mel jacobson on sun 7 sep 08
i don't care what kind of kiln you fire...2008/state of the art,
or a 1965 L&L. if you don't have an alarm clock in your
pocket when you fire...you get what you deserve.
i have never trusted a dawson kiln sitter...it is an aid
to perfect bisque firing for me. it is not failsafe.
at the high school, i wired a hundred watt light bulb
into the dawson.
it was above my desk in my office.
my kilns shut down about 8 pm. each evening..give or take.
if that light was glowing when the janitor came
in at 9:45...he was to shut down the power.
if he did not...the custodial account paid for a new kiln.
that was the first duty on his `to do chart for the art rooms`.
for good faith..i had two husky boys carry down the big trash cans
8 minutes before the last bell....and they got their cars out of
the lot a few minutes before the mob hit.
everyone wins. (well except the 8 other boys and girls who thought
they should be the ones to take out the trash.) kids with
emergencies would negotiate to take out the trash early.
custodians and school cooks got great respect from me...they
all had morning coffee from mel mugs...a few special gifts
at christmas...and on more than one occasion i helped with
complex electrical install problems. i could fix things....and
was always in jeans...so i could help. and, i always had new
tools and equipment delivered in the spring...just before school
let out. of course...my stuff got installed before december.
usually the same day it arrived. having a great relationship
with minnesota clay, then continental...allowed me to have
clay stuff delivered before the purchase order was cut.
(and that could be a month.)
mel/ a master at skinning cats.
one of the day custodians. now the head custodian for
the district became a very good potter. he made pots during
lunch, and after school. he sure was loyal to my department.
and, the kids loved him. nice man.
another thought...kids would stand in the pottery room door.
just watching. after a few days i would say.
`want to come in and make pots?` `oh, no...i was just standing
here, i have study hall and snuck out...`
`well, come on in...i will tell jane in attendance that you are taking
your study hall in here.` another potter...walk on. i can't tell you
how many `walk ons` became ace potters. you see, many were
destined by their parents for harvard or yale. they could not take
art. so they snuck in. they sure did not need credit. and quess
what a kid will do when they just walk in....have a great time.
no stress. of course most needed study hall like i needed a five
pound bag of earthenware clay.
no wonder i averaged 190 kids a day. and it worked.
from minnetonka:
website http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart site:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Monica Wright on sun 7 sep 08
I was firing once to cone 04.=A0 The cone bent but somehow got stuck in the=
mechanism.=A0 I noticed the kiln was still on well after it should have sh=
ut off.=A0 I peeked in one of the peep holes and it looked like the surface=
of the sun in there.=A0 It had to hit cone 6, at least.=A0 Later, when it =
cooled I opened it up and saw the remains of the poor little cone.=A0 It wa=
s completely melted.=A0 Luckily I was using stoneware clay.
=A0
-Steve
--- On Sun, 9/7/08, mel jacobson wrote:
From: mel jacobson
Subject: kiln sitter again/stories
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: Sunday, September 7, 2008, 7:21 AM
i don't care what kind of kiln you fire...2008/state of the art,
or a 1965 L&L. if you don't have an alarm clock in your
pocket when you fire...you get what you deserve.
i have never trusted a dawson kiln sitter...it is an aid
to perfect bisque firing for me. it is not failsafe.
Lee Love on sun 7 sep 08
On 9/7/08, mel jacobson wrote:
> complex electrical install problems. i could fix things...
One of the things Gale Kendell mentioned at her APF lecture, was that
she gets kids in her university program that don't know how to use a
hammer and a nail. She teaches them and tells them, they will be
invaluable in the near future, when most folks do not know how to work
with their hands.
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://heartclay.blogspot.com/
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." --Rumi
gayle bair on sun 7 sep 08
You are absolutely right Mel...
Duh....What I neglected to add was that I am the main fail safe, even
though my kiln has an electronic controller and kiln sitter.
I can think of only once I had to leave my kiln before it shut off.
That was an emergency and I was back within 20 minutes.
Gayle Bair- was up late last night for that very purpose
Bainbridge Island WA
Tucson AZ
gayle@claybair.com
www.claybair.com
On Sep 7, 2008, at 5:21 AM, mel jacobson wrote:
> i don't care what kind of kiln you fire...2008/state of the art,
> or a 1965 L&L. if you don't have an alarm clock in your
> pocket when you fire...you get what you deserve.
> i have never trusted a dawson kiln sitter...it is an aid
> to perfect bisque firing for me. it is not failsafe.
>snip
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