Ceramics, waffles, and grapefruit, oh my
May. 14th, 2018 08:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterThis past weekend was ceramics-filled. On Saturday, after the typical jaunt to the farmer's market, I headed to the studio to wrap up projects from the 8-week spring session. I had three bowls left to glaze, but wanted to paint in some designs using some iron oxide stain. I managed to complete one out of the three, but I kind of figure that's okay because that will give me time to evaluate how some of the earlier pieces turn out when deciding how to handle the remaining two bowls.
On Sunday, it was time to deal with all the glaze drips from the first glaze firing. I have learned from experience that diamond-tipped Dremel bits are good for cutting through glass, but wanted to see about getting a diamond-tipped cutoff wheel to go along with the other bits, as it seemed like the cutoff wheel would be better for aspects of the job at hand.
Meanwhile, while making pancakes on Sunday morning, at one point I heard a strange popping sound, and then later on I discovered a small scorch mark on the countertop. It appears that at some point, problems started to develop with the waffle iron's power cord right at the stress point where it meets the waffle iron, and someone's solution was to wrap things in electrical tape. Over time, the tape worked free and the fraying ends of the cord must have come in contact with each other.
So, off to the hardware store, for some crimps, safety glasses, and more Dremel accessories!
The waffle iron fix has turned into a bigger project. When I went to reattach the (now shortened) power cord, I discovered that the insulation around the high-heat wire is starting to fray. So now that's going to require another trip to the hardware store, plus maybe I will also look for slightly different wire crimps.
The ceramics work was more successful. The drippy plant pot is now ready for plants, and the handled mugs can go into service. I wound up having to reinforce the feet on both mugs with some plumber's epoxy to make up for spots where the foot got chiseled away when the person unloading the kiln worked to free the pieces from the kiln shelf.
Yes, that's the cat's butt on the upper right, heh.
Ugly plumber's grey is not exactly kintsugi, but at least these mugs can be put into service now. I'm not a huge fan of mugs with handles, but S had requested one, so here we are.
The mugs also highlight something that Bridget would often say: "Clay has memory." I hear her voice in my mind so often when I'm working with clay, in a good way. That's a big part of what made her such a wonderful teacher.
By the time I had finished trimming the mugs back in the leatherhard stage, the handles that I'd pulled were slightly too dry. I tried attaching them anyway. You can more easily see the results of that clay memory for the mug on the left - kind of an entertaining outcome. The mug on the right developed a crack in the middle of the handle as it dried, but the glaze did an excellent job of filling in the crack.
While I Dremeled away,scrottie FINALLY got to make some batches of grapefruit marmalade. I was so glad that the fruits on the tree he found were still in great shape for cooking and canning. Altogether, a busy weekend.
On Sunday, it was time to deal with all the glaze drips from the first glaze firing. I have learned from experience that diamond-tipped Dremel bits are good for cutting through glass, but wanted to see about getting a diamond-tipped cutoff wheel to go along with the other bits, as it seemed like the cutoff wheel would be better for aspects of the job at hand.
Meanwhile, while making pancakes on Sunday morning, at one point I heard a strange popping sound, and then later on I discovered a small scorch mark on the countertop. It appears that at some point, problems started to develop with the waffle iron's power cord right at the stress point where it meets the waffle iron, and someone's solution was to wrap things in electrical tape. Over time, the tape worked free and the fraying ends of the cord must have come in contact with each other.
So, off to the hardware store, for some crimps, safety glasses, and more Dremel accessories!
The waffle iron fix has turned into a bigger project. When I went to reattach the (now shortened) power cord, I discovered that the insulation around the high-heat wire is starting to fray. So now that's going to require another trip to the hardware store, plus maybe I will also look for slightly different wire crimps.
The ceramics work was more successful. The drippy plant pot is now ready for plants, and the handled mugs can go into service. I wound up having to reinforce the feet on both mugs with some plumber's epoxy to make up for spots where the foot got chiseled away when the person unloading the kiln worked to free the pieces from the kiln shelf.
Yes, that's the cat's butt on the upper right, heh.
Ugly plumber's grey is not exactly kintsugi, but at least these mugs can be put into service now. I'm not a huge fan of mugs with handles, but S had requested one, so here we are.
The mugs also highlight something that Bridget would often say: "Clay has memory." I hear her voice in my mind so often when I'm working with clay, in a good way. That's a big part of what made her such a wonderful teacher.
By the time I had finished trimming the mugs back in the leatherhard stage, the handles that I'd pulled were slightly too dry. I tried attaching them anyway. You can more easily see the results of that clay memory for the mug on the left - kind of an entertaining outcome. The mug on the right developed a crack in the middle of the handle as it dried, but the glaze did an excellent job of filling in the crack.
While I Dremeled away,
scrottie FINALLY got to make some batches of grapefruit marmalade. I was so glad that the fruits on the tree he found were still in great shape for cooking and canning. Altogether, a busy weekend.
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Date: 2018-05-15 01:04 am (UTC)