B-mix be challenging

Tried a throw with it tonight and now I recall some of the difficulties I'd encountered the first times I'd thrown with it. For one thing, it's so soft that it's easy to for the clay to get "tired" or weak when the cylinder walls get too thin-- a thinness that might not slump with a stiffer clay body. Alas, my bowl began to collapse under its own weight. Even centering seems harder: the clay seems somehow more likely to amplify off-centeredness than other clays.

Thing is, I love this learning!

Back at it!

At long last. My first throw in 7 years!


It's wonderful how the hands and arms remember what needs to be done. And I'm amazed that several of these clay remnants have survived all the time and the moves and the less-than-ideal storage conditions. This clay (I think) is a low-fire body from Continental Clay in Minneapolis (my last purchase place). It has a lot of grog and is pretty stiff-- perhaps a tad low in moisture. I don't have a scale yet (my last one is still in MN somewhere!), but I think this was about a pound, maybe a pound-and-a-half. I just wanted to see if I could still do it. Slow going, but I managed it. I may throw a lid to this jar tomorrow. A good ending to the day.

Just like a bad penny...

... I'm back.

Or perhaps the negative simile is inappropriate. But I am back. New location, same wheel. My Skutt (now 34 years old) and I (somewhat older) are now in Chico, California. And the ol' beast has a shiny new-- and longer-- power cord (the wheel, not me). The casing insulation of the old one was cracking open. So the current question is, Where to set it up? I've a couple of possibilities, and must consult with the Power That Be. I must also seek clay. I'd been lugging around a few odds and ends of clay, but most had dried up. I have one in a bucket that I must check more thoroughly, but I brought it along in case I can use it.

The bigger question is: What about a kiln? I've never owned one, and not having one turns out to be a big obstacle to throwing. Well, not to throwing per se, but to finishing any pieces I might happen to like as thrown. Borrowing others' kilns wasn't quite as straightforward and easy as I'd hoped.

Stay tuned!