LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT:
I’M BACK
David Hendley, Potters Council President

Well, I thought I would be ending my term as president of the Potters Council last March. So, why am I here, writing another “Letter from the President” for this issue of Potter’s Pages? Don’t worry; there has not been a coup d’etat at the Potters Council headquarters. I’m sorry to report that our president-elect, Joyce Lee, was forced to resign from the Board for health reasons. She describes her condition as “restrictive but not life-threatening” and is making progress on the road to recovery, so we all wish her the best. The Bylaws of the Potters Council don’t really state how such a situation should be handled. At our March Board of Directors meeting the Board decided that the best and most logical resolution was to designate a new president-elect and have me continue as president for another year. I look forward to another year and Gregg Lindsley has agreed to step in as president-elect. With your involvement it will be a great year.

I love just about everything involved with making pottery. I even like stacking the firewood for my kiln (I love the smell of fresh-cut oak), cleaning kiln shelves (my cat looks forward to it and sits on my lap), and, yes, even dealing with customers. For some reason, it always bugs me to hear potters complaining about different aspects of being a potter, especially grumbling about problem customers (or non-buying non-customers) who waste their time. Big deal, I say. You are a potter for gosh sakes; you’ve got a “royal flush” of a job, while most folks go through life just hoping for a “three of a kind” to make them fulfilled and happy. I think about this quite often. Today, for instance, I went to the bank to make a deposit. “Man,” I thought, when I noticed that the teller was a guy about my age, “I sure wouldn’t like to be sitting there doing that, especially on a beautiful day like this.” When I got home, I called UPS to arrange a package pick-up. After spending more than 10 minutes with the rep, I imagined what it must be like to talk on the phone, asking for box weights and measurements all day, every day. No offense, of course, to anyone who works at similar jobs, but the great thing about working with clay is that the activities are so varied that there is no time to get bored, even if it is not always “fun.”

So, how about those “problem customers” we all encounter from time to time? At my shop, I try to make the mental transition from “working” mode to “taking a break” mode, and simply converse with the offender. Usually, I will try to turn the conversation back to them and get them talking about their experiences. Oftentimes, I learn something and many times the visit is pleasurable, since I enjoy eccentric people.

The funniest “problem customers” are the people who want to tell you what you should make, how to do it and that you would make a fortune selling it. Or, they want you to make something radically different from everything else in the shop. Many people don’t seem to notice that a stoneware potter can’t make something that looks like earthenware. They don’t stop to think that things made on a potter’s wheel are round. They don’t know that clay shrinks when fired. I take a minute and tell them. Usually they will stop to think about it and maybe appreciate what I do a little more. After five or ten minutes, it’s a simple matter to end the conversation by noticing a pottery-making chore that needs to be attended to immediately, and thus “break time” is over. And, I’ve got an interesting dinner table conversation for that evening.

Have a great summer and remember to enjoy every facet of working with clay!

DOES THE THOUGHT OF GLAZE CALCULATION FRIGHTEN YOU?
Linda R. Hughes, AKA mamahug. Edited by Fred Sweet

Actually, glaze calculation not as scary as some might think. Yes, there is a lot of literature that only a select few can understand, but there also is literature that will help you take those first tiny steps on the journey of understanding.

The purpose of this article is to help those who feel technically challenged begin the process of finding some of the information necessary to create your own glazes, or adjust glazes that others have created so that they fit the clay body you use. Also, we do not want to poison our customers and, for those of us who work in tile, we don’t want our murals to fade when the installer uses muriatic acid (a 31.45% solution of hydrochloric acid) to clean up the grout mess. With some glazes, just a little bit of lemon juice will pull the color right out of the glaze. Glaze calculation is not that difficult, especially now that there are so many good software programs that will eliminate most of the time it takes to calculate by hand or with a slide-rule.

Okay, so where to start? For now we will explore a couple of websites. This article will lead you to some of the resources available and I will let the experts speak for themselves. When I began this process, I found sources that were just not understandable to me, not having any chemistry background. With perseverance, I found some very good sources.

The first website I found was www.digitalfire.com. This site was created by Tony Hansen and is a treasure trove of information. You can find articles that are understandable for the novice, as well as articles for the more advanced. Once you have accessed the website, you’ll find a series of links at the top of the page. Click on “Education 1.” This is where you will find articles covering clay bodies, firing, glazes, kilns, materials and other general subject matters. Scroll through the list and choose the articles that most fit your current needs. When you click on “Education 2,” you’ll access a page which leads you to more information about materials, oxides, recipes and a glossary. Since we are talking about glaze development, check out the article titled “Changing Our Views of Glazes.” Here Tony gives us some good reasons why we should consider using glaze calculation. Just remember the trick is to understand the materials with which we work. To do this, read the articles “Understanding Glaze Calculation” and “Understanding Ceramic Oxides.” Have I peeked your interest yet? Keep scrolling and keep reading. This also is the site where you can download INSIGHT, one of the glaze calculation programs available to us. As an aid, Tony developed a series of short tutorial videos, accessible from the website, to teach you how to use the program.

On the lighter side, there is the site created by Linda Mosley http://users.stlcc.edu/mosley. This site includes a glaze section with an article titled “Reasons to Know About Glazes?” This section of the website deals with Glaze Terms, Glaze Types, Glaze Ingredients and Glaze Testing. She also includes a Firing Homepage, a page covering Health & Safety Information for Ceramics, a video on Raku firing and photos of her work.

Hope this will help you on your journey. Next time I will cover more of the information provided by Tony. Then we’ll go on to explore more great websites.

Bon Voyage, Linda

MENTOR PROGRAM
Mitch Kotula, mitchkotula@yahoo.com

Have you signed up to be a mentor or mentee yet? Check out the Potters Council Mentor Program. Mentoring does not have to be a full-time endeavor. It may be a phone call, a visit from another potter, etc. You get out of a mentoring program what you put into it. And that is based on a lot of “ifs.”

• If you register and wait for the phone to ring, it might.
• If you register and try to contact mentors who list your area of interest, you might shorten the wait.
• If you want something done, ask a busy person.
• If you don’t know specifically what you are looking for, you just might find someone who will spend the time to help you figure out what you want.
• If you know and can state specifically what you want, you will get your answer more quickly; yes or no?

The Big Potter in the Sky answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is “no.”
To become a mentor or mentee, please visit www.potterscouncil.org, click the mentoring program and the instructions link. If you have any questions, please contact customer service at 614.794.5890. Get involved today!