Been getting the chance to slip into the studio every so often. I have been contemplating the dipping problem of the centering arm for some time now, and I think that I have a path to a solution. I should have more of a write up in the next few days.
I am probably going to concluding the work on the centering arm in a week or so. i feel that the project has yielded a useful tool that I can use with making my pottery. I think that is easier to just build a project than to go though the work of documenting it, but I think that my documentation will make it easier to
I have a large body of work that I should be getting fired soon. I have some Ideas for a few new color schemes and I think that will be the next series of topics that I will ponder.
Over the past couple of days, I have come up for the concept for a third attachment that will let me use the various hand tools that I have with the centering arm.
I have still to work on the dipping problem. It is probably the last major obstacle to creating an opener that makes levered, flat and repeatable holes. I have some photos of my work and observations that are related to this task.
Managed to get a little studio time in yesterday. I looked at the Dipping problem that my arm was having and made some observations that may help me mitigate it. Will upload and sort the pictures soon.
I have done some revisions to the opener. I have replaced the larger opener with a smaller one. the smaller contact area lets the clay be opened with less force. The plunger is still bulky enough to prevent any bending as it opens the clay.
my work during these revisions has uncovered three area of interest.
lowering the opening pressure has lessened the dimple that appears when first opening the clay.
the rod that connects the plunger to the opener arm must be kept as close as possible to 90 degrees to prevent the arm from drifting off center as it is adjusted.
the opener can readily produce a flat compressed bottom with the exception of a dimple that is caused by opening.
My current goals are to reduce the dimple by reducing the twisting, introduce a way to attach a sponge or other padded surface to the plunger, and a way to introduce repeatability.
Off from the studio for some time. I have a lot of photos from the centering arm that I would like to organize into a guide or story, and It is quickly becoming apparent that the task at hand will take some day of organization and or work rather than the few days that I had envisioned that it would. sketched up some ideas in my notebook this morning and hopefully I can flesh them out.
The first opening arm was successful enough to warrant more experimentation. I used it, observed the results, decided on a course of action to improve it, and than built the next iteration. I will include a more detailed writeup in the centering arm section.
Worked on my concept of an opener to go along with my centering arm. It has so far been a process of trial and error in building it, but I think that I have the concept refined enough to at least test its viability. if it works well, I hope to expand its capabilities and iron out whatever kinks that I encounter during the testing process.
For right now, quality is taking a little bit of a backseat to the ability quickly refine the arm and its components. Still have to work on that Artist’s statement and I decided that I need a better logo than ” make the everyday elegant”. Marketing is less fun than creating and tinkering.
I have worked with the new centering arm that I have built. and so far have been pretty pleased with the results. it will certainly come to good use in the near future , and I have also enjoyed the creative process that it fostered. I will continue the write up for the piece as I go along. I also intend to get some firings going and expand my gallery,
Finally, I will also look at my artist statement and try to write it so that it does not feel so awkward.
Been out of the studio for a while. I had to replace the elements in my kiln, and took the time to remove some of the clutter in my studio. Hopefully, I will be able to work more efficiently now.
The show in Gay, Ga went well, and I recived some studio lighting to take some better pictures of my work. I will be doing some more throwing in the studio in the coming week and will replace the pieces that I have sold.
The goal with the studio lighting is to control the light hitting the piece , and to have more light hitting it in general letting me go into lower ISO on my camera.
Started to mess around with the gallery a bit. I will take me a while to get every thing the way that I want it, but I do feel as though I have made some progress. Refining the gallery is the next major goal I have
having the courage to bring everyday beauty into a world that is sometimes ugly
