Archive for the 'Tools' Category

New Relief Printed Boxes & Bevel-o-Matic Tool

Published
by
Cynthia
on June 20, 2008
in Handbuilding, Relief Printing and Tools
. 10 Comments

I’ve rolled out a slab of “ash” white stoneware clay purchased from Mile Hi Ceramics.  I’m going to give my new lino cut a try.

I found that I get a better print when I used a rubber mallet to set my lino-cut in place - otherwise it slipped a little when I ran the rolling pin over it several times from different directions.

After I printed the clay and before I lifted the lino-cut, I trimmed away the excess clay from the slab.  I cut my linoleum pretty precisely before I carved it.

Voila, my print - see the bottom center?  this is before I realized that I should use the rubber mallet to get a good print.

Here, I’ve got 4 sides of my poppy lino-cut printed and a large slab for the top and bottom.  If you do your math, you’ll see that i actually printed 5 sides, even though I only meant to do 4.  I turned the fifth one into a tile.

This could be why I printed out 5 sides instead of 4.  :D  It was after 8 pm after all.

A funny thing happened a few weeks ago.  About a month ago, I ordered a Bevel-o-Matic tool from claystamps.com after reading a tool review on Emily Murphy’s Pottery blog.  After 2 weeks, I didn’t receive an acknowledgment or the tool in the mail.  I had used the Paypal link on their website to purchase, so I followed up with an email and canceled the transaction.  About a week after that, I received an email from them apologizing and telling me that they’ll put one in the mail for me and that I should send them a check after receiving it.  I wasn’t quite sure I’d see one or not, but lo and behold, a Bevel-o-Matic tool arrived a week later.  It seemed so refreshing to me that the owner would trust me enough to send before receiving payment.  So, I am definitely one happy customer and promptly stuck a check in the mail.  By the way, it works like a charm!

I worked on 2 boxes simulataneously.  These are larger than the porcelain ones I’ve made in the past couple of months.

Here, I am dutifully adding clay coils to the joints to strengthen them.  I tried not adding them to a couple and experienced some cracking.  The glaze covered the cracks up, but I was worried the whole time while they were firing.

Walls are up - only have to add the tops.

Vine printed box is now drying and setting up.

Here’s the poppy printed box.  I think I like the way this print turned out.  I suppose the real test will be after glazing.  I’d like to see the glaze break nicely over the raised and recessed parts of the boxes.

Meanwhile, I am attending a one day hand-building workshop with Annie Chrietzberg tomorrow.  I hope to report back on Monday with all the wonderful things I learned at her studio!

Have a good weekend,

~Cynthia

New Clay Bevel Tool & Happy Mother’s Day!

Published
by
Cynthia
on May 11, 2008
in Tools
. 12 Comments

Several weeks ago, I visited the Clay Stamps website and tried to purchase a bevel-o-matic clay tool via their Paypal Buy Now Link. I didn’t receive a confirmation or shipping info after committing to purchase. A week later, an email appeared in my inbox from Paypal informing me that Clay Stamps has not claimed my payment and that I should contact them or cancel my purchase. After emailing and receiving no response, I reluctantly canceled my order. I always like to give someone the benefit of the doubt - they could have been on vacation or something. I was going to follow up with a phone call to the number listed on the website, but after telling my Father in Law the story and showing him a photo of a handmade bevel tool in a recent article in Pottery Making Illustated (go to the link on bottom right, titled “Beyond the Square”), he responded, “I can make you one!”

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He made me 2! What a great Mother’s Day present and perfect timing. The Summer Art Market is looming in about 5 weeks, and I want to do some more hand-building since my little porcelain boxes sold out at the Guild Show last weekend.

Meanwhile, I’ve been shopping! I need to stop, but I keep finding great independent artists whose work I adore. Friday, I visited the Castle Clay artist’s show and purchased an Asian inspired salt fired mug by Don Cox. Yesterday, I went to a mead & sushi tasting event that featured work by local artists and purchased some steam-punk pins by “The Pork Shop Show” and a reproduction print mounted on a 1″ gallery wood support by Two Little Fruits.

Both the mead and the sushi were delicious! The mead was home brew - and I’ve decided I need to make some for us after I research recipes - finally I’d be able to use the Grolsch bottles with the little ceramic swing top stoppers that my husband has been collecting over the years and won’t let go of. The lemon variety tasted a bit like Limoncello, and I love lemons. The sushi chef likes to do home parties, and I asked him if he would be adverse to doing a kid’s party. I don’t know if you remember, but, my 10 year old daughter loves herself some sushi. She always wants to go out to the most expensive sushi restaurant in town for her birthday every year. It would be cool to learn how to make it ourselves!

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

~Cynthia

 

Kemper Mini Clay Extruder

Published
by
Cynthia
on April 11, 2008
in Handbuilding and Tools
. 12 Comments

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I spent a cold snowy afternoon (isn’t it spring already?) in the garagio yesterday afternoon, constructing some porcelain boxes for the group show I’m in the end of this month. I had already measured, cut and mitered my slabs of clay the day before, and set the pieces up conveyor belt style in an attempt to be a little more efficient.

The construction of slab built work necessitates that one add a small coil of clay into each joint for strength and stability. After building 3 boxes in the last week, I finally remembered the Kemper mini clay extruder that was still unopened in one of my drawers after purchasing it a few years ago. Wow - what a time saver! The boxes are pretty small, and I can still manage to smooth out the coil with my pinky finger - but also found my favorite wooden tool that does the trick too.

As I made these, I thought that it would be way easier if I were able to slip cast these - but there’s something in me that enjoys the meditative quality of hand building. Well, at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it since I have no other choice at the moment.

After getting several estimates, an electrician is coming out today to wire a plug receptacle for my new kiln and to up the amps on the circuit breaker to my garage to accommodate it. Ouch - it ain’t cheap, but having a larger kiln will make me so much more productive (in theory). I know I waited awhile after receiving the kiln last month to hook it up, but there was still some question whether we were going to keep on living in this house or move. We’re staying at least another year, so I’m forking over the mullah.

With the electrician coming over, I will be finishing the work for the show on my kitchen table today. It will be a bit of a luxury working inside today with heat. :D Hopefully, I won’t be too distracted.

Have a great weekend,

~Cynthia