Lili Krakowski on mon 31 may 04
Gayle: You gave me a good laught this AM, for which I thank you. That =
anyone, anywhere, anyhow should for a split second think you did a =
kindness because you were interested in self-promotion/sales is =
hilarious! But it IS unkind to make an old woman laugh out loud when my =
ribs hurt enough from going back to gardening in one fell swoop....
WHEEL: Do look a wheel in the wiring. I have seen a lot of older =
wheels so neglected the wire, whatever it is called, the bit that plugs =
in, is damaged. Not good in a class situation. Otherwise plop =
yourself down at it and try it. See how it works for you. Wobbly head =
generally means bad bearing. Can be fixed quite easily except on an RK2 =
Shimpo (tried to fix on one given to me--all the pieces of the whole =
mess, still in corner of studio floor)
Janet: Too busy housepainting, re-opening the Farm, moving, and getting =
some plants in to read Clayart with the attention it needs. WHO are the =
Fabulous Four? Will there be a film? Will Brad Pitt (is it?) who just =
conquered Troy, be in it? Will Hugh Grant? Can Catherine Deneuve play =
Hecuba? I failed to "sell" my Japanese style epic called =
"RonJon"--wish you well here...Can I be an extra among the despised and =
rejected PLUEEESE??? (Mommy, you promised!)=20
,=20
Chemicals: We have had a spate of inquiries about "chemicals", about =
Skyenze, and I am sorry, IMO it all is silly. My friend Debbie the head =
of Nutrition Services at our hospital, has a stack of books on the =
science of food. Why eating too much blah is bad for people with kidney =
problems. That sort of stuff. And it has pages of info that looks like =
this (am making this up):
100 gms (#$%@) + 3 gms of ()*mKWWc3) will have raise the PlopPlop =
Reading in people with a Booboo level of 32/54. But when I call Debbie =
up and say, please, how did you make that superdelicious barbeque sauce =
you served at yo urparty, she says: Take some..." Ok. Same info. =
Totally different level and application. Of course, if you want to be a =
dietician you need to know all the stuff in the books, and you need to =
use it in practice, so your brain gets in the groove. And if all you =
want to do is cook, you should have an idea of what different =
ingredients do, why rice starch is better than corn starch here, and =
potato starch better there--but you do not need to know all the details.
Just as a good basic cookbook will provide the basic info, a good basic =
glaze book will tell you basic stuff. I am a fan of Harry Fraser, =
especially Ceramic Faults and Their Remedy ( a title always makes me =
think of Popper's "The Open Society and Its Enemies" I also like his =
basic book Glazes for the Studio Potter (Is that right? You will =
recognize when you check the dealers. I am pretty sure it is OP. But =
Faults is not, and I expect The Potters Shop has it.
These books ALL will tell you: Hello, potash and soda are fluxes. =
Magnesium, zinc and calcium etc are fluxes. Fluxes make things melt. =
Magnesium will turn cobalt purple. Zinc will make chrome look like =
****. And so ad infenitum
Unlike cooking, where you can taste, glazing is like baking. You have =
to fire the concoction to be able to check it's worth.
MY NEWBIE SUGGESTION IS: find a reliable dealer. And, yes, if that =
means you have to pay more postage, you can build up a huge huge glaze =
inventory for the cost of 1/2 workshop. Call and ask about their =
glazes. A good dealer (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) will put your through to =
their lab tech, and make some suggestions. Just be aware: you can work =
with commercial glazes for years and experiment with them. Just one =
example: You have a transparent; you have a matt. Dry them out, sieve =
them (WEAR YOUR MASK) weigh them out in different proportions, or use a =
Tablespoon and level as you would in cooking (soda bottle caps work well =
too) and make tests. Then experiment adding a bit of clay to your =
transparent...and so on....Work outward, not inward.
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