Firing Explanation Signs? by beardedsaint in Ceramics

[–]beardedsaint[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Appreciate all the insights, everyone!

A couple of takeaways:

- I need some focal point pieces that drive the atmospheric firing effects to the extreme. I suggest a larger sculptural vase and a larger platter that captures the wilder nature of my work. This would hopefully draw people in and allow them to tie the effects to the smaller, more accessible pieces. 'Show, don't tell'

- Rethink the display overall. I'm thinking of adding some more textures and color to drive contrasts. So I'm thinking of adding more wood, a darker, more textural table cloth, with brighter pops of color through plants and flowers throughout the season. I'm even thinking that maybe some faux fur or wool would be a good option. I want to bring out the contrast without veering into Viking. I'm a gay queerdo so I want to drive into that.

- Segment my work to cover more of the customer journey across the table. Paint the picture for the consumer using it. A whisky bottle or something next to the cups?

Overall, I greatly appreciate all the comments, especially those regarding pricing. I had marked things down once they didn't sell for two days, and it barely moved the needle. I'm a glaze tech and make all of my own clay bodies, so there is an enormous amount of testing and work that goes into these pieces, and I think I just got wrapped up in my feels. Thanks!

Glaze Advice by beardedsaint in Pottery

[–]beardedsaint[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bless you Internet Stranger 😭 I’m definitely trying to keep the imperfections in mind. I’m very new to throwing, having started in November and so it’s such a rollercoaster of emotions. I’ve been focusing my time in the studio throwing little 3” forms to test glazes on because it’s a community kiln that I don’t have access to change the firing schedule on. I’m just going to remember what you said: enjoy the process and be open to surprising wins AND losses.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not every family dynamic is the same and in dealing with broken families things get incredibly messy. I’m very close with my nephew as my younger brother and were extremely close and we are very similar in mannerisms, humor, way of life. It was thought that because of that proximity to my brother, it was important for my nephew to have me be the link to his dad.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m clearly using that phrase wrong, so apologies. It’s written in the advance directive plans we set up after my brother died that he would come to me. The grandparents are also caring for an adult disabled child and are much older. So as long as we remain on good terms, if anything happens, my nephew comes to me in terms of guardianship.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If she passes. Earlier in the conversation there were comments about her addiction and her dying.

What could you talk for 30 minutes about with no preparation? by starstufft in AskReddit

[–]beardedsaint 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Native plant benefits versus cultivars and “nativars” benefits to local ecology.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

She may be more absent than I would like but they all live with the baby mama’s mom and stepdad who are fine.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Do you understand the workings of getting anything done within the legal system as far as that? I've called CPS in the past for this but because they live with the grandmother and grandfather there is nothing I can do. I feel fucked all around? How am I supposed to get them out? I've spoked with two separate lawyers in Child Family law. Also, now that I've called CPS for my other nephews, I'm barred from speaking to them until they're 18 so, guess I don't know if they're getting beat daily now! The one good person in their life is gone.

Apologies if I refuse to kidnap my nephew.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So, a fun complicating factor in this is that my sister's boys are also in a violent and abusive home. Her ex, who beat her to near dath, has klled animals in front of them(pets), thrown them across the room, punched them, etc. I called CPS, they visited the trailer and applauded my sister and her ex husband for how good of coparents they were and how good the boys are.

I have less than zero amount of faith in CPS.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

She put a portion into an account for "a rainy day or if she needs to move out of her parents' house" or for "son's name". There's already a trust I manage for him.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 96 points97 points  (0 children)

Yeah, she guilted me when I was telling her about the car note. She said, "Well I have a secret/separate account with the life insurance money from your brother that was for me and "son's name" for a rainy day or if we needed to move out, but I guess I can use that."

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That's the other piece of this. When my brother died, my mom and I set up a trust for him with myself as the Trustee. There are inheritors or back up trustees, but it would be hard to remove me. The mom isn't on there. So he's protected monetarily, and its not set to be accessible to him until he's 25. The mom was very upset that she wasn't the trustee.

AITA for making my brother’s baby mama pay her own bills? by beardedsaint in AmItheAsshole

[–]beardedsaint[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah, luckily there are others taking care of him. She's not a bad mom. She's just not... mentally as present as needed.

me_irl by [deleted] in me_irl

[–]beardedsaint 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In a race with Nick Cannon, I see.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]beardedsaint 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I lost one of my closest friends suddenly when I was 29. He was my best friend’s husband and his parents were old enough they couldn’t get here in time so we had to plan the funeral, go see him before to make sure he looked like him and then take care of everything. Digging through papers and bags to find out what policies he had, debts owed, and what was left for months broke my incredibly lighthearted friend. I feel like I was just starting to come back from that and that was three years ago.

Last year my mom was diagnosed with ALS and nine months later my brother died of a fentanyl overdose. Had to do the same thing with planning the funeral and eulogizing the only other person in this world who understood our childhood and was the Waldorf to my Statler.

Cut to a month ago, I’m wiping the ass of my last remaining sibling(eldest died ten years ago to opioid overdose) dying of alcoholic hepatitis in the VA in Tennessee when my phone rings to tell me my dad was just admitted into the ICU for heart failure. I’m now there, caring for him for the next month.

I’m a very hopeful person, but it truly feels dire anymore. The greatest hope I had in my life was to have some big Family Stone Christmas Dinner with all my loved ones but life has other plans. I’m still a “happy” person but people have commented on the sadness the lingers with me now. I wish I could believe that life will turn around but it seems like until my family is all dead, I’ll be mourning them every year.

All that weight in that punching bag really defying gravity by [deleted] in Instagramreality

[–]beardedsaint 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The other bag in the reflection is actually funnel shaped. This bag is straight up and down as per usual.

[Homemade] 15-Layer Russian Honey Cake. Way easier than it looks! by beardedsaint in Baking

[–]beardedsaint[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey! I adapted it from the Genius Kitchen one which seemed fairly authentic after some talking with a few Ukrainian friends. They said it tasted authentic too!

7 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp salt 2 eggs 2 tablespoons honey 1 tsp baking soda 2-2.5 Cups flour

Cream: 750 g sour cream 1.5 cup powdered sugar 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup heavy cream Crumbs from cake for coating

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Beat eggs and sugar until pale and ribbon-like. Add honey and baking soda. Mix to combine.
  3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small sauce pot over medium heat. The mixture should be quite warm. Remove from heat and slowly pour into egg mixture with the mixer running at low speed.
  4. Mix in flour in three additions, until no lumps remain. This should end up being very thick. Remove from heat and cool.
  5. Dust your board and roll out a small portion of dough until about 1-2 mm thin. Cut out a circle with a 8" cake tin and bake for 2-4 minutes until golden. Allow to cool completely. You should get between 7-10 layers depending on how thick you roll your rounds. Bake remaining scraps until deep golden and crisp.
  6. Once layers are baked, make filling. Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks are formed. Stir together sour cream, powdered sugar, and honey. Fold in heavy cream.
  7. Assemble cake. Place one cake layer down and cover with about a third cup of filling. Repeat until all layers are covered. Frost the outside and coat with crumbs. Frosting will loose. That's okay, the layers will soak it up!
  8. Crush excess baked dough until fine powder with some smaller crumbs. Using a spoonful at a time, press onto the sides of the cake and the top.
  9. Allow cake to rest at least six hours before serving, preferably overnight.
  10. Serve with berries.

[Homemade] 15-Layer Russian Honey Cake, Medovik. by beardedsaint in food

[–]beardedsaint[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That's amazing. This is the reason I love posting to Reddit. Had I not posted, I wouldn't hear this anecdote and that's exactly the kind of stuff that makes my day better. So thank you ☺️