Artmaking

Figuring Out What an Electric Firing Costs: Update!

OverallKilnformula

 

Here’s a Studio Journal Post that I could probably re-run annually, but am just getting back to after over three years. Boy Howdy, things have changed since its original date of January 18, 2014! I ran the numbers again (they’re the same for the kiln’ s power and firing hours, but keep in mind that older elements make a longer firing time.) The electric rate, however, has increased (shock!) and this kiln of mine now costs 30% more to run. The procedure described here is still the same, but know that the cost reflects a “worst case = most expensive” scenario. I never run my kilns at the highest rate. I am on a Time-of-Use plan and pay close attention to when rates are lowest, usually firing after 8PM. It’s a small habit to develop, but worth it.  Maybe you’re solar-powered or have a home battery system, the point is to know your costs.  So, here’s the original posting to help you figure it out:

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Kit Carson and Me

Here’s another post from the Archives. (Guess I’m in reruns for the time being.) Originally posted July 12, 2011, it’s a description of what comes alive in the studio as I work and listen to a great book on CD or a radio interview and make further connections to my process and choices. 

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Hacking an Ikea Cart

IkeaCArt5

 

Recently I saw a couple of these Ikea carts in a small apartment and mentioned this hack to their owner. Then I thought to re-run this post, originally published May 20, 2014. This rolling work surface is still in use and still the most versatile I have. And what with my still tiny studio, I greatly appreciate how I can tuck it out of the way. Some ideas are good for awhile only. This one’s a longterm keeper. Here’s the original post:

Meet a sweet small Ikea rolling cart. This gray one was bought – a little dented and scratched, but fully assembled and discounted by 40% – in the AS IS section which is by the checkout at most Ikea stores.  It was my second cart and even if I didn’t exactly know how, I knew it would be an asset.  It has found a home rolling around among my three kilns holding my stilts and small props and shelves. Sweet indeed!

But I really want to tell you about my first Ikea cart, the powdered turquoise one that we appended.Read More >

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Spouting Off

 

Drawing of Teapot Spout Fail
Dripping Spout drawing in “A Potter’s Workbook” by Clary Illian, University of Iowa Press, 1999.

 

The spouts of functional pouring vessels have to do two things: deliver well and hopefully look pleasing. Stint in either task and ya got problems, some less bothersome than others. And after my last post about the snub-spouted Cube Teapot, it might be manifestly simpler to say that functional spouts really have only one thing to do: pour well, if not flawlessly.

So what, specifically, goes into a smooth-functioning spout, whether on a teapot, pitcher, ewer or creamer? Yes, style still counts, but for now we will just explore how precise forming affects better function.

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Thinking Inside the Box

 

The Cube Teapot from 1926
“The CUBE” Teapot, Foley China, Cube Teapots, Ltd., Leicester, Made in England

 

In very early 20th century Britain, if you were serious about your tea, you were equally serious about your teapot. It must brew well, pour well, clean well and store well. After all, taking tea could happen up to three times a day: upon arising (or even before), “elevenses” and precisely at 4pm. The young century’s quest for a perfectly functional and unfussy teapot was a daily one.  So many teapots had at least one annoying flaw such as dripping, chipping or being impossible to clean. Lots of teapot makers attempted to solve for one or two of the problems, but only one claimed to solve ALL of them: The Cube, patented 100 years ago and popular for nearly 7 decades. By chance, I own one of these vintage beauties – seen above. It’s backstamp dates it to ca. 1926 and I can happily say it does all the things it purports to do, with a simple plucky style as well. Let’s look a little closer at The Cube, because sometimes thinking outside the box means returning to an actual box.

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With a Little Help From My Hens – A Process Storyboard

Chicken Making Ceramic Bowl

I’m not quite sure how this all got going, but here it is: nine backyard chickens are my studio assistants. Even better, they are symbiotic co-creators because their “work” turns my humble pinch pots into Henpecked Bowls. What I’d like to do today is give you an annotated pictorial of this improbable process, start to finish.

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For What It’s Worth

Ceramic Pabst Beer Can on Nest of Rusty Shot up Cans

 

For what it’s worth, I’ve been making artstuff out of clay since 1999 or so and have been earnestly involved in selling it since 2007. You’d think by now I would have an accurate sense of what prices to ask. You would think. But I don’t. What I always suspected, and now am completely sure of, is that monetary value is squidgy and at best thinly related to the highly subjective valuation of a work of art. Throughout the art world, price is often nebulous, magically derived, and certainly very negotiable. And Ceramics carries another challenge because of the FineArt/FineCraft pricing disconnect. Let’s look at all this a little more personally.

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