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buying/mixing glazes

updated fri 4 nov 11

 

Claude Lehman on thu 3 nov 11


Thanks to everyone who responded to my question about buying already mixe=
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d=3D20
glazes vs mixing your own. There were many interesting perspectives and=3D=
20=3D

philosophical issues raised. How important is it to make your own clay a=
=3D
nd=3D20
glaze to maintain one's integrity as a potter? The tradeoffs between=3D20
convenience, control, cost, artistry and many other factors we have to de=
=3D
al with.=3D20=3D20=3D20
However my specific question was more mundane, how much do you save by=3D20=
=3D

mixing your own glazes? It was suggested that you save about 50%. Is the=
=3D
re a=3D20
general agreement that this is the case? If so, I spend maybe $500 a yea=
=3D
r on=3D20
glaze material, so it would go to $1000 if I bought 50lb bags of already =
=3D
mixed=3D20
powder. I would save the days I devote to glaze preparation and have les=
=3D
s=3D20
exposure to the chemicals in the air that mixing glazes brings.(I do wear=
=3D
a=3D20
respirator) And I would be able to choose from many more glaze options,=3D2=
0=3D

offering my customers more colors and surfaces, potentially increasing my=
=3D
=3D20
sales. Maybe it's worth it? I've been mixing my own glazes for years but=
=3D
don't=3D20
have the space and time to maintain adequate quantities of more than a fe=
=3D
w=3D20
glazes. Alas there are often trade-offs in pottery as in life.

Snail Scott on thu 3 nov 11


On Nov 3, 2011, at 7:39 AM, Claude Lehman wrote:
> ...How important is it to make your own clay and
> glaze to maintain one's integrity as a potter?


Integrity? Not at all. Not even a little bit.

Pride? Probably. Autonomy? Freedom? Individuality?
Maybe. Only you as an individual can determine how
bound up your self-image is in the processes you use.

I do feel a little twinge of shame when I buy something
that I could have made for myself, similar to the twinge
I feel since I started paying someone to change the oil
in my car. Having been raised with a doit-yourself
mentality, allowing someone else to do it for me comes
hard. Some things, however, are not best done myself.
Some things are obvious if the skills required, or the
equipment needed, are not something I can attain in a
reasonable timeframe or at reasonable cost. I didn't try
to take out my own appendix.

Other things are more ambiguous. Things that I could do,
but I have to think hard about how I allocate my resources.
Time versus money, that's the usual balancing act. Neither
is unlimited, and it's taken me a while to accept that it's
OK to have other people do things for me in exchange for
money, so I can use my time more effectively to earn that
money. So, I hired an actual electrician to re-wire the main
panel in my house. I could have done it, but it would have
taken days, as the previous job was also done by an
amateur and it showed. It cost a lot of money, but I was
able to use that time for my actual work (the stuff I'm NOT
an amateur at), it was done well, and I had the electricity
back on a lot sooner.

I'm proud that I built my own studio. I framed it, wired it,
insulated it, painted it, built the shelves, etc. I didn't build
the roof, though, or pour the slab. Those were pre-existing
in the old livestock shed I took over, so I feel excused for
not having done them myself. I hate it when someone says,
"I'm re-doing my kitchen" or "I'm building a deck" when in
fact they are hiring someone to do it. (Great New Yorker
cartoon: two people standing in a fancy house. One says,
"I hired the decorator myself!")

I hate being in a position where I can't do something for
myself, and finding myself dependent. I hate that my
present car is too complex to repair myself as I used to
do. But no one can do everything. Gotta accept that.

I like knowing how to make my own clay and glazes. But
I swallow my pride and am grateful that I can nip out to
my local supplier and buy clay, ready the same day,
and I don't have to own another high-dollar machine or
allocate the time and labor for mixing in buckets as I
used to. And though I can't afford pre-mixed glazes in
quantity, I use a lot of small quantities of odd stuff, and
I appreciate being able to shop for them, instead of doing
the R&D to develop ten new glazes that I only need a
little of.

Integrity ain't in it, however. Integrity is a matter of being
true to your principles, and not being false to yourself or
others. Pride can talk us into doing a lot of stupid and
counterproductive stuff, and convince us that it's integrity
at work. If lifting something heavy is going to throw your
back out for a week, then getting help isn't violating your
integrity, just your pride. If making space for glaze
materials and a clay mixer means less space for your
actual work, are you really being sensible? Or just being
pushed around by a previous self-image of who you are
as a craftsman and/or a person? Is mixing from scratch a
principle? Or just a method, to be chosen or not for more
pragmatic reasons? Or it might be a lifestyle, to be
followed for the innate rewards and not subject to
cost/benefit analysis? If it's the latter, then no amount of
practical reasoning will matter much, but make sure it's
not just pride getting in the way. It's likely that, and not
integrity at all.

-Snail

May Luk on thu 3 nov 11


Hi Claude;

If your glaze budget is $500 per annum., have you tried to see how
much pre-mixed glaze you can get with that money? Then work with your
production projection and see if store-bought glaze is a good option?
What is your end goal? Save money, save time, save space and/or
provide more options for your customer?

Also, who are your target customers? Is it important to them that your
glaze is not store bought? Will you sell more pots if you make your
own everything?

It's always wise to be pragmatic. Please let me know if I can help you
with costing glaze materials. I just made an excel spreadsheet for my
recipes.

May
Brooklyn NY




On Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 8:39 AM, Claude Lehman wrote:
> Thanks to everyone who responded to my question about buying already mixe=
=3D
d
> glazes vs mixing your own. =3DA0There were many interesting perspectives =
an=3D
d
> philosophical issues raised. =3DA0How important is it to make your own cl=
ay=3D
and
> glaze to maintain one's integrity as a potter? =3DA0The tradeoffs between
> convenience, control, cost, artistry and many other factors we have to de=
=3D
al with.
> However my specific question was more mundane, how much do you save by
> mixing your own glazes? It was suggested that you save about 50%. =3DA0Is=
t=3D
here a
> general agreement that this is the case? =3DA0If so, I spend maybe $500 a=
y=3D
ear on
> glaze material, so it would go to $1000 if I bought 50lb bags of already =
=3D
mixed
> powder. =3DA0I would save the days I devote to glaze preparation and have=
l=3D
ess
> exposure to the chemicals in the air that mixing glazes brings.(I do wear=
=3D
a
> respirator) And I would be able to choose from many more glaze options,
> offering my customers more colors and surfaces, potentially increasing my
> sales. =3DA0Maybe it's worth it? I've been mixing my own glazes for years=
b=3D
ut don't
> have the space and time to maintain adequate quantities of more than a fe=
=3D
w
> glazes. =3DA0Alas there are often trade-offs in pottery as in life.
>



--=3D20
http://www.artspan.org/artist/mayluk
http://www.ceramicsbrooklyn.com/

Steve Mills on fri 4 nov 11


Dear Snail,
I relate completely with what you're saying, and when I was in production w=
a=3D
s very conscious of cost saving in all areas (including car servicing). For=
o=3D
ne example; employing a couple of local Lads to mix my clay for me, which w=
a=3D
s much cheaper than the time spent doing it myself, but as I am now in a d=
i=3D
fferent place to when I was working full time, I can afford the time "luxur=
y=3D
" of being even more self sufficient than when I was in production.=3D20
I have always made up my own glazes, it was something ingrained in me at Ar=
t=3D
School, only now that I am making pots primarily for my own pleasure, I am=
c=3D
oncentrating on locally sourced materials as far as possible. Likewise with=
c=3D
lay, I'm almost there with a locally dug body used by a nearby brickworks, =
f=3D
rom which a lot of iron-rich mudstone has to be removed. Not at all cost ef=
f=3D
ective, but I'm playing hard, and the pleasure I get from successful outcom=
e=3D
s in my efforts is huge, and I think don't look too bad either!

Steve M

Steve Mills
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Sent from my Ipod touch

On 3 Nov 2011, at 15:41, Snail Scott wrote:

> On Nov 3, 2011, at 7:39 AM, Claude Lehman wrote:
>> ...How important is it to make your own clay and
>> glaze to maintain one's integrity as a potter?
>=3D20
>=3D20
> Integrity? Not at all. Not even a little bit.
>=3D20
> Pride? Probably. Autonomy? Freedom? Individuality?
> Maybe. Only you as an individual can determine how
> bound up your self-image is in the processes you use.
>=3D20
> I do feel a little twinge of shame when I buy something
> that I could have made for myself, similar to the twinge
> I feel since I started paying someone to change the oil
> in my car. Having been raised with a doit-yourself
> mentality, allowing someone else to do it for me comes
> hard. Some things, however, are not best done myself.
> Some things are obvious if the skills required, or the
> equipment needed, are not something I can attain in a
> reasonable timeframe or at reasonable cost. I didn't try
> to take out my own appendix.
>=3D20
> Other things are more ambiguous. Things that I could do,
> but I have to think hard about how I allocate my resources.
> Time versus money, that's the usual balancing act. Neither
> is unlimited, and it's taken me a while to accept that it's
> OK to have other people do things for me in exchange for
> money, so I can use my time more effectively to earn that
> money. So, I hired an actual electrician to re-wire the main
> panel in my house. I could have done it, but it would have
> taken days, as the previous job was also done by an
> amateur and it showed. It cost a lot of money, but I was
> able to use that time for my actual work (the stuff I'm NOT
> an amateur at), it was done well, and I had the electricity
> back on a lot sooner.
>=3D20
> I'm proud that I built my own studio. I framed it, wired it,
> insulated it, painted it, built the shelves, etc. I didn't build
> the roof, though, or pour the slab. Those were pre-existing
> in the old livestock shed I took over, so I feel excused for
> not having done them myself. I hate it when someone says,
> "I'm re-doing my kitchen" or "I'm building a deck" when in
> fact they are hiring someone to do it. (Great New Yorker
> cartoon: two people standing in a fancy house. One says,
> "I hired the decorator myself!")
>=3D20
> I hate being in a position where I can't do something for
> myself, and finding myself dependent. I hate that my
> present car is too complex to repair myself as I used to
> do. But no one can do everything. Gotta accept that.
>=3D20
> I like knowing how to make my own clay and glazes. But
> I swallow my pride and am grateful that I can nip out to
> my local supplier and buy clay, ready the same day,
> and I don't have to own another high-dollar machine or
> allocate the time and labor for mixing in buckets as I
> used to. And though I can't afford pre-mixed glazes in
> quantity, I use a lot of small quantities of odd stuff, and
> I appreciate being able to shop for them, instead of doing
> the R&D to develop ten new glazes that I only need a
> little of.
>=3D20
> Integrity ain't in it, however. Integrity is a matter of being
> true to your principles, and not being false to yourself or
> others. Pride can talk us into doing a lot of stupid and
> counterproductive stuff, and convince us that it's integrity
> at work. If lifting something heavy is going to throw your
> back out for a week, then getting help isn't violating your
> integrity, just your pride. If making space for glaze
> materials and a clay mixer means less space for your
> actual work, are you really being sensible? Or just being
> pushed around by a previous self-image of who you are
> as a craftsman and/or a person? Is mixing from scratch a
> principle? Or just a method, to be chosen or not for more
> pragmatic reasons? Or it might be a lifestyle, to be
> followed for the innate rewards and not subject to
> cost/benefit analysis? If it's the latter, then no amount of
> practical reasoning will matter much, but make sure it's
> not just pride getting in the way. It's likely that, and not
> integrity at all.
>=3D20
> -Snail