It’s September, baby! We’re in the full swing of fall and loving every minute of it! Our students are eagerly working away in anticipation of our upcoming show. In this month’s newsletter, we’re issuing a reminder regarding our upcoming show, sharing an article on the use of kiln cookies, and featuring a special digital booklet written by our very own, Marilyn B. Dale! Keep reading to see what’s been going on in September.
– Marilyn
Protecting Our Kiln Shelves: Introducing… Kiln Cookies!
As we continue crafting beautiful pieces, we’ve encountered a pressing issue requiring immediate attention. We’ve been losing kiln shelves due to glaze runoff. Understandably, we want our glaze to cover the entire wall of the piece, but this has led to a ceramic crisis!
It is also true that sometimes the glaze runs down the side of the pot, off the pot, and onto the kiln shelf, even after leaving more than enough space- and we don’t expect that result! I can’t even pretend to understand it. Perhaps we should be making kiln gods like the ancient potters did!
Fear not, industrious potters! We’ve found a solution to this problem, and it’s simpler than you think! Starting immediately, we’re introducing Kiln Cookies – that you make—-small clay tiles that will save our kiln shelves from glaze damage. I hope.
What are Kiln Cookies? Kiln Cookies are flat clay tiles that you’ll create to attach to the bottom of your pieces. They’ll protect our kiln shelves from glaze runoff and will be returned to you.
How to Make Kiln Cookies
1. Roll out a slab of clay using a slab roller or rolling pin.
2. Measure the bottom of your piece to determine the size and shape of your cookie.
3. Cut out your tile to the desired dimension, leaving about 1/8-1/4 inch of clearance around the piece. The cookie should be a little smaller than the bottom of your piece.
4. Bisque your kiln tiles and mark them with your name or initials in the Clay.
5. After glazing your piece, attach your bisque cookie using Elmer’s glue, which will burn off during firing.
Tips and Reminders
*For flat bottoms, make the cookie slightly smaller than your piece.
*For footed pieces, make the cookie the same size as the footing, especially when glaze is applied inside the foot.
By following these simple steps, we can prevent kiln shelf damage and ensure our pieces are returned in pristine condition. You are in charge! Make cookies when you want the glaze lower on your piece than the recommended full 1/4 inch. Let’s work together to protect our kiln shelves!
LAST CHANCE: Sign-Up for the 2024 Warwick Pottery Show & Sale by October 31, 2024!
Don’t miss the chance to sign up for our annual pottery show and sale! The LAST day to sign up is October 31, 2024! Please sign up on our website – the link is in the main menu or at warwickpotterystudio.com/holiday-show-sign-up
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: Join Our Show Committees!
We are looking for volunteers for various committees to help set up and break down the show. If your significant others, friends, or people in your circle would like to give a helping hand, please let us know! Please sign up on our website – the link is in the main menu or at warwickpotterystudio.com/holiday-show-sign-up (Please note: if you are a student and wish to sign up for the show AND volunteer, two submissions will be required)
VOLUNTEER ROLES NEEDED
Set-Up Assistance includes:
– Placing the tables
– Putting the potters’ names on the tables
– Putting up signs
– Cleaning Show
Assistance includes:
– Providing direction to attendees
– Answering questions from attendees about potter placement
Break-Down Assistance includes:
– Bringing all the tables and chairs to their homes downstairs in the community center
– Sweeping
– Setting up the spaces for the community center’s use
– Taking down signs
Dinnerware: 6 Weeks to a Dinnerware set with service for 6 by Marilyn B. Dale
Decisions to make…
Decorative? Colorful? (Wow factor!) Purely Functional? (Look at the food!) Light, Heavy, Personalized, Matching, Additions (handles), Feet… Other considerations: Table Linens, Closet Space, The room where the food is serviced, What type of food is eaten… finger foods, salads, soups, silveware.
Tools. Your Hands. Your Shoulders. Your Mind.
Calipers
Ribs
Pin tools
Ribs
Slip
Stamps
Chamois for rounded rims
Ribs cut into silhouettes
Height and width cross (made by attaching two pieces of wood in a…. cross shape)
Small forms to make decorative marks as the wheel turns
6 Weeks to a Dinnerware Set. Service for 6.
Decision time. Decide that you will make each form each week.
Weekly Ritual:
Each week, at the beginning of class unwrap the previous week’s work. Decide if you will trim early or late in class. Each week, prepare your clay, bats, tools, and work area when you arrive. Adjust scale for accuracy before measuring clay.
Week One: 6 – 8 Dinner Plates
Weekly Ritual
Using 4 pounds of clay for each, wedge into round balls. When placing clay on the wheel, please play clay on its side, so that the bottom of the wedged ball of clay as it left the stone is facing right or left on the wheel. This reduces “S” cracks. You should be using most of all of your bag of clay for this today.
Center clay to 12 inches. Pull as a wide bottomed cylinder. Rim will be of your choice, keep it thick enough to be functional. Measure everything as described.
Week Two: 6 – 8 Salad Plates
Weekly Ritual
Trim plates with two foot rings according to evaporation and timeliness. Wedge for salad plates today. Wedge 4 balls of 5 pounds each, cut each in half, adjust each for 2.25 pounds of clay. Center each to 8.5 inches. Proceed as dinner plates.
Week Three: 6 – 8 Salad, Soup Bowls
Weekly Ritual
Wedge 8 balls, 4 pounds each. Create wide bottomed. softly cylindrical vessels. Center clay to 5 inches. Create soft curve from floor to wall.
Week Four: 6 – 8 Mugs, and 6 – 8 Tumblers
Weekly Ritual
Wedge 4 balls of 6 pounds each. Divide each into 4, adjusting to 1.5 pounds each. Center to 4 inches. Create visual place for handle on mugs, equal on each pot. Leave tumblers plain.
Week Five: 6 – 8 Handles, and 6 – 8 Dessert Bowls
Weekly Ritual
Wedge 2 balls of 4 pounds each. Divide each into quarters, for 1 pound balls. Create round bottom, leave clay for adjustments. Create handles, let stiffen while trimming mugs. Measure where the handles will go on mugs. For small bowls, center to 3.5 inches.
Week Six: Extras
Weekly Ritual
Congratulations! You will by now have thought of a dozen more items to complete and personalize your table. Pitchers? Use your mug shape. and create a spout and handle. Large bowl for serving? Use your salad bowl shape. use 5.75-6 pounds of clay. Platters? Use your dinner plate shape with more clay. Add handles.
Considerations
Feet: On plates, if placed too wide, the center could slump in the firing. If too narrow, the walls could slump. Use the two foot rings! Measure so that the plates will sit inside on another in your closet.
Bowls: Leave clay at the bottom to form rounded inside after pulling the form. Always open a mini bowl first!
Spouts: Consider what is being poured. Thin liquid? Gravy with veggies? Form spout for service.
Sipping: Good starting place: The width of the rim should fit from lips to bridge of nose. That is one reason people prefer different cups!
Eating: Surface of pot should sound elegant when scraped with utensil.
Cleaning: Watch for places where food could get caught! (Example: floor and wall of mugs)
Find one element and build on it. Find one form and build on it.
Form Ideas:
Coffee Mug
Tea Cup
Hot Chocolate Cup
Goblet
Tumbler
Cup Saucer
Dinner Plate Salad, Dessert Plate
Bread Plate
Salad Serving Bowl
Salad Bowl
Soup Bowl
Dessert Bowl
Candle Sticks
Serving Bowls
Casseroles
Cream Pitcher
Sauce Pitcher
Gravy Boat
Teapot
Coffee Pot
Wine Decanter
Sake Bottle
Honey Pot
Meat Platters
Vegetable Platters
Pasta Platters
Butter Dish
Salt Bowl with Spoon
Elements:
Handles
Spouts
Rims
Feet
Decoration
Glaze Technique
Incisions in pot
Decorative coils
Stamps
Pushed
Personality makers
Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed our September newsletter! Check back next month to see what we got up to in October.