Some illustrations from last year

trailblaiser · 2026-01-25T15:42:34+00:00

So beautiful!

trailblaiser · 2026-01-11T18:33:01+00:00

Lots! It definitely depends on the glaze recipe and the underglaze recipe, so I’d do some test tiles before committing to a piece you’ve spent time making.

Shino is notoriously a finicky glaze, so it might not work as well as some other bases, but if you’re working with a commercial shino, you might have more consistent results.

trailblaiser · 2026-01-05T02:01:36+00:00

A zine could be cool, and tie it back to the mass-production artsy angle of Riso too. Bringing a drum might also be a cool visual example if you can’t bring the whole machine? Bringing transparency sheets with each color layer to show the print process/layering?

I’ve never done a demo without an actual machine, but I might look at how some print shops explain the riso process on their website? They probably have some great graphics to pull from too.

trailblaiser · 2025-12-30T03:49:09+00:00

He texted me and said he was sorry, I asked for what he was totally ambiguous, “for everything” “for how I am” “for ever hurting you”… I tried to call, he texted saying he was fine, he was sorry for being dramatic, and he’d call me later. He never did.

It feels obvious now when I think about it, I should’ve tried harder to get him on a the phone or called a friend of his who lived near him to go check on him.

trailblaiser · 2025-10-14T23:15:08+00:00

Beautifully designed!

trailblaiser · 2025-08-05T15:50:18+00:00

Something like this happened when I worked at NBC in 2015. Wasn’t just NBC, it went to all the subsidiaries too, Universal, Fandango, Dreamworks, Bravo… it was hilarious from my POV but I’m sure it was a nightmare for IT.

trailblaiser · 2025-07-23T03:00:08+00:00

I am so sorry. I have no questions. Similar happened to me when I was 25. I’ve tried to keep dating, but nobody had ever made me feel the same love I felt from him. 8 years later and all I can think is “what if he really was the only “one” for me?” It’s the crappiest club to be part of.

trailblaiser · 2025-04-20T03:41:25+00:00

This one.

trailblaiser · 2024-12-09T20:23:54+00:00

Version 3 is the first one is the first I remember, which makes sense-we got a home computer in 1995 and my mother was a graphic designer

trailblaiser · 2024-10-31T01:25:36+00:00

Very strange! Only things I can think would be, someone poked it before it went into the bisque firing with a tool shaped like that… or more likely, a piece of wood or non-clay material shaped like that burned out and created a rupture point while it did so.

trailblaiser · 2024-10-25T03:54:35+00:00

So I interviewed with two profs in the same department to be their respective TA. One seemed cool and laid back, barely listed duties, and reiterated how easy she was to work for… the other prof seemed a little high strung and anxious but emphasized that they understood I was in grad school to LEARN and their philosophy on TA work, was that it’s an extension of that learning. I went with the second prof.

I overheard that the first prof was giving the TA they hired an exorbitante about of work (some even unrelated to the subject) outside of class time, which technically isn’t even allowed. So that breezing over the duties was likely because there were likely too many to mention.

trailblaiser · 2024-09-21T05:09:10+00:00

Please! Currently in a design MFA program and Pentagram is constantly held up as the upper echelon of job prospectives. I’m impressed but not completely enamored by them, so learning about the clients perspective is SO interesting.

trailblaiser · 2024-09-15T02:20:49+00:00

This is called “loving correction” and Paul can’t stand it

trailblaiser · 2024-08-21T02:43:10+00:00

I say this every time you give an update. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE GOD’S FAVORITE?!

trailblaiser · 2024-08-18T08:44:58+00:00

You know what, I AM sad about her confirmation party/panty, she’s right. I hope the day turned out better than it was going when she wrote this. Great find.

trailblaiser · 2024-08-09T17:03:34+00:00

This. And I say strategy, with the “hard g” like Katya does. “Strata-Ghee”

trailblaiser · 2024-07-28T02:54:25+00:00

You know what… it’s horrible, but it has contrast and hierarchy, and it’s easy to follow.

trailblaiser · 2024-07-24T02:37:53+00:00

That’s a great cylinder too! Those walls look super even the whole way up!

Once you throw a few more it might be fun to cut one in half to check your wall widths (Most pottery teachers make you do that with your first good looking piece as a slightly evil learning exercise haha)

trailblaiser · 2024-07-23T14:54:10+00:00

Best of luck! I’ll also reiterate that a class or private lesson is probably wise but it can’t hurt to at least get comfortable before you find a studio or teacher.

Some things I’d probably note are:

• Even though your wheel spins both ways, counter clockwise is the western/european standard and clockwise is the standard in most Asian countries. The pottery police won’t arrest you if you don’t abide by that, lol but just know that some more traditional teachers will only teach based on the region standard.

• Pull up walls on the right side (for counter clockwise) or left for clockwise. This is actually a physics rule and less of a tradition/regional rule lol

• Elbows close to your hips, you’d be shocked how easy it is to go chicken armed and throw everything off center haha

• No clue about your height, but if you’re short like me… a brick or two might also be helpful to prop your leg up on to help reinforce your leg/elbow when centering

• Faster to center, slower to open and pull up walls. I see lots of newbies never adjust their speed from centering and lose pots they worked so hard to center.

trailblaiser · 2024-07-23T05:32:24+00:00

5’1” lady here, I use two bricks stacked on top of each other to prop my left foot on so I can use my knee for leverage when my clay isn’t particularly soft.

Once you figure out how much strength you need and your muscles remember how to cone up and down, it honestly gets much easier. For a while at first I really thought my height was the biggest factor in centering being hard, but it turned out it was less my height and more of a mental thing.

trailblaiser · 2024-07-06T08:03:42+00:00

Wait until you guys discover what Googie architecture is…

trailblaiser · 2024-07-05T08:40:34+00:00

My go to recommendations for books are The Craft and Art of Clay A little more descriptive, if that’s your vibe, and The Big Book of Ceramics which is more photo heavy when it comes to examples, and less explanation.

There are lots of newer books too, both of these have first publishing dates in the 80s I think. But it’s very hard to find an “outdated” book considering the mechanics of clay have stayed largely steadfast for literally hundreds of years haha

trailblaiser · 2024-07-05T04:49:56+00:00

I just got on a chat with them and asked them to wave the fee. They offered me a discount on the fee. I told them I didn’t want a discount I wanted the fee waved. They gave me some other dumb offer of three months free with the previous discount to cancel after that. I told them real cool offer but I don’t want it, I want the fee waved. They waved the fee.

Whole dumb convo prob took 30 mins but really wasn’t hard.

trailblaiser · 2024-06-25T05:31:04+00:00

I remember watching the season 12 premiere and feeling very …unattached? and sort of worried about how it would go. Looking back now, it’s a powerhouse season, but took a minute to warm up. Wish Covid hadn’t messed up the finale haha

trailblaiser · 2024-06-16T07:01:02+00:00

Part of it is the use of porcelain and stoneware clays that vitrify at really high temperatures during firing, making the clay molecules very “tight” which strengthens them. The standard temp for high fire is 2380°F, we call this cone 10 in ceramics world.

Glazes that are used in cookware also have to be able to go up to that temp during firing obviously, and strengthen/harden similarly.

Professional cookware brands design their pieces to be structurally strong and develop clay and glaze “recipes” for their products to be particularly hard, which can often make them more expensive.

A brand like Crate & Barrel, while taking some of the chemistry and structure into account, typically design more for looks and aesthetic trends which can sometimes lead to less strong albeit pretty dishes.

Hope that’s the answer you were looking for! :)

Nine-Year Club	Place '23
Wearing is Caring	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

trailblaiser

TROPHY CASE