e wilson farrington on mon 31 may 04
Hey Clayfolk,
The ONLY thing I like about my basement studio is the high humidity =
level which allows me to dry porcelain with very few problems. I am able =
to keep it moist enough so I can add on lugs/feet and do carving over =
the course of a week or so. If I really want to slow things down, I turn =
off my dehumidifier. I do use shelving draped with plastic, and also =
large, plastic storage boxes with moistened craft foam inside to store =
smaller pieces in progress. I make sure no moisture accumulates on the =
work by keeping foam above and below. I never use a fan blowing--just an =
exhaust fan to the outside. And no breezes in the open windows.
The down side-- the humidity is hell on my arthritis, the =
cement floors are damp and cold in the winter, and the mold which =
thrives in the moisture aggravates my allergies. Oh yeah, and it's dark =
with two little windows. Well---at least the clay is happy!!=20
So far I've been successful using the Standard #365 ^ 6 Grolleg =
Porc. Now I want to try Southern Ice, just to see what all the fuss is =
about! I'm also curious to know if anyone has tried the Standard #601 =
Tom Turner Porcelain ^ 6?
Best to all,
Elizabeth Wilson Farrington=20
--in Southern PA where I'm tempted to do some work =
outside, but I know that I'll be singing the blues in crack city....
Russel Fouts on tue 1 jun 04
Elizabeth,
>> So far I've been successful using the Standard #365 ^ 6 Grolleg Porc.
Now I want to try Southern Ice, just to see what all the fuss is
about! I'm also curious to know if anyone has tried the Standard #601 Tom
Turner Porcelain ^ 6? <<
With all this talk about porcelaine I decided to try the sample of Tom
Turner's "Turner's Best", Standard 600 that I picked up at NCECA.
I haven't fired it yet but it handbuilds and dries beautifully. I only made
small pieces because I've only got a kilo. I didn't treat it any
differently than my normal clay (which Carla calls "god's own clay"). I was
able to make really thin slabs, join pieces easily (without slipping and
scoring or using vineagar) and it pinched beautifully. One nice thing about
the pinching is that when the piece seems quite dry (no longer cool to the
touch) you can still "wake it up again" by gently pinching and then
continue. A property I also found in "Loafer's Glory".
I made a couple of pinch pots, a couple of tea cups and a small bowl made
out of very thin, torn and wrinkled slabs (a more challenging piece with
any clay)
It will probably all go to hell in the kiln though. ;-)
Russel
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
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