Singing the Test Tile Blues

It's that time of year again. Test tiles.

You may recall, I've been working out ideas for a new line of work for quite some time now. This past Christmas things finally came together and I unveiled this new line at my recent wholesale show in Toronto.

Getting it ready for the show, unfortunately, was quite the ordeal. I was struggling to find a nice, clear, durable glaze that I could use with this one that I had been working on a while back. I had a very specific color in mind and set about testing, testing, and testing some more to achieve it. Robin's egg blue. Maybe a bit more of the blue, less of the turquoise, but just to give you an idea. And I had an idea of where to start with my testing. Copper, maybe a fraction of a percent of cobalt to punch it to the blue side...

My guesses were pretty good and in my first batch of test tiles I hit the color I was looking for: 1% copper carbonate plus 0.1% cobalt carbonate. So I set about mixing up a slightly larger batch to get it on some work. It's always easier to get a real feel for a glaze by testing larger batches, rather than just mixing up a huge bucket from what you see on a test tile. Annnnnnd.... I'm glad I did.

Disaster. Super ICK. Bubbles! Everywhere, thousands and thousands of bubbles! My beautiful, clear, glossy glaze was dulled with a pitted surface and microscopic bubbles everywhere. Test tiles are far too small to get an accurate picture of what a glaze will do, and in this case, what the glaze did on a plate, was much different that what it did on a tile.

So. I hit the books. Copper gives off gas after 1975' or so. (Don't quote me on that temperature though, I'm not sure exactly where it starts to get volatile). All that gas was getting trapped in my glaze, even with a hold at peak temperature. Okay. No problem. The carbonate form of copper can release more gas that the oxide form so I mixed up some more tests, using 0.65% copper oxide instead of the carbonate. (The oxide is a stronger colorant). But alas, the bubbles persisted.

Okay. No problem. Tinker with the glaze recipe a bit and I should be able to fix that, right? Working with my Insight program, I tried adding 2% lithium carbonate to the glaze as a way to smooth out the surface. And it worked! But now instead of a beautiful, clear glaze, I had a beautiful, variegated glaze.

Okay. No problem. Back to the Insight program. I removed the lithium and decided to tackle the alumina. I was able to lower the alumina content of my glaze to make it a bit runnier, the idea being that if the glaze flows and moves better, those pesky little bubbles will be able to escape.

Annnnnd, it worked! but now I had yet another problem. Boron clouding. Ugh. The alumina keeps the glaze stiff which prevents boron crystals from forming. Without the alumina, the crystals were able to grow. That means, no clear glaze for me.



With the clock ticking and me needing to resolve this issue, I turned to stains. Yes. Stains. Something I had sworn I would never use. Something I had always considered as a form of cheating. With my head hanging low, I ordered several different shades of what looked like promising colors and went back to mixing up test batches.



The first bunch of tests gave me an idea of how each stain looked. From there, I was able to put together some blends that I thought would push the color to where I wanted it. And as luck would have it, the next batch gave me just what I was looking for.



Actually, it gave me better than what I was looking for. I have a whole new respect for those stains, let me tell ya'. And I may just be turning to them a lot more in the future.

And as for that new line of work...
You may be wondering why it's so different from where my tests began so many months ago. What can I say? There's no telling where creative adventures will take us. I can say, however, that I'm really pleased with how the new line looks!

Christmas Crap and a Handmade Pledge

Well another Christmas has come and gone. And one thing I've noticed growing over the past several years is that this holiday more than others, makes me more and more depressed.

Don't worry. It's nothing serious. It only seems to last a short while, as everything I've witnessed over the frenzied holiday season helps me become more and more passionate about what I do.

But I'm finally beginning to understand what it is that really bothers me about this holiday.

It's all the crap. And by crap, I mean landfill. And I'm not just talking about the wrapping paper, the plastic packaging, the cardboard boxes, the bows and all of that rubbish. I'm talking about the presents themselves. Have any of you noticed how much of that stuff is just crap?

I have young nieces and nephews and I sit quietly in the background and watch them tackle all their new loot. Some of it was broken before it even left the factory/store. Some of it breaks trying to put it together. Some of it is broken after the first attempt at using it. Some of it breaks by the end of day one. And then what? It's off to the landfill. Garbage. Petroleum based products, made in China and elsewhere by people who work far too long for far too little. It's packed in container ships fuelled by more petroleum and shipped half way around the world, to sit in energy-hungry stores, filled with workers who again, work for far too little. And for what? So kids can have 'stuff' to open on Christmas morning?

What's the point of having 'stuff' anyways? Especially if it's just crap that's broken before it can even really be enjoyed? Do the benefits of all of this 'stuff' really outweigh all the negative consequences?

I guess I'm growing cynical.



For me, I take comfort in the fact that many of the presents from me to my loved ones this year were handmade and/or upcycled. Being a strong believer in 'what goes around comes around' I have made a conscious effort over the past few years to support my fellow artists and craftspersons. And while my reasons for doing so started out as perhaps a little selfish, I can see it has much further reaching consequences.

I understand that I have no control over what my loved ones actually DO with the gifts they get from me (and I'll admit it, some of them may even head to the landfill). But I hope that it sparks something in them, no matter how small, about the importance of handmade. I hope it brings to their attention just what it means to have quality made things, to support your communities. I am very aware that handmade work is expensive. But there's a reason for that, and surely LESS of BETTER stuff is way more important than MORE of CRAPPY stuff.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays this season, and that the gifts you received are ones that will be cherished (and functioning) for a long time to come! And to those of you who took the time and made to effort to buy handmade, thank you, for the consequences are far and reaching in ways that you cannot even imagine.

Cheers!
~Melissa

Feltware 2.0

Nothing like the thrill of a contest to light a fire under my feet.

Every year the One of a Kind Christmas Show has a contest. This year the theme was teapots. Each vendor was asked to make a teapot in the medium they work in. How could I resist?

During my last year in school, I focused on sculptural teapots, so this was an opportunity to go back to my roots, so to speak. And while I was excited and up for the challenge, it was terrifying.

Even I was surprised at how much pressure I was feeling over this silly little contest! Having gone to a high-profile art institute, I felt a lot of pressure to produce a spectacular piece. This was an opportunity for me to show my peers that I was capable of more than just production pottery - (though notably, some of my customers may not view my work as 'just production pottery', I can't help but feel that sometimes my potter friends view it as such, but that's a whole other issue, and no doubt mostly in my head, anywaaaays...)

Where was I? Oh yes. Pressure. Yup. Lots of it.

One of the ways I like to work out new pieces, is to throw the idea to my subconscious and let it stew there while my conscious forgets about it. A few days/weeks/months later, it usually spits something out that surprises and delights me and I can get busy manifesting that idea. This time was no exception. I knew I wanted something in feltware and let my subconscious do the rest.

Here's what I came up with:



The teapot is fully functional. And while it may not be the spectacular piece I was hoping for, over all I'm pretty pleased with it. It didn't win any awards at the show, but I did sell it (yay!) and I even had an order for another, smaller version.

And while I was finally getting back to the feltware I had started in the spring, I also made these:



No doubt now that my biggest show of the year is over and I finally have some much needed time to myself, I'll rework these pieces. My subconscious is still spitting out ideas (I can't seem to find that off switch!) so I've got all kinds of ideas I'm anxious to work out.

And all that pressure? It was pretty weird at the show to see people's reaction to the new feltware. Those familiar with my functional work were quite surprised, and those who saw the teapot before the functional stuff were surprised as well. After a few days of digesting people's reactions, the pressure melted away and I became excited about this new creative outlet that I've been looking for.

Now, if only I can manage a balance between the work pots and the play pots...

The Continuing Misadventures of Me and My Pugmill

Well, the pugmill drama continues...

Based on the suggestion of a fellow potter who commented on one of my previous blogs, I approached a plastics company to see if they could form a sleeve to fit inside the barrel of my pugmill. Unfortunately, this particular company was unable to help us, mostly because of the curve of the barrel at the extrusion end. But the fellow suggested we try an epoxy coating like ones used in elbows of pipes that carry grains and salt, and was even kind enough to give us a batch of the epoxy to use.

I was hopeful...



The first week went well. The epoxy seemed to be staying put. There weren't any more pesky chunkies buggering up my thrown work. And then, slowly but surely, I started finding the hints of chunkies. Small ones. But definitely chunkies. I brushed it off as dried bits of clay? maybe? hopefully?...

In the mean time my show in Ottawa came and went (thanks everyone, for a great show!) and when I got back, I had about 2 weeks to finish all the work I needed to get done for the remainder of my Christmas shows. So the first day back to work... pug some clay... start throwing...

CHUNKIES!

HUGE freaking chunkies. The size of m&m's.

And then...

EPOXY!

Yup. Slices of epoxy, coming off in the clay.
Shit.

So we took apart the pug mill, cleaned it out, and here's what we found:



In some spots, the epoxy had peeled right off and was mixed into the clay. In other spots, it had let go of the aluminum and was acting like an envelope. From what we can figure, the pressure from the vacuum pulled the epoxy away from the aluminum and clay got stuffed between the epoxy coating and the pugmill barrel.

We still can't really figure out where the chunkies were coming from. They did not appear to be stuck to the epoxy. And the clay that had slipped between the epoxy and the barrel couldn't get into the mixing clay because the epoxy holding it against the metal was still in tact. And the small chunk of epoxy that DID break off, was fresh and the clay didn't have time to react yet.

Soooooo.....

Luckily, the rest of the epoxy peeled off like cheap nail polish but we're back to square one again.

So, either I give Peter Pugger a call (I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to hear from me!) and find out if they are willing to get the sleeve made, or I get my incredibly talented husband to machine me a new barrel out of stainless steel and be done with the whole problem. The materials for this would cost us about $1000.00, and my hubby has access to the equipment to get the job done. All we would need is the time...

Keep Calm and Carry On

Well the past 10 days have been utterly crazy.

With winter on its way (I still CAN'T believe it's actually OCTOBER!!!!), it was time to rip out the north wall in our studio and replace the 4" of insulation, wasps nests and chipmunk droppings with 6" of new insulation and two new windows. At first we were hoping this would be a weekend project. In fact, we were hoping that when I returned from a weekend show it would all be done and things would easily get back to the standard pre-Christmas craziness.

Yeah, riiiiiiiiiiight.



The weekend turned into a full week of construction. Of course, nothing could go easily or smoothly, really it was naive to assume it would have! And it's pretty hard to get anything done when the routine has been thoroughly upset. And so, as a result panic set in. I'm frantically trying to get ready for all the the shows I've got coming up, to get wholesale and custom orders out the door and I have to time my pugging around when there's going to be space cleared around the pug mill. The entire week the old propaganda line: Keep Calm and Carry On, kept running through my head. At least it gave me something to smile about.

So after a full 10 days, things are ALMOST done. In addition to a new wall and two new windows, I now (almost) have another (desperately needed) drying cabinet. With a little bit of luck I'll be able to get back into full production mode this week and start feeling like I'm getting things done again.



Annnnnd of course,
now is the time I finally find myself teeming with some fantastic ideas for the direction I want to take my feltware.
(sigh...)

Yup. Keep Calm and Carry On...

They're BaaAAAAck!

Well, the last few weeks have been nothing if not completely frustrating.

So here I am, custom orders on the go, wholesale orders on the go, desperately trying to stockpile work for upcoming Christmas shows, frantically trying to replace stock that has sold at summer shows. I'm busy. VERY busy. And I don't really have time for things to fall apart.

But alas. It had to be...

Remember that problem I was having a while back with my brand-spankin' new pug mill? Where my clay was corroding the inside of the mixing barrel and pesky little chunkies were making their way into my pieces?

Weeeeeeelllll....

The pugmill manufacturer recommended that I add epsom salts to my clay body. What this would do, I was assured, was change the pH of the clay which would in turn, prevent all those pesky little chunkies from forming in my pug mill. Okay. No problem. 44 grams, dissolved in hot water, added to 25 lbs wet clay. Mix, pug, throw.

No problem, right?

WRONG!!! What a complete disaster. Have a look for yourself:





Yup. Three kiln loads and counting. Ruined.

After much crying, cursing, Clayart-ing and phone calls, here is what I learned:

Too much epsom salt can cause blebbing. As a piece dries, the salts migrate to the area of the pot that is drying the fastest (the rim in most cases). During firing, the salts will turn to gas and generally burn off. However, if there is too much salt, and the clay begins to mature before all of the gases have escaped, you will end up with what I have in the photos. Lots and lots of little blisters, all over the rims of a couple of thousand dollars worth of pots. As my luck would have it, my clay manufacturer ALREADY adds epsom salts to their clay. So by adding more, I overloaded the clay.

So there you have it folks. My advice: talk to your clay manufacturer before adding ANYTHING to your clay body. No matter WHO told you to add it.

Aaaaaaand in addition to that...

Those f'ing chunkies are back, busily corroding away at my pug mill.

Yup.

oh! And that would be the NEW version of the pug mill. The one with the corrosion-resistant coating.

Yup. My luck.

The Perfect Pour

One of my favorite teachers from art school always said "if you're going to make functional pottery, use it!" So when I made one of my first functional teapots, I brought it straight into the house from the kiln and made a pot of tea. (Steeped for 5 full minutes for the perfect cup of Bourbon Vanilla). I picked up the teapot in great anticipation of my perfect cup of tea, and was horrified as the tea gurgled and blurbled out, down the side of the pot and everywhere but the mug, strategically placed beneath the spout.

I was so disappointed.

BUT...back to the drawing board.

Functional teapots are one of the biggest challenges for potters. They employ a great variety of throwing techniques, complete with lids, knobs and handles. They have to pour properly, hold enough tea, and not be too heavy. All of this adds up to a steep challenge. (No pun intended.)

So what exactly is it that allows a teapot to pour?

Well, first there's the obvious: the spout. Spouts need to be wide at the base and taper to a narrow opening at the end. This helps to push the tea out and far enough away from the pot to keep it from clinging to its side. But we're not done there. Spouts need to have a relatively sharp end to help cut off the flow of the tea as the teapot is righted. Unfortunately with pottery, too sharp will often lead to a chipped spout. If you can find a teapot that lets no more than ONE drip back down the outside of the pot, you've done good!

Spouts aren't the only important aspect to a good teapot though. The handle also requires some special considerations. Handles must be placed in such a way that the pot is balanced as the user is pouring the tea. This relieves strain from the wrist, and lets the pot do all the work. For best results, look for a 90 degree angle between handle and spout. The handles also need to be beefy enough to hold a full pot of tea. No one wants to see a full teapot release from its handle and go crashing to the table.

Some other small considerations include a wee little hole in the lid. Air needs to be able to enter the teapot as the tea is exiting to allow for a continuous, uninterrupted pour. And if the teapot is meant to be used with teabags, have a look inside to make sure there are holes creating a strainer of sorts, where the spout attaches to the pot. These will catch a teabag and prevent it from plugging the spout.




It's been a few years now since that first disastrous teapot of mine, which I still have. And I've abandoned the Bourbon Vanilla for a quieter Tongyu Mountain Green tea from one of my favorite tea stores, Distinctly Tea in Waterloo. But man, I do love a good cup o' tea.