Event scheduled on Sunday March 25th at 5pm still has 2 spots left. Come join the fun!!!
This Is a great chance to try out two very different clay bodies: Grolleg porcelain and Mica clay.
Porcelain is a very pure white and can be translucent if thin enough. Mica clay has, well, a lot of mica in it and downright sparkles!
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Can you make clay or some of these alternatives thin enough to be used with something similar to cake decorating tools? Could make for some interesting effects.
One can add water to make the clay any consistency. That kinda sounds like a class all of its own, though.
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Just a tip, Add a touch of vinager and make sure the clay body you are decorating on is real wet. If the decorating dries faster than the body it will crack or fall off. Slow, slow, slow dry.
This is best done with porcelain because the clay body has finer partials.
Anita
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So first thing…fired arts looks really good. Any chance on adding a damp cabinet to the area?
Second has anyone else seen the new sparkly glazes from Duncan? Ordered one this week and am really hoping it lives up to the hype.
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Thanks, that’s really nice to hear! We are still working on a few things but we are getting there.
Damp cabinet is absolutely on my list of suggestions for the Expansion Plan Proposal that we will be developing for the Board. There is a meeting this upcoming Wednesday where we will be tackling the first phase of plan development for those interested in being a part of future committee development. Damp cabinet would be so flippin’ useful.
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Sorry to post on an old thread, but I’ve seen a damp cabinet mentioned a couple of times.
A quick and easy way to manage to keep your work damp enough to work on for multiple weeks or months is to put about two inches of plaster of Paris on the bottom of a cheap styrofoam cooler. After it set up and cures, add a cup of water and close it up, you’ve got a moist environment for weeks.
My other question is what are people working on that requires the clay to be workable for weeks or longer? Do we have a lot of sculptors now that I’m not aware of? In general, just wrapping in plastic is enough to allow a piece to dry slowly enough to be workable for weeks at a time. Or even just placing in a covered plastic tub.
Nathan.
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Having used a damp cabinet at New Mexico State, let me say that they’re really only good for a few days. The advantage would be that typically having a damp cabinet means that you don’t have to plastic-wrap. They’re great when you’re a student that’s coming back to work on your piece in a maximum of 2-3 days. I suppose the advantage at the Space would be that you could leave wrapped pieces for a longer period of time.
I totally get putting it on a wish list. I guess my point is that we aren’t exactly awash in make-shift attempts at damp cabinets, so was wondering about how high of a need it is.
Let s be frank here, it will be awhile before there is money for many wish list items
We are going to need to make a lot of things in house or repurpose CL items
Committee funds will need to be held for things like repairs
DMS funds will be going into the build out. Think about even things like cameras
for the new space.
I would expect it to be around a year before there will be money for a lot of new tools Star of thinking about
how to increase the appeal and classes without spending a lot of money
With as much work is now being produced, it would seem to me that an additional kiln would
be bery high on the list As we get more folks using tools, they will need maintenance and repairs more often
Also remember not all committees will be moved at first, Easy to move oen, like Vector will get moved, Electronics has to be moved since access to the other side in in their room (if it had been the other side,m JSM would have the same issue)
If we can hold off on the new duct collection system for wood shop until it can be moved
it will likely be a priority
While this is valid, we need to plan ahead. Right now, we’re asking for space. If we want a damp cabinet (certain people from Brookhaven lust after a damp cabinet), then we need to plan where we’re going to put it NOW. Sure, we probably can’t buy it until DMS recovers from the move and builds a higher membership, but we need to plan for things we want to buy now, so that we won’t be cramped for space simply because we didn’t think to ask for the space.
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JSM did the same, like a lapidary set up and a small enameling kiln and a rolling mill that
will make pattern wire
Some things like the raising and forming stakes we can make so we can buy other things
After a $3000 burnout kiln and a $200 table for it, we are going to be short of mieny before the move
Many good points brought up here. We were asked to project ahead five years into the future so I asked everyone who would stand still more than two seconds what sorts of items they could envision being useful down the road. 
We got a lot of awesomely diverse ideas back! If we end up getting space to accommodate them, and in this future five years we develop a program that supports the need for X tool, then I’m sure the idea will get tossed around the committee to bash out the details. Brookhaven doesn’t have a damp cabinet so I’ve never worked with one (don’t really make the sorts of things that need one), but I heard from various sculptors and teachers at DMS that they are most excellent.
I want to make a cooler style one for my husband who keeps hauling delicate bowls back and forth to the house instead of leaving them on a shelf to firm up a bit. Drives me batty.
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The big thing is for folks to be realistic for about a year
We all need to think about work around, used equipment, finding donations
making things in house
If you read a lot of Talk, you will know how limited we will be, but a lot
folks skip Talk, so they may not know
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However — THIS IS NOT THE THREAD WHERE WE ARE LOOKING FOR THINGS WE EXPECT TO GET IN A YEAR. This is the thread where we’re speculating wildly about what we might want. SO THAT WE HAVE ROOM FOR IT WHEN WE FINALLY GET IT. Yes, money will be at a premium. However, space is now wide open and free-free-free for the asking. So, we’d better ask for all the space we think we might need, because space may not be available later when there is money available.
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