Lili Krakowski on mon 14 nov 11
s
When, oh when , will newcomers to clay get it through their heads that a =
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book on studio safety is the first and most important of the purchases =3D
they will have to make?
Would be potters, novice "teachers", even Scout or Sunday School =3D
teachers need such information up front, and now.
(To my parenthetical horror, a few days ago, a friend told me the label =
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on a food product claimed this particular product was safe for people =3D
with a specific food allergy. A teensy, tiny bit of Internet "research" =
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revealed it was not so. At all)=3D20
Monona Rossol's "The Artist's Complete Health and Safety" should be in =3D
everyone's hands. From get-go.(Try for latest edition, though earlier =3D
ones still valid).
As to magnesium carbonate:=3D20
=3D20
As a dust it is a breathing hazard (wear mask) Inhalation of a lot of =3D
fumes can be dangerous. And in larger quantities it is a laxative--as =3D
we know from reading labels at the pharmacy.
The axial point of giving objects to charity is this: On the one hand =3D
used, slightly discouraged goods are what is generally donated, and much =
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appreciated. (Most of my clothes come from the thrift shop! And some =3D
return there!) On the other hand the thrift shops and other charities do =
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not want to be garbage bins.
So if bowls are wanted, and bowls are made and given, they should be =3D
GOOD bowls--well made, safely glazed, and so on. The aesthetics are =3D
secondary. And one can see that if soup/cereal bowls are wanted, teensy =
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bowls or huge ones might be declined. But to turn Empty Bowls into a =3D
juried show? Good grief!
And last.(Hurray). In building your wedging table be sure the table =3D
is the right height for you. A "limitation" of communal wedging tables =3D
and fixed wires can be that, if the wrong height for you, wedging =3D
becomes exhausting for arms, shoulders, back. As I repeatedly =3D
nag--before you finalize table (or wire attachment) experiment with =3D
height. You will repeatedly be lifting a lump of clay to about collar =3D
bone height. Before you nail or bolt anything down, find a height that =
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is comfortable. (You can use those little exercise dumbbells or a one =3D
pound can of food as your test weight.) If you slam wedge, you will be =3D
repeating the lift and slam many many times. Wrong height is a killer!
My test for proper height of table: Use a stool or chair for test. =3D
Stand straight up at it. Adjust height so that you can rest palm of hand =
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on it without bending back, scrunching shoulders, or leaning. Others =3D
form a fist, use fist, finger part down, as measure.
=3D20
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
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