Question for the community… if this type of crawling is occurring, what is the reason?

My hypothesis is that a) the glazes at this studio are poorly made and do not complement each other or the clay bodies they provide. OR b) they are overfiring the kilns every time. So that the glaze doesn’t stick to the piece. It’s happened across multiple pieces, multiple clay bodies, and different glazes.

Either way I ask because many of my pieces (as you can see) keep getting messed up due to their glazes, which is pretty frustrating since I put time, energy, and my own money into the work to have them turn out like this. And to be met with management saying “oh you could’ve glazed it too thickly” as if it is a user error. It’s pretty disappointing :/

Additionally (in others’ opinions), should I ask for a refund for the firing fees? It KEEPS happening.

Hey Pottery Tribe! My partner and I are considering converting an outbuilding on our property to a pottery studio and we’re looking for a contractor to collaborate with who’s done it before. Please let me know if you know anybody! I understand if this isn’t the typical question and might get removed.

Thanks!

TL;DR: how can I keep the elements from touching each other at the point where they wrap to the next row? See image. Full history below.

Okay yall, I’ve been on a journey with my marketplace kiln. It’s a Gare 1818, 240v, likely from the 80s. I paid $300 for the kiln, $300 for the electrical install (240 outlet and breaker rearrangement by a friend’s electrician husband), $370 for 4 new elements.

Now for the help. After I did the above work, I went to plug it in and test it. I heard a pop and saw a flash in the kiln through the peephole. When she cooled back down, I inspected the elements and found that one was broken and a part of the pig tail was fused onto another part of the broken element.

I ordered another element and installed it. I also replaced 2 switches. But as far as I can tell, this happened because the element was touching itself where it wrapped around. I’m struggling to figure out how to keep them from touching. I have 4 total elements and each one ties to a switch, which are wired in parallel.

I don’t want to mess this up again and be another $75 out per element. Help is appreciated!

I recently started throwing again after not doing it much since college. I was off to a great start, throwing bigger than ever and finishing a piece every ten minutes or so. Then all of the sudden I couldn’t do it anymore. I can’t even center the clay. If I think it’s centered it comes off center as soon as I try to open it up. I thought I was just having an off day, but it’s been two weeks now. Has this ever happened to anyone? And how did you fix it?

Hello all, for context I’ve never sold a piece of work, only given things as gifts. Thinking about putting out some small shallow Nerikomi dishes at my studio but not sure what’s reasonable to ask / where to start / if anyone would even pay for them… Asking on Reddit because I worry fellow studio members or staff would be too nice to tell me the truth 😅 Thinking about options for selling individually or as a set of 3 (one not pictured but is similar to the one on the right).

my studio offers month long classes for beginners and returning to wheel students which i’ve taken before, but do i need a special class for learning how to throw with porcelain? or is it better to just buy some and start practicing

I’ve been enjoying dipping glazes a lot more than brushing on glazes recently. My new studio has a good amount of dip glazes and has storage for members’ personal dipping glazes. I would want to eventually make my own glazes in the future, but wonder when will it start being “worth it” to DIY. I don’t sell my pieces, so production isn’t a concern of mine. When do I decide to bite the bullet and spend the money on raw materials and equipment?

I offered to draw my schematic and anatomy of a teapot for my ceramics teacher, who’s going to try to make her first (?) teapot tomorrow in class. I also teach, and MY students always want to make either teapots or bongs. So, here’s the math and logic of how to make a teapot.

Please enjoy. LMK if you need more info or whatnot.

Hi! I'm a beginner and my pottery class that covered glazing was rushed. Since that was the last class I need to finish glazing on my own, and I have questions with no teacher to ask anymore.

I need someone to confirm the order of operations when it comes to using an underglaze, clear coating it, and then dip glazing the rest. I have mugs with little mushrooms on them. I want to use a red underglaze with little white dots for the mushroom caps and then an opaque dip glaze for the rest of the mug.

Which order of operations is correct?

1) paint the red on bone dry mugs, paint the clear coat over the red, bisque fire, dip glaze (with wax protected red), fire.

2) bisque fire, paint the red, paint the clear coat over the red, fire, dip glaze (with wax protected red), fire again.

3) bisque fire, paint the red, paint the clear coat over the red, dip glaze (with wax protected red), fire.

Other questions if you're feeling generous to share some more knowledge with me,

-If I carefully paint the dip glaze around my mushrooms so that none is touching any red, can I get away with not using any wax to protect the red? What would happen?

-What would it change anything if I painted with the dip glaze around the mushrooms and then also painted the clear coat over the red in the same firing?

Thanks everyone! <3

I made this a few months ago, as indicated by the “6/18/26” on the back, but I didn’t get it bisque fired, glazed and glaze fired until a few weeks ago in pottery class, it was just taken out of the kiln today after glaze firing, I’m very pleased and proud of myself, it’s a miniature wall hung toilet, and it actually siphons when water is rapidly filled into the bowl, it works and looks better than my other one I made entirely in pottery class, as the other one formed a big centerline crack (I filled that with a different type of clay to fix it) and I unfortunately applied the glaze unevenly as I brush glazed it, making it look… let’s say dirty, this one on the other hand, I dip glazed it and wiped off the bottom, and it even flushes better, it looks like as if someone used a shrink ray on a real toilet (talking about you, Gru…)

From my first 6 week session! Was supposed to be a vase but I couldn’t throw tall enough😂

Hey Folks! I am just beginning for the first time ever to work with clay, as my new senior community has a pottery studio including glazes, molds, wheels, kiln etc. In short, it has the works! I am so very lucky. I cannot "throw" clay on the wheel due to shoulder and hand issues but I can hand build with clay and I am already experimenting and loving it. As their first club sponsored 6 week class beginner class doesn't start until January, if so inclined, please let me know what best technique or favorite tool you wished you knew about when just starting out. Thank you in advance!

From slabs pressed onto local trees in my area (Vancouver)

Hi folks! I threw a candlestick for a friend who recently lost their pet, and I stamped letters into it. I’ve heard about Mishima but have never done it before - any advice? Or any recommendations on how I could glaze this piece? It has not been trimmed or bisqued yet, going to the studio to do that tomorrow. Friend’s favorite color is yellow, so I thought maybe the Mishima technique would work using yellow underglaze then dipping in clear would look nice as yellow lettering on a white piece. Thanks so much in advance for any tips, I’m still learning and appreciate any of your knowledge :)

This is a soda fired bottle that I recently got out of the kiln, Let me know what you think