The Art of Moisture Management
I don't know where I got the expression that Ceramics is the art of moisture management but I figure it is the kinda thing that would come out of the ceramic brain of John Neely. I'm betting I picked it up at USU.
Well winter plays hell on the drying of pots especially when you have a forced air furnace. Even putting your bowls close to the outside cold wall can cause rim cracking.
Last year when I was at Starworks I found it a double whammy with the forced air and the fine particles clay. I sometimes had to completely wrap the pots in plastic for as much as 2 weeks. This ain't my style. I like to make, trim next day, handle and put out in the sun or at least now on top of the electric kiln to dry. My clay body here at home is damn near bullet proof and allows that kind of handling.
I started putting these Madeleine handles on my jars when a friend dropped in for lunch. After some wine and 4 hours of yackety yack some of the rims of my jars were too dry for handle placement near the rim so I put them down low where the pot was thicker and still moist. Sometimes moisture management makes aesthetic decisions for you especially when you are a handle man.
Well winter plays hell on the drying of pots especially when you have a forced air furnace. Even putting your bowls close to the outside cold wall can cause rim cracking.
Last year when I was at Starworks I found it a double whammy with the forced air and the fine particles clay. I sometimes had to completely wrap the pots in plastic for as much as 2 weeks. This ain't my style. I like to make, trim next day, handle and put out in the sun or at least now on top of the electric kiln to dry. My clay body here at home is damn near bullet proof and allows that kind of handling.
I started putting these Madeleine handles on my jars when a friend dropped in for lunch. After some wine and 4 hours of yackety yack some of the rims of my jars were too dry for handle placement near the rim so I put them down low where the pot was thicker and still moist. Sometimes moisture management makes aesthetic decisions for you especially when you are a handle man.
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