Bill Edwards on wed 23 apr 03
I agree whole--heartedly with John Rogers in regards
to certain BIG businesses over whelming and removing
many smaller mom and pops out of the financial markets
they compete with as well as dictating rules that will
break your average artist. I won't even go into detail
but as artists, take John's word and be weary before
signing any contract and in particular those such as
what he describes. He was dead center and bulls-eye in
his statement and that I am sure of! This is a case
where they would like us to just stock their stores,
pay them for their time and provide to them a better
service than what we could for own stores if we were
operating under similar circumstances. Woo hoo, said
sarcastically at best.
John Said - Wally World wanted 60 days to pay, I pick
up unsold merchandise in 45 days and credit Walmart, I
pick up all
broken and damaged merchandise, regardless of cause,
and credit Walmart.
And I carry (at that time) $1M in product liability
insurance. For a
figurine that was going to sit on shelf???
Edouard Bastarache
Subject: Lithium
Ed's summation is also one that you can rely on as
usual. What cases and studies back up the fact that
anyone has ever had any reaction from lithium during
use from a glaze containing such? The real argument is
glazes need lab work and guessing just won't do.
There are many people who come into glaze chemistry
because they are looking for something that stands
out, different. Without the experience this can lead
to invention, pleasing to the eye but another glaze
that shows up lacking durability. Either is will be on
a piece of pottery to look at or a piece that is used
in service. If its not durable to begin with sometimes
it can be re-vamped without changing the out come for
eye appeal. The close relationship of potters here on
clayart over the last few years has increased the
awareness of good glaze work and a need for safety and
also for those lacking expertise it sometimes scares
them with things they have not learned yet!
I don't use lithium but have studied it for use and
done tests. On a non professional medical end, I have
seen lithium application in patients which it has
helped tremendously. I doubt (non reported)that any
person on lithium treatment could get the level or
lithium required to make a difference since the level
of lithium based on blood levels would be so high. The
value of scientific reports like Ed's and him being a
toxicologist brings important information to our
group. Maybe some of these days a directive for toxic
issues can be placed in the archives so new artists
and those beginning to learn about chemistry can
easily find this information. But testing is vital if
you are ever going to know that facts about the glazes
ability for durability and use in service. And by this
I do mean lab testing for leachates. If your losing
oxides in the test that are outside acceptable use
limits or known limits, then you can be pretty sure
its not going to be as durable as it should for other
use. Does not mean its not a pretty glaze. Thats
another issue to look at but it may very well hold up
to a degree based on what it used for? If it tests out
lab wise, you have a much better chance of that glaze
being around for a long time. Can you have both a
great appealing glaze and one that is safe in service?
That is the question you can ask yourself when looking
to devise your new creation. If you can do both of
these your off to being a top notch artist armed with
the right tools for a long career and a better
understanding of the use of these tools leads to
customers who appreciate the extra steps you took for
them.
Bill Edwards
=====
http://www.tallapoosariverpottery.com/
Bill Edwards
PO Box 267
Lafayette, AL, 36862
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