lpskeen on sun 31 may 98
Well, I went to Cermatech, and I have to say the best thing was meeting
folks I've heard of for the last 3 years and never met. The social
aspect was great, and there was plenty of time for chatting and getting
to know the faces behind the sig lines.
Cermatech was billed as a technical workshop for studio potters and
ceramic manufacturers. I have to say that I was disappointed there
weren't more "potters" in attendance. I heard someone say that they'd
held Cermatech in Charlotte because Seagrove was so nearby, and that the
Cermatech folks had expected more Seagrove folks than what showed up.
(I think there was one couple there from Seagrove area.) I saw very few
NC people there; many from Canada, two from Jamaica, two from Mexico,
and one from China.
I attended the Kilns and Firing workshop, the Marketing Roundtable, and
the Glaze workshop. These were all very interesting, and I was the
pesky one asking 100 questions. Here are some things I learned:
1. ITC should be applied THINLY.
2. Skutt guarantees all their kilns for 2 years and this INCLUDES
the elements.
3. Don't buy a Bottle Kiln unless you just need a national landmark.
4. A large orafice (sp?) is not good when firing w/ propane.
5. Cristabolite: Depending on who you talk to, it's very worrisome
or it's a lot of BS.
6. Cerdec has made a new line of cadmium inclusion stains. This means
that the cadmium has been somehow inserted into zirconium crystals, thus
rendering it safe to use up to ^12 in amounts up to 10%. I bluntly
asked if this means that I can put this stain in ANY glaze base, either
ox or redux, up to ^12, and I will get red that WILL NOT leach, and the
man said YES. He also said you can put it in clay if you want pink
clay.
7. DON'T STOP MARKETING
8. The Adams Mark Hotel Chef makes one helluva London Broil.
9. Some of these folks you hear about a lot (ie: Nils Lou, Ron Roy,
Ruth Butler) are not as old as their experience/expertise might lead
you to believe.
10. There is a refractory factory (haha) right here in Greensboro.
11. Put every possible means of contact information on any and every
piece of paper you send out that a customer might see.
There's' more, but I'm sleepy now. The car broke down on the way home,
and a 1.5 hour trip has taken 6 hours now. Nite nite....
--
Lisa Skeen
Living Tree Pottery & Soaps
http://www.uncg.edu/~lpskeen
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful
words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of
the good people." -- Dr. M. L. King, Jr. 4/16/63
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