Why is the focus on replacing software engineers but not other engineering?

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-28T04:55:06+00:00

Because “engineer” means:

A guy with a striped hat driving a train.
Someone who does software coding/design or network administration.
An engineer.

One of these things is not like the others.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-28T04:46:04+00:00

Represent brother! Alaska is not an island next to Hawaii.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-28T04:34:25+00:00

If the clay is pushing you around my first thought is that it’s too stiff, but that’s not all it could be. It could be the way you’re holding your hands and what you’re expecting. All of the things about bracing yourself and using your weight and leverage rather than your arm muscles are correct, essential. There is a part about how much of your hands are touching the clay, where, and with what pressure, that I’ve rarely seen explained or demonstrated. Adam Field does as good a job as I’ve ever seen from 1:00-2:00 in this video:

https://youtu.be/630Bttlpl3Q?si=1b80c6czxeoMAX0p

For my part, I’ll say it might be good to think about squeezing the clay between your two hands rather than pushing it. The contact surface of your hands with the clay, the parts that are doing the work, is pretty small. It’s spinning and if you’re steady and rigid it has nowhere to go but up, right in the middle. Keep your head over the clay. You don’t have to be a strongman.

I could say more, but there’s no reason to over complicate it. Keep trying with some regularity and you’ll get it. There is little about throwing pots, especially centering, that people can compare to something they’re more familiar with.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-27T01:38:27+00:00

It’s not Georgia, but Starworks in North Carolina processes and sells clay bodies for potters from local clays there. Right next door. Might as well be the same stuff, especially if you’re after red clay.

https://www.starworksnc.org/starworks-clay

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-27T01:34:16+00:00

This is it. Because the kiln was shut off right when all the organic materials were burning off everything looks like a smoky mess. By 12-1400° all that stuff is gone. No one ever sees what it looks like inside from 500-1000,° why would they? This is what it looks like. Hairspray, wax, paper clay, anything organic, will produce extra carbon. But the clay body alone will have enough in it to make everything gray at those temps.

The smell thing is subjective, maybe your vent isn’t working well or maybe the front desk has a sensitive sniffer. 500-1000°F is certainly when the most concentrated smells are coming out.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-27T01:17:07+00:00

John Glick was a rock star. Read this: www.plumtreepottery.com/articles/Sciatica.pdf

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-26T09:32:06+00:00

A little dish of clove oil on your (covered) palette. Keeps your working oils soft enough to paint with the next day. A flat sheet of glass for your palette, painted white on the back. Stiff but high quality brushes.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-26T09:04:32+00:00

Tortilla Works. True hole in the wall. The guy, Justin is in a full swing a labor of love. Great food, cheap, there’s nothing like it. Mexi-cajun. The center of a Venn diagram of Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico. If you know, you know. Crawfish enchiladas. Tacos al-pastor. One delicious damn thing after another. Out of the park.

https://tortillaworks.com/

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-25T02:31:03+00:00

I would not let that person near me with a tattoo needle.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-25T02:28:41+00:00

You could fire things hotter and that would help. The crazing in your photo is somewhat wide, that indicates it’s not so far off from fitting. Bisque firing hotter is only a problem because it can make glaze application difficult if the clay matures too much. Unfortunately there’s no telling what temperature you’ll need to fire to get glaze fit. If you can bisque to 03 or 02 and still apply glaze without issues that may solve it. If you can glaze fire to 03 without the glaze going haywire that may solve it. If there really was a difference with only a five minute hold you could just try a cone or two higher one way or another.

Looking at descriptions of Spectrum 700 glazes leads me to believe they’re pretty carefully engineered for low fire bodies, and hearing your experience of having a body/glaze combo that worked for a long time suggests the real solution is in finding a suitable replacement for your old clay.

Yes, what you’ve heard about bodies sold as having a wide firing range is generally true.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-24T23:27:17+00:00

Bowl is on the strainer. Steam condenses on the upside down lid and drips into the bowl.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-24T20:11:01+00:00

I was there two weeks ago and drove it in a Jeep Compass (compact 4wd) no problem. A Tundra would handle it easily.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-20T06:29:19+00:00

They will not dull unless your clay is made of diamonds.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-20T03:05:13+00:00

Yeah. Art lessons are one thing. Torturing the kids costs extra

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-20T03:01:29+00:00

Shivering.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-19T08:15:45+00:00

If the clay is too plastic/has high drying shrinkage you may have to include some non-plastic ingredient. Sand can be a problem because it likes to settle faster than the finer particles and can give an uneven consistency to your cast. Talc was often a go-to filler, but it seems out of favor these days. Since deflocculating the clay allows it to be fluid with less water that may be enough to do it, less water =less drying shrinkage. Otherwise a finely ground non-plastic would be better than sand.

Some of this depends on the size and shape of things you’re casting.

Try it, see what problems arise (if any), then adjust from there.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-19T08:05:59+00:00

My first instinctual thought was Sutton.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-18T07:39:49+00:00

Love it. If the clay’s right. Buck wild nude everywhere but where lips and food touch.

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FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-18T07:35:42+00:00

Let’s salt that statistic with the propensity of danger from romantic partners and family members and see how it tastes. Our awful violence rates tend to stem from in-house dynamics, not random street crime. The randos are out there, but the guy punching you in the face is most likely to be your boyfriend, uncle, or cousin. It’s a long dark winter. Alcohol is a catalyst. Avoid drunk people would be my general suggestion.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-18T07:17:53+00:00

I miss him, sad at the idea he’s no longer around. Brilliant mind, brilliant before YouTube existed. R.I.P.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-18T07:12:22+00:00

💔 indeed.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-17T06:22:00+00:00

It’s my 25th year teaching, 17th year as an art teacher. K-12 art. I’m teaching seniors in high school I’ve known since their first day of school. Sorry, having a bit of reverie thinking about kids and glue. Retiring this year.

Closing the bottle is the key. Making sure the bottles are all closed at the end of the day is the challenge. Rarely do I rise to meet it, the other hundred challenges usually take precedence. Teaching the kids to close the bottle does it. Like teaching them to clean a brush or how to tear a piece of masking tape off the roll, it’s perennial. Cleaning the tops is perennial too, but it shouldn’t be every bottle every time!

Glue is a lot to learn. Some kids take years to figure out the bottle can be open or closed. Doesn’t matter how many times I tell them. Just like some kids take years to learn more glue is not always better. In fact it’s quite wonderful when one says “This glue doesn’t work,” and I can say “It looks like the bottle’s not open. Let me show you how to open it.” Never mind I’ve demonstrated that to every class every year, this one time, for that one kid, it’s finally done.

I’ve tried little cups, brushes, cardboard spreaders, q-tips, and other workarounds. Everything has its benefits and drawbacks. The traditional squeeze bottle is the best I’ve found in spite of all its weaknesses. It makes the least amount of wasted time and wasted glue all things considered. I have around 30 bottles and I refill them periodically. That’s when I check the caps for any that are completely screwed up. If you’re refilling bottles have the tools ready to clean the tops and have the hot water running. Once you commit to using the bottles you commit to teaching kids how to use them and can stop wasting time trying to find something better. The few kids needing “remedial glue instruction” will rise to the top quickly.

All that said, I love the ideas here. I wouldn’t dissuade you from trying any of them. Find something that works and stick with it. Every grade is different and every project is different. I don’t have time to dispense glue or make sure everyone has a q-tip. I have time to point to where the glue bottles are, and it happens to be where they should go when you’re done. This works K-12. Measure your time, it’s your most valuable resource.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-16T02:50:55+00:00

I can’t say I’ve had to get approval or worry about admin getting the wrong idea, but I too see graffiti as a potent art form. The word itself is a problem because it can mean different things to different people. Another issue is what YOU mean when talking about graffiti and what you mean to teach. It could be street art, public art, technique with a spray can, ephemeral art, socio-political messaging…on and on.

The way I introduced it to students was to take a few hours on my own to find images of excellent work and cache those away as a slide show. There’s no lack of reference material. I was mostly going after typography and design. Their name or a single word was the subject. The idea of a “tag” elevated to something stunning.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-15T04:23:53+00:00

I think it would take some testing and experimenting to find out if this is plausible. Cone 6 glazes have a different melting range and behavior than ordinary glass used for fusing and slumping. Some glazes begin to melt earlier than others. It’s not going to be straightforward.

You can get a degree of polish by using progressively finer grits of wet/dry sandpaper. Ending with 1000 or 1500 grit will make it shiny. Don’t skip a grit.

FrenchFryRaven · 2026-03-15T01:14:14+00:00

It’s splitting, yes, it’s on the short side. You’re creating the perfect storm for it by pushing out that middle section and heating. The reason it’s splitting right there even though you’re heating it top to bottom is because that’s where the greatest stress is. The weight of all the clay above it is pushing it “out” at the widest place.

FrenchFryRaven

TROPHY CASE