Has anyone tried pottery?

[DuckieLady]

This might sound weird but I'm reading Dr. Daniel Amen's, "Raising Mentally Strong Kids." As a result, I'm trying to give them more opportunities to accomplish more and be creative.

Both of the younger kids have brought up pottery before and I think I might set something up for them.

I LOVE other people's pottery stuff and I have a weakness for handmade cups. So I'm all about it if I can figure it out.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience.

 

[quietthinker]

Has anyone tried pottery?​

Fried, baked or boiled?

 

[DuckieLady]

Has anyone tried pottery?​

Fried, baked or boiled?

Baked!

Although I don't have a kiln. I wonder if an outdoor pizza oven would work.

 

[Ritajanice]

To messy for me.

We have a pottery near me, where they teach pottery classes....you can also watch them making the pottery,the children would love that!..to be encouraged imo.

Pottery must be at the right temp I believe.

 

[DuckieLady]

To messy for me.

We have a pottery near me, where they teach pottery classes....you can also watch them making the pottery,the children would love that!..to be encouraged imo.

Pottery must be at the right temp I believe.

I think so, if you want it to be food safe.

I think there may be other alternatives though.

 

[marks]

This might sound weird but I'm reading Dr. Daniel Amen's, "Raising Mentally Strong Kids." As a result, I'm trying to give them more opportunities to accomplish more and be creative.

Both of the younger kids have brought up pottery before and I think I might set something up for them.

I LOVE other people's pottery stuff and I have a weakness for handmade cups. So I'm all about it if I can figure it out.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience.

Way back when, I took a ceramics class in school. I think it's good to expose children to all sorts of different types of mediums, from ceramics to painting to erector sets, bird identification and microscopes, wood carving, and whatever else you can think of, and have access to.

Some of the ceramics supply stores also offer kiln services.

Dr. Amen has some really good insights I've found! He book "Your Brain is Always Listening" helped me a lot!

Much love!

 

[Dan Clarkston]

Has anyone tried pottery?

It tastes really bad...

 

[DuckieLady]

Way back when, I took a ceramics class in school. I think it's good to expose children to all sorts of different types of mediums, from ceramics to painting to erector sets, bird identification and microscopes, wood carving, and whatever else you can think of, and have access to.

Some of the ceramics supply stores also offer kiln services.

Dr. Amen has some really good insights I've found! He book "Your Brain is Always Listening" helped me a lot!

Much love!

I bought my middle child a whittling kit and a book. I have been asking him to make me a bird for two years. Lol

There is another book called The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs by Tristan Gooley that we might go over together for a science project.

He's really into chemistry, so I don't want to push with the one he takes interest in. I know him. He likes to study that one on his own, so I let him be so he continues to take interest.

This is the only parenting book I've read that was logical and made sense. (I've read a lot.) This is the only one that has clicked without it being about "gentle parenting" and coddling, or being overly disciplinary. Same for his other book on ADD.

 

[Jay Ross]

Although I don't have a kiln. I wonder if an outdoor pizza oven would work.

I have designed and made many pottery kilns and there are some rule of thumbs that help in knowing if the design will work.

A brick insulated kiln requires around 30,000 BTUs/cubic foot of internal kiln volume input.
A ceramic insulated kiln requires around 5,000 BTU/cubic foot of internal kiln volume input.

The kiln's flue needs to be sized around the kiln burner's input and needs to have 1 sq inch of flue area per 4,000 BTU/hr of burner input.
A weighted damper is placed over the flue outlet to adjust the flue area to create either a reducing or oxidising atmosphere within the kiln. The flue needs to be as square as possible to get the maximum flow through the flue as possible. I saw a flue designed by an insulation salesman which required a 12"sq flue so he made the flue 12" long by 1" wide and the flue would not draw properly and only created a reducing atmosphere within the kiln. The kiln design as built would not allow the kiln to be adjusted to produce an oxidising atmosphere as and when required. If the flue had been made 4"x3" in its cross section, it would have worked as either a reducing or and oxidising kiln.

It is possible for an expert potter to fire their wares in a few hours without breaking any of their pots etc., whereas a newbie, inexperienced potter, may a take couple of days to firer their clay wares because of the imperfections/weaknesses they leave in the pots while making them.

I would advise that you find a "professional" potter who is willing to teach the art of making ceramic wares and will use their own kiln to fire the pots etc. that have been made by their student potters. As the student potters' experiences expands, their skills in making better clay wares will also improve and they will have fewer failures in what they craft.

I would often tell potters that their best pots etc., were often the mistakes that survived in the kiln and could not be reproduced again. Because of the rarity of the surviving pots, they could command a high price to buy because they were truly unique.

Encourage your children to persist in their endeavours as they learn to become a potter. It really takes a lot of time to learn the art of shaping clay to end up with something of beauty.

Shalom

 

[JohnDB]

Usually there exists a group in every city/community that centers around a supply house that will teach classes to encourage people to be potters and clay specialists.

Pottery wheels and various styles and methods and clays are all explained and taught.

The classes are not expensive....because they want you to use and purchase the materials.

After the classes....
Used pottery wheels, kilns (electric and propane and Nat gas) are available much cheaper than new. I've been offered used equipment as someone got out of the hobby.

But the biggest thing is to be able to determine good hand made pottery vx sloppy and unskilled. What constitutes good vx low skill? What methods make good pottery popular? Or even bad pottery popular.

I always appreciate the skilled local artisans. I try to but some everywhere I go. But that doesn't mean that I will when the quality or skill is low or the price is extraordinarily high.
But usually there are "farmer's markets" and craft fairs where you can hock your wares.

But I enjoyed my time on pottery wheels. Fun stuff.

 

[DuckieLady]

Usually there exists a group in every city/community that centers around a supply house that will teach classes to encourage people to be potters and clay specialists.

Pottery wheels and various styles and methods and clays are all explained and taught.

The classes are not expensive....because they want you to use and purchase the materials.

After the classes....
Used pottery wheels, kilns (electric and propane and Nat gas) are available much cheaper than new. I've been offered used equipment as someone got out of the hobby.

But the biggest thing is to be able to determine good hand made pottery vx sloppy and unskilled. What constitutes good vx low skill? What methods make good pottery popular? Or even bad pottery popular.

I always appreciate the skilled local artisans. I try to but some everywhere I go. But that doesn't mean that I will when the quality or skill is low or the price is extraordinarily high.
But usually there are "farmer's markets" and craft fairs where you can hock your wares.

But I enjoyed my time on pottery wheels. Fun stuff.

There's not a lot of that nearby where I am, and a lot of this sounds over my head. Lol

But I might settle for a kids set made for at home just so they can have the experience.

 

[JohnDB]

There's not a lot of that nearby where I am, and a lot of this sounds over my head. Lol

But I might settle for a kids set made for at home just so they can have the experience.

Actually it probably is right inside your skillset if you were to try.

Try searching "art classes" for your neighborhood. Or even "Art Supply Shops".

They will know and support this stuff.

Who doesn't get a thrill over playing in the mud and dirt?