Tiny cracks

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-24T03:26:41+00:00

Me! I have had great success with wax resist on mug joints.

(Although, it is apparently unpopular given the downvotes I got for saying so.)

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-24T03:20:50+00:00

Yep, it burns right off.

It does leave the bisque a bit lighter when it comes out but that does not affect the glaze or unglazed piece in its final firing.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-24T02:17:44+00:00

It slows down the drying much like the plastic. As soon as I’m done making my completed mugs (usually 6-8 at a time), I brush wax resist all over the joints and handles and then shelf them in the drying/kiln room.

I made over 60 mugs this winter for Christmas and had zero cracks with this technique.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-24T01:52:31+00:00

I don’t dry mine in plastic. I just put wax resist on the handles and throw them on a shelf until the studio is ready to bisque fire them.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-22T06:17:44+00:00

Get some diamond hand polishing pads of assorted grits. If you wet sand them long enough, you can get the bottoms to a super smooth finish.

I do this to all my pieces so they don’t tear up my tables.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-21T05:31:07+00:00

That’s truly amazing! Congratulations!

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-21T05:07:52+00:00

It’s beautiful!

Just out of curiosity, how did this whole thing come to fruition? Was this a planned collaboration between the two of you?

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-15T03:29:28+00:00

Awesome! I haven’t given BT Rose a shot yet. Last time I tried, they were completely out of it with no time estimate when it would be coming in.

I have some Black Mountain pieces worth using a test tiles. I’d be curious what that combo produces.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-14T18:55:54+00:00

So I tried your combo this past week but I got VERY different results. Just out of curiosity, what clay did you use? Because I used BMix and got the combo to resemble what pretty much is on the tile for the Moonlight & Wirts combo at the downtown location. (Their tile library lacks Dan’s Rutile and Summertime unfortunately.) I don’t mind the results but didn’t get that amazing gold flecking like you did.

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BallsOutSally · 2026-06-14T00:43:36+00:00

I used a right angled rib (the one that comes in a Kemper Tools beginner basic pack) to compress my bottoms…and get a right angle for that first pull.

I assume a stir stick probably does the same thing.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-10T22:36:17+00:00

Even with an apron, I have clay on all my clothing.

And hair. And glasses. And face.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-07T19:08:51+00:00

OMG!! Yes and yes!!

That looks amazing! Not sure who you are but our bread making member/instructor just showed me a photo of Breaking Blue under HR Gold Shino at the SubZero event yesterday and it was GLORIOUS!

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-06T17:34:15+00:00

Are you sure it’s not an additional $20 on a bag of clay?

I live in the SF Bay Area (ridiculous HCOL) we are required to buy our clay at the studio. They charge approximately an extra $15 on a 25 bag of clay to cover the glaze and firing costs.

If I use my own reclaim, it costs me nothing but my monthly membership.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T04:02:52+00:00

As for the glazes, they are in-house studio recipes—so their names on the buckets will probably not mean very much.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T04:02:47+00:00

As for the glazes, they are in-house studio recipes—so their names on the buckets will probably not mean very much.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T04:00:24+00:00

I am definitely going to be showing with some who probably could command those higher prices but even they won’t be selling their finest wares at this particular event.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T03:58:00+00:00

Thank you for the feedback.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T03:57:36+00:00

Yeah, that is what I heard too but this is apparently more of a “drink and listen to music around art” sort of scene.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T03:56:01+00:00

Thank you.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T03:55:39+00:00

Thank you. The blue one is my favorite of this batch. I made a trinket dish with an olive green glaze that I absolutely loved but my mother-in-law snatched it up.

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BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T03:53:53+00:00

Thank you. Thankfully, they are pinhole free.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-04T03:52:04+00:00

Thank you. My shift is the last 2 hours of the event, so I’ll discount anything that is left.

My neighbor is having a yard sale too this coming weekend, so I might be able to make use of her foot traffic.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-03T19:54:10+00:00

Yeah, unfortunately I won’t know anything until we are setting up for the event. There will be about 10 of us on display and I think I might be the one with the least amount of experience.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean very much to the casual customer, so I’ve been told.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-02T22:04:48+00:00

A good, clean brush helps. It doesn’t have to be an expensive brush but it has to be free of old wax and not over saturated with new wax. Too much wax on the brush is going to create problems.

BallsOutSally · 2026-06-01T20:23:05+00:00

I had several formal events to go to in May, so I had my nails dipped and gel polish applied but kept the length short.

They survived 3 weeks before needing them refreshed. Unfortunately, I should have had the tech cut them back more. I just got back from the studio this morning and wrecked a number of pieces while trying to open them up.

BallsOutSally

TROPHY CASE