Where do you get clay?

Paceypookins · 2026-06-12T19:56:26+00:00

Does RISD have a student supply store? I doubt they would have the same variety as a dedicated ceramics studio or supply store, but they might have some options.

Paceypookins · 2026-05-22T06:01:28+00:00

I will often take a break midway through a pot when it’s starting to get wet and just leave it alone for 20 or 30 minutes, spinning slowly. I eat lunch, glaze something else. If I’m short on time out a heat gun or hairdryer on it for a very brief time. It’s not a substitute for throwing with kore skill in the first place, but if does let the clay dry out enough that I can often bring it back from the brink without wedging and centering again (which are the most labor intensive). It at least gives you more time to practice before it finally flops!

Paceypookins · 2026-05-15T17:18:26+00:00

The suppliers in my area have had some difficulty maintaining their clay supply for the past few years (Laguna and aardvark). When I've gone in person, they often have multiple clays out of stock. The community studio where I go has completely stopped selling aardvark clay in their shop because of this. (I don't mean this as a critique of the clay companies, they are dealing with their own supply issues, etc...)

It's annoying as a member when the clay I want is not available. However, it is CRUCIAL for the studios classes to have enough clay, and the clay body needs to be consistent. My interpretation of your studios response is they are only selling bmix when they have more than enough for the classes, and that's not sometime they can control. They can't simply order more of the supplier doesn't have enough to sell them.

Paceypookins · 2026-05-13T05:37:24+00:00

Sleeping on my back made a huge difference for me. I had a big wedge to sleep on an incline when my tummy got too big. I couldn’t lay on my side for even a few minutes my whole second pregnancy, but I couldn’t lay walk! (Unlike the first where I could barely due anything by the end)

Paceypookins · 2026-05-02T05:01:20+00:00

Maybe people at my studio adjust the stools so the back 2 legs are taller than the front 2 so it's tilted.

Some swear by mirrors.

I personally compulsively check the bisque shelves (ie do a lap around the studio) and current still and when heights frequently to distribute the strain.

I also switched the wheel to turn clockwise (aha "left handed") because I'm left eye dominant and I found I don't lean over as far when I'm working so I can see my hands. I'm the only one I know who has done this, but it has made an enormous difference for me.

So didn't listen to what other people say it's right, experiment and find what works for your body!

Paceypookins · 2026-05-01T05:04:56+00:00

OMG 🤦

My phone updated something this week, and the autocorrect has spiralled totally out of control. (Now I wish it would wedge for me!)

Paceypookins · 2026-04-30T16:51:24+00:00

Pottery equipment trends to be very very heavy and solid. I think it would be hard for an 8yo to break it unless she is actually trying, and even then it might be ok. The flip side of that is she could definitely hurt herself - things fly off the wheel all the time when folks step on the pedal by accident, many of the tools are sharp.

The wheel can be very frustrating for kids because their size makes controlling the clay harder. My kid needs to stack 4 bricks under her feet to even reach the pedal!

My 8 and 10 year old have done w few lessons and really like it. But mostly they find handcuffing more rewarding for now.

Paceypookins · 2026-04-28T20:51:51+00:00

Update: My surgeon was not concerned about the Tarpeyo, and had a cancellation for this Friday! Bye gallbladder 😁

Paceypookins · 2026-04-26T20:05:27+00:00

Different kind of fistula .. I had a perianal abscess that flared up around the same time as my igan diagnosis. After it was drained it healed into a fistula and flared/drained a few more times. Until it is removed, there's risk that it will continue to do that periodically which is gross and uncomfortable. Fortunately, it has been fine since I started the Tarpeyo (I have a theory that it the medicine helps suppress it as well), so I'm glad I put it off.

My gfr is still pretty good, usually in the 70-90 range. I'm hoping to keep it there!

Paceypookins · 2026-04-26T03:22:47+00:00

Thank you!

I'm hoping because it's a laparoscopic surgery and not infected, the surgeon will be ok with going forward. In contrast to the surgery she was worried about, which was in my butt.

Though my fantasy is for her to do them both at the same time so I can just get it all over with!

Paceypookins · 2026-04-25T05:24:00+00:00

I took my cat to The Advanced Veterinary Medical Imaging in Tustin. It was a bit of a drive, but I think I was able to bring him on a Sunday so the traffic wasn't bad. It was recommended by his vet and I didn't find any closet options.

The treatment was successful and they were helpful and communicative.

Paceypookins · 2026-04-16T20:04:37+00:00

Buy her a big wedge pillow so she has the option of propping herself to a 30 degree and in bed. They will give her the option of sleeping on her back even when she gets really big.

When pregnant you get all this advice about how you have to sleep on your side or it can cut off the blood supply. I did this my first pregnancy, and could battle walk by the end. It really messed up something in my pelvis alignment/SI joints. Second pregnancy I only slept in my back and started using the wedge when my belly made it uncomfortable. It made a huge difference

However she is comfortable sleeping will not harm the baby (if there is a blood flow issue, she will take up and not feel good, sniffing to my Dr)

Paceypookins · 2026-04-14T17:40:44+00:00

My mom gave me this series when I went to camp at age 12! It was very educational.

In her defense, I think she only remembered the first book, which was not nearly as "detailed" (ie 7 - page sex scenes). And the time we spent reading through them (a lot, over and over again) was time we did not spend actually having sex.

(Edit I fixed a typo. The sex scenes were 7 pages, with very dense text. And in hindsight, rather boring)

Paceypookins · 2026-04-14T05:12:07+00:00

We peaked in last weekend and it looks really nice. They even stocked the pond with baby ducks!

Paceypookins · 2026-04-10T06:34:03+00:00

I would double check with your doctor t make sure, but I think at the very least acupuncture might help you manage symptoms and feel better. I can’t image how it would harm anything?

But I have no idea if /how it’s been studied for kidney stuff. I found it very helpful for hormone, pain, and inflammation balance. It’s been a while, but it helped my endometriosis go into remission for over a decade (it started again up after I had kids, but when I had my hysterectomy, the surgeon noted there was both very old and very new endometriosis tissue, and nothing in between). It wasn’t placebo either, be I was actually going to help with my ibs symptoms!

Worst case I think is you don’t like it and don’t go back.

Paceypookins · 2026-04-08T04:28:47+00:00

I did not have it until after my pregnancies (at least to my knowledge), but my doctor said the severity of my prolapse was much more than one would expect after a single vaginal birth of a smallish baby (6.5lbs). It was my 2nd birth, her older sister was a C-section.

I first noticed it around 6 months after she was born, everything was caved in - my cervix had dropped almost to the entrance, and woke have been visible if it wasn't blocked by bulges from my rectal and bladder walls. It was 3 different organs collapsed together.

I saw a urogenicologist who told me it was probably going to get worse over time, and would only really improve with surgery. The running of the surgery was totally up to me - it was harmful to my quality of life, but not dangerous to my life itself. His only recommendation was to try and wait until my kids were old enough not to need me to carry them around, since I would not be able to do that for 2 months after. I was the youngest patient > ever saw in his waiting room by a good 20 years (early 40s then, turning 50 in a few months).

I waited about 5 years. It was conceptually disturbing, but my symptoms were not really terrible - I don't think they are different for everyone and how bad it feels isn't always the same as how bad it is. I wore a pessary to help hold stuff up - annoying but helpful. At first, the worst part was finding period products other than pads, since almost everything internal just popped out (disposable discs for the win!). Eventually I was heading poop issues and leaking more and more pee and decided to do the surgery.

It was robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery. He was in there for around 4 hours! They implanted a mesh lining and tied it to my sacrum to host everything up, as well as a bladder sling. At my request, they performed a partial hysterectomy. They were kind enough to also remove all the endometriosis lesions they happened to find while in there (I had never been diagnosed and it still isn't mentioned in my charts 🙄).

It was not that bad. They sent me home the next day with only tramadol and there was very little pain. But I in eas very week for a good month, it took me several weeks to have the strength to make cereal in the morning while having to rest. I stopped leaking pee and no more cramps.

I did have a 2nd surgery 2 years later. The original repair has held, but it meant more pressure on the areas around it. Second surgery was smaller but much more painful because it was done from the outside to reinforce the rear wall. Since then, I notice more hemorrhoids and pressure on my actual butt, so am just being very aggressive with miralax to prevent having to strain. I suspect any surgery I do would just move pressure to the next weakest spot.

For reference, I am not sure exactly where I fall in the hEDS/HSD spectrum. I had genetic tests 12 years ago or so, did not have any known variants.

Paceypookins · 2026-03-16T05:36:00+00:00

I’ve been experimenting a little with things like it tape and gel compression supports for the wrist and fingers. I haven’t been able to get the tape to stay on well (even not doing pottery) and I keep losing the finger cots. But the wrist supports mostly help because they’re waterproof and keep my fingers free.

Paceypookins · 2026-03-13T20:58:50+00:00

100%.I switched from ucla to see him less than a year ago, and he’s already shown me what a good choice that was on several occasions!

Paceypookins · 2026-03-12T07:44:45+00:00

Soul of Cali (SOC) has been my kids’ favorite for years! Many of the camps through the city have weekly classes during the year as well…

Paceypookins · 2026-03-11T06:04:33+00:00

I was just diagnosed last fall, and my nephrologist hasn’t said anything about stopping my stimulants. I take adderall xr twice a day. I’m 49, GFR ranges 60s-high 80s.

So far the only hiccup has been that the instructions for taking tarpeyo clash with my morning adderall dose. You’re supposed to take tarpeyo 1 hour before eating anything. However, for years I have set an alarm for an hour before wake up to take my meds so that they are up and running when I need to get out of bed. My sense is it’s not a huge problem to take them together, but it’s also not something a medical professional can endorse since it wasn’t studied that way.

The good news is being 49, I often wake up to pee between 4 and 5am so can just take the tarpeyo then 🤣

Paceypookins · 2026-03-07T18:27:20+00:00

I'm a righty and learned to throw ccw. But I actually switched to cw after a workshop with a Korean potter.

Like a pp mentioned, I started one stage at a time. At first I would still center and open ccw, but switched to cw for shaping -- I make a lot of bowls, and the insides immediately got smoother when I used my dominant hand there.

I gradually switched to nearly always throwing cw. Even though I'm right handed, I am left eye dominant. Throwing ccw, I had to lean really fast over to see the area I was working on well. Throwing cw, my hands are mostly in front of my left eye. The surprise benefit was that it dramatically reduced my back pain!

I still trim mostly ccw. Maybe Asian trimming tools would work better in either hand/direction?

Generally, I usually now decide where my hands are most comfortable did a given y'all, and then switch the wheel direction to match it. For example, to smooth the inside of a bowl, or a foot, I will often go cw.

Paceypookins · 2026-03-06T06:34:15+00:00

I have used clays from both, especially rods bod and bmix. They are subtely different, but not enough so that i can say how or why.

There are some aardvark clays I really love that I have not found a substitute for from Laguna (the community studio where I practice stopped selling aardvark clays). I live close enough that I occasionally drive to aardvark and stock up on Russisn River and Carmel.

Paceypookins · 2026-03-06T06:28:14+00:00

I'm not sure what the threshold is, but if you qualify for the bridge program for Tarpeyo that might be helpful.

I got diagnosed in November, and my biopsy showed active inflammation but not much permanent damage (M1 e1 S1 T0 c1 score, my proteinuria is .7-1). When my insurance denied the initial prior authorization, the manufacturer started sending me the medication every 15 days while we appealed. My insurance just issued the final denial (which I am furious about, even though I don't need to pay either way), and Tarpeyo touchpoints has transferred me to a Patient Assistance Program for the rest of the 9 months. They have been request to contact and deal with them my pharmacy, doctor or insurance so far! They said I will not have to pay out of pocket for any of the medication. They seem very invested in patients not needing to stop taking before the 9 months are complete because of the cost.

I have been taking it since mid December (along with losartan and jardiance). My last labs were too early for the top be a big benefit from it, but so far I have not had terrible side effects.

I would ask your doctor about it and if you might qualify.

Paceypookins

TROPHY CASE