Marianne Lombardo on thu 22 aug 02
Without an extruder, making test "tiles" for glazes is (for me, anyway) a
pain in the butt. I hated doing them. I was shown an easier method
recently (thanks Jane) and now make my test pieces like this. A nice
benefit is my little grandaughter calls them "little people" and loves to
play with them.
Grab a hunk of clay, break off a small piece and quickly roll into a ball
then a small roll with your fingers, wrap your fingers around and gently
squeeze and lightly press onto a plaster surface (or any surface). Presto,
little "people" standing up. You could also put a hole in them for
stringing, although I don't.
I make a bunch when I'm doing a firing and set them on top of the kiln to
dry. I just finished making about 100 from 3 different claybodies an it
took me about 20 minutes. They will be dry tomorrow morning.
Marianne Lombardo
Omemee, Ontario, Canada
email: mlombardo@nexicom.net
... hoping today's rain will only be rain and not turn into thunderstorms
that knock the power out....
Jennifer Buckner on thu 22 aug 02
At 10:35 AM 8/22/2002, Marianne wrote:
>Grab a hunk of clay, break off a small piece and quickly roll into a ball
>then a small roll with your fingers, wrap your fingers around and gently
>squeeze and lightly press onto a plaster surface (or any surface). Presto,
>little "people" standing up.
Marianne, if my understanding of your explanation is correct, these look a
little like hour-glasses?? If not, can you give a different description?
Jennifer
Jennifer G. Buckner jenniverre@pgtv.net
Martin Rice on thu 22 aug 02
I just made my first glaze test tiles and used them. I know zilch about this
and came up with the following that worked nicely. -- little test tombstones
(maybe under which the "little people" will someday rest?)
I used a rolling pin to roll out a slab of clay about 3/8 of an inch thick.
I rolled it out on a canvas-covered board. Then I used a T-square and my
potter's needle to cut it into rectangular tiles about 5" tall and 3" wide.
I left the tiles there to dry out.
While they were drying some, I wedged some clay and made little blobs with
an indentation made by the side of my finger along their length. When the
tiles firmed up a bit, I stood them on end in the indentations, lifted up
the sides of the blobs along the tiles' front and rear and sides, flattened
the sides and fronts of the blobs, and voilá, little tombstones standing in
their own little piles of freshly turned dirt.
When hard enough, I scratched a number on each one twice; once on the bottom
and once where RIP would normally go. Bisqued them and then used them for my
first ever glaze tests. Worked really nicely. They store very easily n a
shelf, too.
Regards,
Martin
Lagunas de Barú, Costa Rica
http://www.rice-family.org
Marianne Lombardo on thu 22 aug 02
Hi Jennifer;
Not really. They look almost like flattened snowmen on a smushed pedestal.
Hmm. Try this: roll a small ball of clay between your hands to make a roll
of clay (shaped like a sausage). Holding it in your left hand, use your
right thumb and finger to gently squeeze, move your fingers down and squeeze
again, then down and squeeze again. Now it looks like 3 flattened circles
made from your fingers. Now hold it near the base and press down to smush
the base a bit and make the base flat on the bottom. But the fastest way to
do it is take the sausage roll in your right hand and squeeze with 3
fingers, then still holding it, press down on a table top to smush the
bottom.
Sorry, it's hard to describe better. If you are still puzzled, I can take a
picture with a digital camera and send to you.
The ones I don't want to keep after glaze testing, I use black acrylic paint
and quickly paint in eyes, nose, and mouth on the "head". So, to a little
kid, they look like little people. To me, they still look like snowmen. Or
actually, snow ladies, because something about the way I hold the clay gives
a bit of a swirl towards the bottom suggestive of a dress. If you have a
good imagination.
Marianne Lombardo
Omemee, Ontario, Canada
K0L 2W0
> Marianne, if my understanding of your explanation is correct, these look a
> little like hour-glasses?? If not, can you give a different description?
Dannon Rhudy on thu 22 aug 02
>
>Marianne, if my understanding of your explanation is correct, these look a
>little like hour-glasses?? If not, can you give a different description?....
It is just a coil of clay that has been squeezed in your fist. They are
generally called "glaze mice". There are no rules for what they
should look like. They are simply easy quick test tiles, with the
advantage of having some edges where you have squeezed it.
Lets you know if your glaze will "break" over edges.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
Marianne Lombardo on fri 23 aug 02
Hi Dannon,
That's it, exactly. Much better explanation than I was giving. Thanks!
Marianne Lombardo
Omemee, Ontario, Canada
email: mlombardo@nexicom.net
> It is just a coil of clay that has been squeezed in your fist. They are
> generally called "glaze mice". There are no rules for what they
> should look like. They are simply easy quick test tiles, with the
> advantage of having some edges where you have squeezed it.
> Lets you know if your glaze will "break" over edges.
Jennifer Buckner on fri 23 aug 02
At 08:30 PM 8/22/2002, you wrote:
>Hi Jennifer;
>........ roll a small ball of clay between your hands to make a roll
>of clay (shaped like a sausage). Holding it in your left hand, use your
>right thumb and finger to gently squeeze, move your fingers down and squeeze
>again, then down and squeeze again. Now it looks like 3 flattened circles
>made from your fingers. Now hold it near the base and press down to smush
>the base a bit and make the base flat on the bottom.
AHA!! It's all clear now. Many thanks, Marianne. Great idea, and I'm
going to try it soon.
Off for 2 days with Robin Hopper at the VT Clay Studio.
Jennifer
Jennifer G. Buckner jenniverre@pgtv.net
Jennifer Buckner on fri 23 aug 02
> >
> >Marianne, if my understanding of your explanation is correct, these look a
> >little like hour-glasses?? If not, can you give a different
> description?....
>
>It is just a coil of clay that has been squeezed in your fist. They are
>generally called "glaze mice".
Cute name. Marianne's second explanation made it all clear. I'd been
throwing a low-sided, flat-bottomed bowl and cutting it into pie shaped
slices, but these don't always stand up properly and they seem a little
more awkward to keep around than the "little people" or "glaze mice".
Thanks,
Jennifer
Jennifer G. Buckner jenniverre@pgtv.net
Earl Brunner on sat 24 aug 02
I would add that if you leave a bit more clay on one end and tap it on a flat
surface they become free standing (if that hasn't been clear from other
descriptions). Interestingly, a while back someone was selling them on EBAY and
actually getting bids! There was no documentation that would have made them
valuable as references for specific glazes. Apparently people just liked what they
looked like or something.
Dannon Rhudy wrote:
> >
> >Marianne, if my understanding of your explanation is correct, these look a
> >little like hour-glasses?? If not, can you give a different description?....
>
> It is just a coil of clay that has been squeezed in your fist. They are
> generally called "glaze mice". There are no rules for what they
> should look like. They are simply easy quick test tiles, with the
> advantage of having some edges where you have squeezed it.
> Lets you know if your glaze will "break" over edges.
>
> regards
>
> Dannon Rhudy
>
--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec
mailto:bruec@anv.net
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