Kathleen Gordon on tue 9 may 06
Any one have any suggestions for this one.. tomarrow when i go to
work i have to look at the kids i teach from 3years to18 and tell
them that the wonderful wonderful turtle sculptures and turtle bowls
we made last week blew up in the kiln..
the tech said she saved a bag of scraps to show them.... do i
suggest they make them again? do i suggest a new project...
i am so discouraged with the techs we have had for our program..
this is the second one who blows up all the kids stuff.. someone
suggested i have the kids write notes to the tech saying how them
feel...
i have 4 hours of class time to fill tomarrow that should have
been glazing turtles.... what would you do?
I know someone will have great suggestions other than the one I
thought of which was strangling the tech who ran a glaze fire instead
of bisque and blew the sculptures to smithereens....oh i guess i made
a little mistake... she giggled.....
ARGHHHHHHH......
Earl Brunner on wed 10 may 06
If more than one or two blew, it isn't an accident.
It's faulty firing. Whoever fired the kiln is
responsible. If something is too thick, it shouldn't
be fired, having said that though, just about ANYTHING
can be fired if done carefully enough.
Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On
Behalf Of Penni Stoddart
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 4:48 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: what to tell the kids????
Whenever I do a kids workshop or class I always tell
them that pottery is
not perfect and that sometimes accidents happen.
However, that being said, it seems to me your tech
person is at fault. Would
he/she be so flippant if it were adult work going
through?
Barbara Lewis on wed 10 may 06
Kathleen: How frustrating! This is what happens when one doesn't have some
of their own work in the kiln.
Maybe the kids could make a communal mosaic in the shape of a turtle with
the pieces that were saved -- plus some other tile pieces. Barbara
----- Original Message -----
> Any one have any suggestions for this one.. tomarrow when i go to
> work i have to look at the kids i teach from 3years to18 and tell
> them that the wonderful wonderful turtle sculptures and turtle bowls
> we made last week blew up in the kiln..
> the tech said she saved a bag of scraps to show them.... do i
> suggest they make them again? do i suggest a new project...
> i am so discouraged with the techs we have had for our program..
> this is the second one who blows up all the kids stuff.. someone
> suggested i have the kids write notes to the tech saying how them
> feel...
> i have 4 hours of class time to fill tomarrow that should have
> been glazing turtles.... what would you do?
> I know someone will have great suggestions other than the one I
> thought of which was strangling the tech who ran a glaze fire instead
> of bisque and blew the sculptures to smithereens....oh i guess i made
> a little mistake... she giggled.....
> ARGHHHHHHH......
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Penni Stoddart on wed 10 may 06
Whenever I do a kids workshop or class I always tell them that pottery is
not perfect and that sometimes accidents happen.
However, that being said, it seems to me your tech person is at fault. Would
he/she be so flippant if it were adult work going through? I would give the
kids the option of re-doing the sculptures (to fill that time) or another
project that is similar. And perhaps a class note that they all help write
to let the tech know how important their work is to them and how badly they
feel about losing it all to his/her "mistake" (carelessness I say!).
penni stoddart
London, Ont.
Elizabeth Priddy on wed 10 may 06
I would write a letter of reprimand on the tech and
give it to her or your supervisor or both.
And let the kids' nature save the situation. The
great unfairness of it all is not really in their
consciousness. Just say 'the kiln misfired and we are
going to get to make our turtles again. Let's
remember what we did and maybe we can do even better
this time. I am really sorry we can't have both.'
Its all you can do.
My senior project got melted when my teacher tried to
fire too many times before graduation when all the
kids waited til the last minute to finish their
projects. She fell asleep and it snagged and
everything melted.
I got over it, the ittle ones will have less trouble
than the older ones. Let the older ones vent, but lay
off the tech except for the letter. It could have
just as easily been you.
E
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
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linda rosen on wed 10 may 06
Seems to be major miscommunication and misunderstanding going on here! =
Are
you giving your tech damp work and a quick turn around time? If the work =
was
dry the schedule change would not have had such an explosive effect. Is =
your
tech trained? Do you , yourself, know how to fire a kiln?=20
The kids might surprise you and not be as attached to their work as you
think. I am amazed at the beautiful projects regularly left behind by =
our
kids . Try saying .. WOW your turtles BLEW UP. There was an explosion in =
the
kiln. Isn't that amazing how powerful steam can be!
=20
If you are now short on time, maybe they could make more turtles that =
could
be bisqued for them and painted at home...with paint... Turtles are not
exactly functional objects.
Best of luck, hoping you and your kids and your tech too can all learn
something here and move on to better, more fun days.
Linda=20
Toronto
Craig Clark on thu 11 may 06
I'm gonna piggy back on what Earl has to say here. Re-emphasis on
the just about ANYTHING made of clay can be fired if done carefully
enough.You just need to slow the firing down enough for thicker pieces.
Keep that in mind as you make your decision.
My suggestion is to stick to the facts. That way they won't come
back later on and byte you in the butt. The facts, from what I
understand, is that pieces of the kids work blew in the kiln. That needs
to be told. Then the reason(s) for the mishap need to be explained in
detail. Your "tech" ought to be able to fully explain the event to you
if she or he knows what they are doing. My question to you, and please
don't take this the wrong way, is do you know how to fire a kiln? Do you
know when work is bone dry? Do you know about varying thickness of clay
in a piece and how these will dictate how quickly or slowly a kiln may
be fired without having said piece go bye-bye? If the answer to these
queries is an affirmative then you won't have any difficulty in
explaining what happened. If, on the other hand, you don't have the
basic understanding of the process to answer these questions, then your
task will be more complex. If you want some definitive
information/suggestions from folks on the list then a more specific
outline of the event is necessary.
I honestly believe that being direct, specific and truthful with the
kids is the way to go. And like Earl implied, if the pieces were made
correctly and more than one of them blew then there is a good chance
that there was a problem with the firing. At that point you need to
seriously check the credentials of the person doing the firing. If they
aren't very experienced and don't normally work with clay then that is
the problem. Keep in mind that there is a lot more to firing a kiln than
reading the manual, programming the computer (if you have a newer
electric), and turning it on.
Hope this helps
Craig Dunn CLark
619 East 11 1/2 St
Houston, Texas 77008
(713)861-2083
mudman@hal-pc.org
Earl Brunner wrote:
>If more than one or two blew, it isn't an accident.
>It's faulty firing. Whoever fired the kiln is
>responsible. If something is too thick, it shouldn't
>be fired, having said that though, just about ANYTHING
>can be fired if done carefully enough.
>
>Earl Brunner
>Las Vegas, NV
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On
>Behalf Of Penni Stoddart
>Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 4:48 AM
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Re: what to tell the kids????
>
>Whenever I do a kids workshop or class I always tell
>them that pottery is
>not perfect and that sometimes accidents happen.
>However, that being said, it seems to me your tech
>person is at fault. Would
>he/she be so flippant if it were adult work going
>through?
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
Arnold Howard on thu 11 may 06
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathleen Gordon"
> I know someone will have great suggestions other
> than the one I
> thought of which was strangling the tech who ran a
> glaze fire instead
> of bisque and blew the sculptures to
> smithereens....oh i guess i made
> a little mistake... she giggled.....
> ARGHHHHHHH......
If the tech uses a digital kiln, she may have
selected the wrong speed in Cone-Fire out of habit.
Sometimes the worst mistakes are in the smallest
details, such as selecting the wrong speed with a
single key stroke. You could post a sign near the
kiln controller that says, "Use Program Review."
A few years ago a friend told me about the best
printing press operator in Dallas. We had him print
the Paragon catalog covers, and I visited the
printing company where he worked to check the color.
On that huge, noisy printing press was a little sign:
"Turn on the powder." (The powder spray prevents wet
ink on one sheet from ruining the next sheet.)
Even the best printer in Dallas had to have a little
sign to remind him about an important task. Airline
pilots, with all their years of experience, use
flight checklists.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
Kathi LeSueur on thu 11 may 06
Arnold Howard wrote:
>
> If the tech uses a digital kiln, she may have
> selected the wrong speed in Cone-Fire out of habit.
> Sometimes the worst mistakes are in the smallest
> details,....
> A few years ago a friend told me about the best
> printing press operator in Dallas. ...
> On that huge, noisy printing press was a little sign:
> "Turn on the powder." (The powder spray prevents wet
> ink on one sheet from ruining the next sheet.)
>
> Even the best printer in Dallas had to have a little
> sign to remind him about an important task. Airline
> pilots, with all their years of experience, use
> flight checklists.>>>>
I totally agree with the use of a checklist. I've been firing my gas
kiln for thirty years yet I still use a check list for every firing. It
has changed over the years as I've done stupid things. Some of the
things on it are: are cone packs in the kiln before closing the door?
Has door been chinked up before turning on burners? Is main shut off
turned off. Are gas cocks at burners off?
It's very easy to forget a step, especially when you are tired. A
checklist is a good safety measure.
Kathi
>
>
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