad water goes in on top of re/cycled clay bucket.
clay buckets are washed out over the flower beds.
they love the clay...and, it is not toxic.
why would i use anything in my studio that would
kill flowers?
the garden hose system perhaps has saved my lungs.
drain hole in the middle of the studio, it runs under the
floor to the outside. i flood the floor, then use a broom
to move it along. old stuck clay and a small amount of
glaze washes out. it also helps reminds me to keep
paper and stuff off the floor.
shelves are a pain for potters. i never put pots on shelves.
they go on racks.
shelves fill far too fast. and take up gobs of room.
i suspend shelves over my wheel to hold tools.
chains from the ceiling...
my studio is split...warm heated area for my work, and
unheated storage and kiln area. nice door between me
and the kiln.
i have two ceiling fans mounted over my work areas.
they have rheostats...slow to fast. helps the drying
process, and i can control it. a box fan on the floor adds
to this for summer.
studio is heated and has a small a/c. it mainly takes out
humidity in the summer. but, makes the space nice to work
in when it is 96 and 100% humid.
for all my teaching years i used stand pipes in the sinks.
a inch + plastic pipe that plugged into the drain. about 8 inches
high. kept them in there all the time. very little clay went down.
i would use a puddy knife now and then to clean out the sink.
start over.
way back, during college, i put a pail in the sink with a sign..
`scrap clay, wash hands here`. i would re/cycle all that clay, just for me.
kids threw away great clay. and, i used paper towel with
big ebony pencils for drawing. loved it.
free. i also picked up any paint tubes left by rich kids. i never
bought paint. you know. a box, `put your old paint tubes here`/.
god, don't you love how people follow like sheep.
went to sears and roebuck and bought tent canvas and made
my painting stretchers myself. 1/10th price. i have never done
a painting on a commercial stretcher.
i am a tool freak at garage sales. i got a great green drill.
you all know the color. b@d. just yesterday. .50 cents.
works great. and a great pocket knife...25 cents. cleaned it
up.sharpen it...i think it must be about 1948...it is really nice.
black patina blade...real steel.
when you do the bottom line/profit loss statement...see how
much you spend on stupid stuff. how much you throw away.
just because you don't know, or are lazy. or, how often do you
really use that gadget you got at nceca?
again i say.
small belt sander. scrap wood.
and, i have a mini table saw.
scrap bamboo. walnut, cherry.
make all kinds of tools. steel fish line.
twisted wire. cheese cutters...ilovethem.
pizza cutters...those wheel kind. cuts clay, perfect.
once you paint or finish a concrete floor, it starts to go to hell.
i have an epoxy paint installed over my garage floor. nice for
a year, then the popping off started. i never really paid them...held
back the last 800 bucks. they never came back to repair.
now, i have to do it. crap. big mess. it was the classic...`over wheels
pop off`. i have two quarts of the epoxy paint left...it just may
cover the pop offs.
AND, ONE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR EVER.
THROW AWAY ANY BISQUE THAT HAS DUST ON IT.
DON'T SAVE THAT CRAP. EVERY STUDIO HAS ABOUT
8 POTS...FULL OF DUST...`ONE DAY I WILL GET TO THESE.`
BS...THROW THEM OUT.
MEL
from minnetonka:
website http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart site:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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