Centering by M. C. Richards

April 22, 2020 Matt M-H

The poster for M. C. Richards 1958 show Clay Things to Touch, to Plant in, to Hang Up, to Cook in, to Look at, to Put Ashes in, to Wear, and for Celebration — The poster for M. C. Richards 1958 show *Clay Things to Touch, to Plant in, to Hang Up, to Cook in, to Look at, to Put Ashes in, to Wear, and for Celebration*

“It is not the pots we are forming, but ourselves.” — M. C. Richards

Centering In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person by M. C. Richards is a pottery classic but also a great read for anyone interested in making, writing, and creating. First published in 1964, it remains Richards’s most popular work, a defining text of the time, and is a still relevant today.

Richards was a poet, essayist, and potter who first learned about clay at the famed Black Mountain College in the 1940s and 50s. She went on to teach and make pots, with the goal of using the malleability of clay to inform how people saw themselves. She was free-spirited and embraced an interdisciplinary approach to art and teaching long before it was fashionable to do so. In the book Live Form, Jenni Sorkin calls Richards an “enlightened amateur” who valued process over skill, and placed more value on experience than finished objects. She usually gave away or sold her ceramics for very low prices, and encouraged students to make clay forms and then recycle them or return the clay to the ground.

Sorkin cites Richards’s 1958 event Clay Things to Touch, to Plant in, to Hang Up, to Cook in, to Look at, to Put Ashes in, to Wear, and for Celebration as one of the earliest happenings and a prime example of Richards’s approach to making art. The show was just the one-night opening and clay and ceramic objects were sold or given away, prefiguring later happenings by Allan Kaprow or projects such as The Store by Claes Oldenburg. This event had the same spirit of Richard's’s teaching and Sorkin writes: “In guiding students toward non-object, process-based production, such as returning unfired clay to the ground after making a collective pot, Richards treated pottery as a secondary to its process. In this way, Clay Things anticipates the collectivity and vitality of socially engaged artistic practice fifty years later. . .”

Live Form: Women, Ceramics and Community by Jenni Sorkin — *Live Form: Women, Ceramics and Community* by Jenni Sorkin

In Live Form, Sorkin devotes a chapter-length essay to Richards, along with chapters on Susan Peterson, Marguerite Wildenhain, and the Black Mountain Pottery Seminar. Live Form is a highly recommended read (one of the best books on ceramics) and makes a great companion to Centering. The idea of centering, whether on the potter’s wheel or in life, is the root of Richards’s book, and allowed her to spin off in many directions.

Richards writes: “As human beings functioning as potters, we center ourselves and our clay. And we all know how necessary it is to be “on center” ourselves if we wish to bring our clay “into center” and not merely agitate it or bully it.”

She also turns to wider themes of making:

“The creative spirit creates with whatever materials are present, with an umbrella, or a wineglass, or a torch. We are not craftsmen only during studio hours. Any more than a man is wise only in his library. Or devout only in church. The material is not the sign of the creative feeling for life: of the warmth and sympathy and reverence which foster being; techniques are not the sign; “art” is not the sign. The sign is the light that dwells within the act, whatever its nature or its medium.”

Centering is great read and highly recommended for anyone interested in clay, pottery, or the creative process. The book is also densely packed with great quotes. Here are just a few:

M. C. Richards Quotes

“Poetry often enters through the window of irrelevance.”

“In order to teach, you must be able to listen.”

“You don’t need me to tell you what education is. Everybody really knows that education goes on all the time everywhere all through our lives, and that it is the process of waking up to life.”

“It is not the pots we are forming, but ourselves.”

“I believe that pots have the smell of the person who makes them: a smell of tenderness, of vanity or ambition, of ease and naturalness, of petulance, uncertainty callousness, fussiness, playfulness, solemnity, exuberance, absent-mindedness. The pot gives off something. It gives off its innerness, that which it holds but which cannot be seen.”

On copying:
“Some craftsmen seem to be troubled by the question of originality and imitation. My only standard here is that a person be led into a deeper experience of himself and his craft. Human beings learn by imitation; certainly, in the years of childhood, almost exclusively by imitation. One is inspired by someone else’s example”

“It is the physicality of the crafts that pleases me: I learn through my hands and my eyes and my skin what I could never learn through my brain. . . And if it is life I am fostering, I must maintain a kind of dialogue with the clay, listening, serving, interpreting as well as mastering.

Add the books to your library:

Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person by M.C. Richards
Buy at amazon.com
Buy at abebooks.com

Live Form: Women, Ceramics, and Community by Jenni Sorkin
Buy at bookshop.org
Buy at amazon.com

For more posts on books, podcasts, and studio inspiration, click here.

How to Make Colorful Pancake Paintings

April 11, 2020 Matt M-H

For years, I have been making colorful pancakes. It’s a great way to spend a morning, it’s fun for kids and adults, and the results are stunning. You can mix any pancake batter recipe with food coloring in a kitchen squeeze bottle, and make your own.

In this post I’ll cover the tools and ingredients needed, the method I use, share a sourdough pancake recipe, and a gallery of pancake paintings.

Have fun!

Tools and Ingredients

Americolor Gel Food Coloring Student and Electric sets

Here’s what you’ll need:

> Pancake batter from scratch or a mix.
Use your favorite recipe or try a mix. A sourdough recipe is included at the bottom of this post. My favorite mix is Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk mix.

Shop Kodiak Cakes at Amazon

> Food Coloring
The key to the whole operation. I use the Americolor Electric and Student set, but you can use any food coloring. Or try making natural food coloring from blueberries etc.

Shop Americolor Electric Food Coloring at Amazon

> Wide-mouth plastic kitchen squeeze bottles .
My preference is 16 oz bottles, but you can use anything that will squeeze out batter with some accuracy. I have tried the pancake batter dispensing bottles and they aren’t as accurate for painting as basic ketchup/condiment squeeze bottle.

Shop 16 oz Squeeze Bottles at Amazon

> A cup and funnel to add the batter to the bottles.
I like colorful kitchen accessories such as the orange funnel set linked below. You will also need a whisk and chop sticks to mix batter in the bottles.

Shop Orange Funnel Set at Amazon

> Wide spatula or turner
If you keep your pancakes small, any spatula will do, but a jumbo plastic spatula or an oversized steel turner might help with larger creations. Look for a spatula with a low handle angle, which makes it easier to get underneath your pancakes.

Shop Nor-Pro Pancake Spatula at Amazon

> Large griddle
A low-side griddle or pan will make it easier to get your spatula underneath your pancakes, and a 2-burner griddle will give you plenty of room for pancake painting or making multiple pancakes at the same time. I use a 12x20” stainless steel griddle but there are a lot of cast iron and non-stick griddle options. If you want to really control the low heat needed for pancake painting, a standalone electric griddle is a great way to go too, if you have space to store it.

Shop 2 Burner Griddles at Amazon

View this post on Instagram

Here’s a video tutorial on how I make pancake paintings. I also wrote out instructions, link to that post in bio. Stay healthy everyone! 🥞❤️🥞❤️🥞 #pancakepainting #pancakes #pancakeart #pancakemorning

A post shared by Matt Merkel Hess (@mattmerkelhess) on Apr 11, 2020 at 7:19am PDT

How to Make Pancake Paintings

Step by step tutorial

Step 1: Mix

Mix a semi-thin pancake batter from scratch or a mix.

The batter should be free of any lumps. It needs to be thin enough that it will squeeze out of the bottles, but thick enough that your pancake has some body. Adjust as necessary; you may need to add milk or water to thin your batter, or more flour to thicken it up.

Lately, I’ve been using sourdough batter for a few reasons:
1. I have leftover sourdough starter from baking bread and more importantly,
2. the sourdough culture stays active in the bottles so the batter doesn’t get “flat.”

Each pancake takes a few minutes to paint and cook, so if you want to have tasty pancakes, sourdough really helps. But if you’re not into the trouble of keeping sourdough (and it is a lot of time!) just use any pancake recipe or mix.

Step 2: Add to Bottles

After mixing add batter to your wide-mouth squeeze bottles.

A funnel really helps this process. These days, I usually make 6 bottles of batter, but I have done up to 12. It’s fun to have a lot of colors but. . . there’s always clean up to consider too.

For clean up, I’ve found that cold water works best for getting flour off of bottles and utensils. Once free of stuck-on flours, then use hot water and soap.

Step 3: Add Color

You can make awesome pancake paintings without color. But adding color can be a lot of fun and really opens up what you can do on the griddle.

Typically, I will do one bottle of plain batter with 12-16 oz of batter. And then I’ll do 5 more bottles with about 1 cup / 8 oz of batter each.

To make colors, I’ll start by adding 3 drops of food coloring per cup of batter, and mix with the back end of a chop stick. If the color is not intense enough, I’ll add a few more drops. You can also mix colors. But be aware, if you add too much food coloring you can introduce off flavors into your pancakes.

Be sure to mix well. You may need to turn the bottle to the side to really get the bottom mixed.

More images of mixing batter:

The back end of chop sticks are great for mixing

The finished line up of colors. Even one or two colors can be a lot of fun.

Step 4: Paint

Preheat your griddle. Give it time to heat up so the temperature is evenly distributed, then oil your pan. Make sure the temperature is on low to give yourself time to paint. The hotter the griddle, the faster you will have to paint.

After oiling the griddle, it’s time to paint!

If it’s your first time painting, be sure to cut the nozzles on your bottles wide enough (approx 3mm) so that batter will dispense easily. I use a pair of kitchen shears for this, or a knife.

The painting is up to you, have fun and just see what happens. The results will always be tasty. 😋 You can make patterns, landscapes, portraits, marbleized color—anything. One of my favorite projects was making a self-portrait on Father’s Day for my kid to eat.

The first side that cooks can be a bit less colorful than the second side. But that first side is where you can be more exact. Remember, you paint “backwards” in that the first thing you put down will be at the front of the finished pancake.

Step 5: Enjoy

Time to enjoy your tasty creations. Will you go with the traditional maple syrup and butter? Yogurt and jam? Or do you make your own fruit sauce? Whatever you do, it will taste good and look great.

Have fun.

Sourdough Pancake Recipe

I use a modified version of this recipe. In short, I took out the baking soda and baking powder and added more flour, some milk, and time. You have to let the sourdough grow a bit after mixing, but the result is a batter that stays fresh in the bottle and tastes great.

Ingredients:

500 g (approx 2 cups) mature 100%-hydration sourdough starter
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c milk
2 T. maple syrup
2 T. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 t. salt

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together with a whisk

2. Batter should flow easily, add milk if necessary

3. Cover and let stand for 1-2 hours until bubbles form on surface, then add to bottles for painting.

Image Gallery

I started making pancake paintings in 2013. I saw this article and realized I could do the same thing, but with color. Here’s a few of the pancakes I’ve made.

Do you make pancake paintings? Let us know about your experience in the comments.

Shoji Hamada on Making Pots

March 30, 2020 Matt M-H

The Way of the Earth, a 1994 book by T.C. McLuhan, is full of stories, philosophy, poetry, and thoughts on nature and art. Subtitled “Encounters with nature in ancient and contemporary thought,” this is one of those books that you can flip open to any page and find something interesting.

There are also a few great passages on pottery pulled from Bernard Leach’s 1975 book Hamada, Potter.

Here’s a passage from page 142:

Bernard Leach relates a conversation with Hamada in which the potter confesses that he did not begin to feel mature or authentic until well into his seventies. In the following passage, Hamada discusses the vital force at play in the creation of a pot.

It was not from my mind that it came but from my whole body; it emerged out of my middle, my lower abdomen. I have such a good feeling about having done this pot. . . This work does not come out of my thought; rather I simply permit the movement that my hands have learned over many years. In fact, in the work forged by my body during sixty years, there is an unconscious revelation. I sense the work has become more comfortable. . . I now hope that, rather than made things, born things will increase in my work.

Later in the book, there’s a few pages devoted to Hamada. From page 188:

Shoji Hamada is Japan’s most renowned potter…Hamada was a major figure in the Japanese Folk Crafts (Mingei) movement and established a permanent collection of folk-craft products in Mashiko (Tochigi Prefecture), the place of his pottery beginnings and his workshop…Hamada’s pursuit and perpetuation of fundamental universal values through his work is reflected in his approach to art and living. “The right way,” he has said, “lies in plainness and naturalness.” Hamada referred to the goal of his “true craft” (a state of “always being born”) as “the way of pottery”—ageless wisdom he found mirrored in the four seasons. In fact, the sugarcane fields outside his workshop became his greatest inspiration and an emblem of his trademark. In a series of conversations with Bernard Leach, a close friend and equally renowned European potter, the master potter contemplates some aspects of the potter’s way as he recalls a trip he made to America in 1952. Hamada wore Japanese country clothes and chose not to speak English when he have wheel demonstrations. Many thought he was just a peasant.

When I went to America they thought I was a very simple person because I talked of ash glazes and they had long complicated formulas of calculated glazes. They did not realize that nature’s glazes are infinitely more complicated than any man can conceive. . .

What is best for a particular pot must come out of the potter himself. . . The appropriate technique for any pot has to emerge from the potter or the result is forced. . . The point is not to be purposeful but to be natural. . . It is not necessary to be concerned with achieving regularity or irregularity; the effort of the potter to achieve a specific effect will weaken the piece. If you are not worried about the pigment being even or uneven, the effect will certainly be good.

Once you have done something with your body, with the whole being, the whole body, then I feel that you are getting somewhere in understanding that you are in it. . .

Most potters think that unless they put specific patterns or drawings on the pot they are not making a pattern. They should realize that the pattern was being created from the very beginning of the pot-making process; the material itself creates the pattern. The potter must learn to see and to recognize this. . . I began to realize that there are two kinds of patterns to consider: the natural ones that come from the material itself and the kind that is intellectually conceived. . .

I remember the delightful experience of living in Okinawa with my wife and son for more than a year. The sugar-cane fields stretching endlessly in front of my workshop inspired me to create a pattern, which has continued to capture my interest, to my surprise, for these many years, without my becoming tired of it.

I drew the cane leaves, stem, and tops as they appear after being stricken by the violence of the typhoon. My style of drawing this pattern has changed naturally with the years, and my good friends tell me that they can detect changes in this sugar-cane pattern about every ten years. Now this pattern has become my trademark.

I have said for many years that I would try my hand at raku when I reached the age of seventy, but I have not done much yet. Because the low temperature firing keeps the form intact, with no firing distortion, I have been afraid that it would be essential for me to throw every pot with greater freedom and sensitivity. . .

The simplicity of raku [asymmetry and iregularity] cause it to be the most difficult of all to make. The reason is that the usage of raku ware by the Japanese is very subtle. It is so simple that you go through the full cycle of your development. I see it in terms of the four seasons. The best bowls are made by children who are unselfconscious. But just as you are reaching the peak of skill—summer—this is when the danger sets in. You become aware of your skill, and then you must get beyond that awareness before you can reach autumn and winter. Then you must come into the next spring. This is the period Japanese handcraftsmen know to be the time to develop their true craft. It is the second apple we are talking about, that is why it must be born, not made. Very often the craftsman does not live long enough, and not only that, when he is so old he may become brittle, rather than have a second childhood. If he becomes brittle, he must be very cautious. The second childhood must be the supple one, not a brittle one. To be able to make a good red or black raku in Japan is the heigh of good potting because of the difficulty.

No craft is easy to master. Pottery is among the most difficult to encompass. The reason may be that the glazing technique (which should be more properly called yugi, play or pastime) and the firing technique are over-stressed. We should put aside this over-emphasis. The right way lies in plainness and naturalness. If we reflect on our motive for making pottery we can make a start without mistakes. I think we can approach the way of pottery much more easily then.

For more on Shoji Hamada, check out Hamada Potter, by Bernard Leach. (Shop at Amazon | Shop at Abebooks)

For more essays like this, find a used copy of The Way of the Earth by T.C. McLuhan (Shop at Amazon | Shop at Abebooks)

Flip through the pages cited in this post:

For more posts on books, podcasts, and studio inspiration, click here.

Parker Posey on Pottery and Wheel Throwing

March 30, 2020 Matt M-H

“In the early aughts…I learned something that ought not to have been so difficult: pottery.”

Parker Posey’s 2018 memoir You’re on an Airplane is full of anecdotes, observations, and a chapter on her wheel throwing practice. She details how she studied at the La Mano ceramic studio in NYC, learning about clay bodies, wedging, centering and how to start pulling walls and throwing. Her description is surprisingly technical, but if you think of the book’s premise of Posey sitting next to you on an airplane telling you her life story, it makes sense.

On centering, she writes:

Your hand is listening now, keeping your mind’s eye centered as you push it down with the heel of your palm, still using your strength. You’re raising the phallus at the base and then pushing it down to the center of the wheel. It goes up, then it goes down; it goes up, then it goes down. It feels so amazing in your hands that you could do it for hours. It’s an erotic thing, what can I say?

She continues with the sensuality theme later in the chapter, and links it to bigger themes:

In the beginning, throwing was the best—getting into the sensuality of the clay and centering for hours. My mind would go right to the stars and into the dirt and think about how we’re so disconnected from where things actually come from—that there’s so much more energy in things and objects than we give them credit for. I’d think of cavemen, and the first cavewoman who threw a pot from a kick-wheel. I’d think of how excited and pleased she must’ve been, how hairy her eyebrows were, or if one of her caveman friends ever threw a pot at her, how quick she was to duck out of the way and how fun that was for everybody. There was a time when vessels held offerings to the gods, and we know this because we’ve seen those pictures painted in the pyramids. We see now, in museums, how clumsy and childish those relics were.

All in all, a pretty interesting take on the practice of wheel throwing. Check out the book if you’d like to read more about Posey’s ceramics instructor, the pottery sculptures she created, and many stories and anecdotes from her life and career.

You’re On An Airplane by Parker Posey
Buy at bookshop.org
Buy at amazon.com
Buy at abebooks.com

Here’s a short video interview of Parker Posey on the wheel from 2013.

For more posts on books, podcasts, and studio inspiration, click here.

A Potter's Workbook by Clary Illian

March 25, 2020 Matt M-H

“It is a wondrous thing that long after it has ceased to be necessary, people still want to make pots on the potter’s wheel.” — Clary Illian

A Potter’s Workbook by Clary Illian is one of the best resources on making pots. Published in 1999, the book is full of images, drawings, and texts that illuminate and illustrate the how and why of making pots. It’s one of my favorite pottery resources, and I regularly share photocopied sections of the book with my students.

With just over 100 pages and 12 chapters, the book is full of information but not overwhelming. It starts with a a few short essays on the ideas of pots and then proceeds to cover practical aspects of each part of a pot, such as the foot and neck (the “Beginnings and Endings” chapter), cylinders, pitchers, bowls, lids, and then a few chapters on training your eye and finding your own style and voice. There is much practical information, along with more theoretical questions, such as:

“What is the heart of the matter in pottery making? To call into being an object and to ask the object to have qualities that evoke in the viewer a sense of rightness, beauty, or vitality is to tinker with the divine. Making pots offers a constant challenge to search for the mysterious underpinnings of the physical world itself.”

This style of pottery making and thinking about pottery shows Illian’s roots as a functional potter in the studio potter or Mingei tradition espoused by Bernard Leach and others. Illian apprenticed with Leach in 1964-65 after her undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa. After her time in Britain with Leach, she returned to Iowa where she set up her own pottery. While many of her pot evoke Mingei forms, Illian often turns to playful illustration and decorations that put her own spin on handmade, functional pottery.

The book is illustrated throughout with simple line drawings and black and white images of greenware pots, shot by photographer and potter Charles Metzger. As opposed to other books that mainly show fired pots, or pots as they are being made on the wheel, the studio shots of greenware really illustrate the ideas that Illian presents in the text and help bring forth the attention that is needed to make a successful pot.

The book ends with a short chapter-length essay called “Place” that focuses on aesthetics and the role of the potter in contemporary society. Illian writes:

“Potters occupy a special position as communicators because they straddle the visual arts and arts of living; they have one foot in the spiritual realm of artistic value judgements and one foot in the material world of utilitarian objects. A useful object that has been crafted with artistic standards in mind is doubly special and celebrates both how and where it will be used…The sensuous appeal of a unique mug is linked to a nurturing moment, a moment of repose before the demands of the day begin. Food, drink, and plants are so central to our daily lives, so charged with emotions of self-gratification, nurturance, and relationship to other human beings that the containers associated with them will always be objects of symbolic power.

Delving into the spiritual along with the practical is to my mind, a great way to explore the mystery and power of pottery making. This makes A Potter’s Workbook a wonderful addition to any ceramics library and highly recommended for any potter.

For more on Clary Illian, check out this post from Craft in America. In 2014, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art published a monograph surveying Illian’s 50-year career.

Any thoughts on Clary Illian or A Potter’s Workbook? Let us know in the comments.

A Potter’s Workbook by Clary Illian
Buy at bookshop.org
Buy at amazon.com

Shop A Potter's Workbook on Amazon

Shop A Potter's Workbook at AbeBooks

A Few Images from the A Potter’s Workbook:

How to Make a DIY Interchangeable Grinding Disc

March 21, 2020 Matt M-H

To make this you’ll need scissors, industrial velcro, a diamond grinding disc, and a waterproof bat.

A diamond-coated grinding disc is a great way to transform your pottery wheel into a grinding and polishing workhorse. All you need is a grinding disc, bat, and velcro. This DIY system is designed for interchangeable discs, giving you the flexibility to grind at 60 or 120 grit, and even finer.

Useful in any ceramics or pottery studio, grinding discs give you an easy way to clean up glaze drips, smooth the bottom of pots or kiln posts, and best of all, they make use of something you probably already have in your pottery studio: a wheel. Paired with a bit of water from a sponge, you will have a dust-free grinding disc that is similar to a lapidary wheel for grinding glass.

This tutorial will cover how to make your own interchangeable grinding disc using industrial velcro. This allows you to use different grits, and change them out on just one bat. To get fired ceramic super smooth, I like to start at 60 grit, then 120, 240 and finish with 400.

Here’s what you’ll need:

> Scissors
> Industrial Velcro
> Grinding Disc
8” Grinding Disc from Diamond Core Tools
8” Grinding Disc from Uxcell
> Waterproof bat such as an Amaco Plasti Bat

A note on grinding discs:
The Diamond Core grinding discs are really high quality, long lasting, and wonderful to use. They cost around $50 each and come with an adhesive backing. You may find one grinding disc is the way to go, in which case, I would get one high-end disc and use the adhesive to attach it to a bat.

The Uxcell grinding discs found on Amazon and other sites are generics, have a middle arbor hole, and don’t last as long. But, they are perfect for this DIY system as you can buy multiple grits and change them out on one bat using the Velcro. And depending on your situation and needs, you can find generic grinding discs in a range of sizes, from 6 to 12 inches wide. A small 6 inch disc might just be perfect for a small studio where you just need to grind foot rings or small pieces.

Here’s some closeups of the 8” 120 Grit Uxcell grinding disc used in this tutorial. Click to enlarge:

How to Make a DIY Grinding Disc

Step 1

Gather your materials. You’ll need:

Diamond-coated grinding disc
Industrial Velcro
Scissors
Waterproof bat

Step 2

Cut one side of the Velcro and attach to the backside of the grinding disc.

Note: you can probably use 1/3 to 1/2 of what I used here!

Step 3

Cut the other side of the velcro to roughly match.

Step 4

Peel of the backing and attach the Velcro to your bat.

That’s it! You have a new diamond coated grinding disc. Time to get grinding!

Step 5

Test your diamond grinding disc. You’ll just a need your wheel, bat pins, and a sponge and water.

As you can see from the pic at right, the Industrial Strength Velcro does create a small gap between the grinding disc and the bat.

When using, we periodically sponged fresh water over the entire grinding disc. Used water in the splash pan was discarded.

Putting the Grinding Disc to Work

The grinding disc made short work of the mess.

Summary

A diamond-coated grinding disc turns your pottery wheel into a grinding and polishing machine. This interchangeable DIY system gives you the flexibility to grind at a variety of grits. It’s a great addition to any studio.

Do you have any other ways of making grinding discs or transforming wheels into grinding machines? Let us know in the comments.

Check Amazon for prices on Industrial Strength Velcro, Uxcell Grinding Discs, and Amaco Plasti-Bats:

Roger Herman Ceramics monograph

March 16, 2020 Matt M-H

Roger Herman Ceramics is a massive, beautifully illustrated monograph of the Los Angeles artist’s ceramic work from 1997–2018. The book includes a short introductory essay by Matt Connors and page after page of ceramics, including exhibition installation shots.

Herman works intuitively with clay, but generally starts with wheel thrown forms that are stacked, cut, altered, and decorated. Often featuring bright underglaze colors contrasting with dark, glossy glazes, the pots range from small, handheld cup- or bowl-like pieces to massive vases, urn-like pots, and large platters. In exhibitions, these are displayed in groupings in bookcases, open shelving, on the wall, or on pedestals, often drawing power from the groupings and loose repetitions of forms or markmaking.

Herman also employs many drawing and painting techniques, including inlay, scraffito, wax resist, oxide wash, and combinations of underglaze and glaze. Not bound by one style, some pots are abstract color fields while others are completely covered in figurative drawing. Often fired and refired, the pots exude a considered casualness that is also open, honest, and exuberant.

Originally a painter, this book shows that Herman’s 20-plus year investment in ceramics is not just a trifle; he is a contemporary master of the material who has pushed vessel-making and ceramics in new directions. The installation shots that include ceramics with his paintings show that there is a give and take in his practice that crosses mediums.

My only complaint with the book would be a complete lack of information on work titles, sizes, and dates. The book unfolds like a massive tumblr scroll and while full of very exciting pots, it’s hard to know when they were made or exhibited. But with that caveat, it’s a wonderful addition to anyone’s library and the lack of titles and words allow a real focus on the pots themselves.

Roger Herman Ceramics 1997-2018 was available exclusively through Arcana Books in Los Angeles for $95, 426 pages, signed, with an edition of 250. There are not always copies available used but try the links below.

Shop Book at Amazon

Shop Book at abebooks

See more of Roger Herman’s ceramics on his website

For a 2020 interview with Herman on Hyperallergic, click here.

A few images of the book

Shop Roger Herman Ceramics at Amazon

Shop Roger Herman Ceramics at AbeBooks

The Best Cut Off Wire for Ceramic Wedging Tables

March 3, 2020 Matt M-H

The best wedging table cut off wire is Music Wire or Piano Wire.

The best cut off wire for a wedging table in a ceramics studio is Music Wire or Piano Wire. It’s durable, flexible, and strong enough to make repeated cuts even with harder clay. Under normal use, a few feet of wire can last for years, making this the perfect choice for a DIY cut off wire or as replacement wire for a wedging table. One package of almost 400 feet of this wire costs about $15 and that might be a lifetime supply of cut off wire for your studio. Pair it with a hook and eye turnbuckle and you’ve got a flexible, adjustable cut off wire for your wedging table. Below are images of how to set up a cut off wire.

For shopping, I prefer the 0.031 inch music wire but if that’s not available, try the slightly thicker 0.045 inch music wire. There are a variety of other thicknesses available.

Shop 0.031 Inch Music Wire at Amazon

Shop 0.045 Inch Music Wire at Amazon

Shop Hook and Eye Turnbuckle at Amazon

As long as you have that 400 feet of music wire there’s a lot more you can do with it:

> Use to hang plates, bowls or tiles
> Super-strong picture frame wire
> Attach test tiles to screws on the wall
> ??? Sky’s the limit but some extra wire always comes in handy when you need it

Here’s a few pictures of music wire in use with a wedging table:

Here’s a close up of the hook and eye turnbuckle that can be used to fine tune the tension on the wire. This helps to get the wire very taught.

To “tie” the wire to the bottom of the wedging table, we just wrap and twist it a few times. Pliers are helpful for this task. This example is from a Bailey Wedging Table, but you can also screw in an eyelet screw if you have a wooden edge on your wedging table.

Our last tip is to take a soft plastic blue rib (shop at amazon), screw a hole in it, and attach it to the table with rope or twine. With this set up, you’ll always have a scraper handy to clean your wedging table.

How do you set up your wedging table? Let us know in the comments.

Buy items mentioned in this post:

Cone 6 Cobalt Blue Glaze (June Perry Red Variant)

February 22, 2020 Matt M-H

Cone 6 Cobalt Blue is a variant of June Perry Red. Here are test tiles fire in oxidation from left: on Standard 182 White Stoneware, Standard 112 Brown with speckles, and Standard 308 Brooklyn Red. The top half of the tiles shows a quick in-and-out … — Cone 6 Cobalt Blue is a variant of June Perry Red. Here are test tiles fire in oxidation from left: on Standard 182 White Stoneware, Standard 112 Brown with speckles, and Standard 308 Brooklyn Red. The top half of the tiles shows a quick in-and-out dip. The bottom half shows a second dip, which should be equal to a standard 3 second dip.

Cobalt Blue is a dependable Cone 5-6 mid-range oxidation glaze with a deep blue glossy finish breaking to lighter blue highlights. On darker clays, or where it is thicker, it will turn a lighter, more cloudy blue that is still really nice. The base glaze is the same as the ever-popular June Perry Red, but this glaze has less tin and 2% cobalt oxide. Cobalt Blue layers well with other glazes and is one of the most popular glazes in the community studio I manage. This glaze stays a nice blue over darker clays, while going in a more ultramarine direction on white clays.

I’m unsure who developed this glaze variant, but it if you are curious about the original June Perry Red, you can see more of her recipes at Shambhala Pottery.

The glaze tests here were oxidation fired to Cone 6 in an electric front-loading kiln, with a 10 minute soak and slow cooling due to the 6” thickness of the kiln walls. Try this glaze out, and let us know what you think in the comments.

  
  Cone 6 Cobalt Blue Glaze, based on June Perry Red

    Ingredient
    Percentage
    3000g batch
  
    Silica
    32
    960g
  
    Gerstley Borate
    21
    630g
  
    Whiting
    20
    600g
  
    Nepheline Syenite
    16
    480g
  
    EPK
    11
    330g
  
    Tin Oxide
    2
    60g
  
    Cobalt Oxide
    2
    60g
  
    104
    3120g

Ingredient	Percentage	3000g batch
Silica	32	960g
Gerstley Borate	21	630g
Whiting	20	600g
Nepheline Syenite	16	480g
EPK	11	330g
Tin Oxide	2	60g
Cobalt Oxide	2	60g
	104	3120g

Test Tiles

Cobalt Blue on Standard 182 White Stoneware

Cobalt Blue on Standard 112 Brown Speckle

Cobalt Blue on Standard 308 Brooklyn Red

#Glazes That Work

This recipe is part of our series of posts of glazes that just work. There’s a million glaze recipes out there, but we’re posting a series of our tried-and-true favorites. Click here to see the other recipes we’ve posted.

For more info:

Read our guide on mixing glazes from scratch.
See our reviews of the best scales, cordless drills, or corded drills for mixing glazes.
Check out our recommended glazing accessories.

If you’d like to learn more about mid-range glazes, the best place to start is The Complete Guide to Mid-Range Glazes by John Britt. The book provides a comprehensive overview of materials, techniques and glaze recipes.

Buy at amazon.
Buy at bookshop.org.

Do you have a favorite mid-range cobalt blue recipe? Let us know in the comments.

The Best Way to Eliminate Odor from a Stinky Ceramic Slop or Glaze Bucket

February 16, 2020 Matt M-H

Updated and revised, September 9, 2023

A dirty, stinky throwing slop trash can in need of some cleaning and copper carbonate, to eliminate odors.

Stinky slop and glaze buckets can be a problem in any ceramic studio. The smells range from a swampy, pond-mud smell to a very strong sulfurous odor. All are caused by some kind of organic matter in your clay or glaze.

In addition, some glaze materials such as bone ash or CMC are organic materials and will start to smell over time, especially if the bucket is not stirred regularly.

To deal with smelly buckets, the best practices are to:

Keep organic materials like brush bristles, paper, etc out of your buckets and jars
Stir and mix your materials more frequently
Cycle materials more frequently
Clean your buckets with soap and water, and sterilize them with bleach

Adding bleach? In some studios, bleach is added to slop buckets or clean up buckets and mixed with the clay slop. This is an ok thing to do, but has it’s drawbacks. Usually, the bleach will just mask whatever the problem is for a few days or weeks, and then the smell will return. And I personally don’t like to add bleach to buckets where the material is being recycled such as clay slop buckets. And if you add too much bleach, the slop water can be rough on your hands.

The following article covers some ideas for eliminating odors from glaze buckets, underglaze jars, and slop buckets. Discussed is a somewhat extreme method of adding copper carbonate. In general, I would use this as a last resort after you have tried to cycle material, or clean outed and sterilized the problematic bucket. A little bit of copper can get rid of smells, because of the antimicrobial properties of the element, but using it does have some drawbacks as well.

This practice of adding a small amount of copper carbonate comes from a tip I read many years ago I read in Ceramics Monthly. (I haven’t been able to find the link) The tip from the potter was adding a trace amount of copper carbonate to glaze buckets. My memory is just a gram or two. It wasn’t enough to change the color of the glaze (even in a white glaze), but it was enough to prevent mold growth. If you have a glaze that regularly smells, try adding an extremely small amount of copper carbonate to any glaze, and see if that fixes the problem. The tutorial below also covers adding copper carbonate to slop buckets, in addition to some strategies to deal with smell glaze and underglaze jars.

Shop Copper Carbonate at Amazon

How To Eliminate Odor From Glaze Buckets
How To Eliminate Odor from Underglaze Jars
Maintaining and Dealing with Odor in Slop Buckets and Reclaim Clay

How To Eliminate Odor From Glaze Buckets

Stinky glaze buckets happen from time to time. Usually, this is caused by some sort of organic matter. It could also be caused by organic glaze materials such as bone ash or CMC gum. For bone ash glazes, try stirring the glaze more often, or proceed with the copper carbonate fix as detailed below. For glazes with CMC gum, try replacing that with bentonite, which is a very fine, inorganic clay that can help glazes stay in suspension.

Before adding copper carbonate to a stinky bucket, screen the glaze first to make sure you’ve removed any brush bristles, bisque chunks, or other foreign matter. Sometimes, just stirring the glaze more often may eliminate the issue, so try that first!

Method:

Add 1 gram of copper carbonate per 5 gallons of glaze, stir, and wait 24 hours.

That’s it!

Just a bit of copper should take care of the problem, and in such a small amount, it shouldn’t change the color of the glaze. I even did this once with 5 gallon bucket of white glaze. A little risky, but it worked without changing the glaze color.

If you are nervous about adding copper carb, or if your studio scale is not very accurate, try measuring the smallest amount you can, such as 2 or 5 or 10 grams, and then physically dividing it up to get down to something like .5 grams or 1 grams, and add that small amount to your glaze. If the smell isn’t gone in 24 hours, repeat the process.

If the copper carbonate doesn’t solve your problem, don’t keep adding it past 2 or 3 grams. Eventually, you will add enough to alter the color of the glaze. If the problem persists, you may have to discard the glaze and start over with a fresh batch.

How to Eliminate Odor from Underglaze Jars

Underglaze jars can get really stinky. Some in particular, such as the various reds from the Amaco Velvet Underglaze line, seem prone to getting stinky.

To prevent odors with underglazes:
> Remove any cardboard liner from the caps
> Stir to mix. Don’t shake all the underglaze against these cardboard liners
> Try to prevent brush bristles from dropping in
> Keep any other organic matter out of the jar

But if your underglaze gets stinky? There may not be much you can do. It’s such a small volume, and our best remedy, copper carbonate, is a colorant. Still, you can try adding a very small amount of copper, approximately 1 gram or less. Stir into your underglaze, cap it up, and wait 24 hours. Check and repeat if necessary. Caution: you will change the color of your underglaze if you add copper to them! I’ve done this a few times with the extremely-prone-to-stinkiness Bright Red Velvet Underglaze. The copper mutes the red a bit, but it’s actually a lovely result that is still red.

But the conclusion is, there may not be much you can do for a stinky underglaze except to tolerate it and/or discard and buy a new jar.

Maintaining and Dealing With Odor in Slop Clay Bucket

A slop bucket is a great way to reduce the amount of clay going into your sink and can also be used for initial cleaning of splash pans and throwing buckets. If there was room, I’d have a series of three of these for cleanup. But in the studio I manage, there is just one 40 gallon trash can with a mesh lid. It’s used to collect all the throwing slop.

Ideally, this trash can gets completely emptied about once a month and the heavier slop is saved and mixed with reclaim clay. But while the slop is building up, the bucket can get pretty stinky. And if you recycle stinky slop, then you have stinky reclaim clay (although the process of mixing does seem to help alleviate some problems with smell.)

The first step I would take with a stinky slop bucket would be to completely empty it and clean with soap. Then, sterilize the bucket or trash can with bleach and let it dry completely. Usually this will eliminate your stinky slop bucket problem for at least a few months up to 6 months. Slop buckets will always get smelly at some point so just plan to fully clean and sterilize it on a regular schedule.

A more extreme solution is adding a small but regular dose of copper carbonate to your slop bucket. Caution: adding copper carbonate to reclaim clay may result in small green spots showing up through white or clear glazes as you are adding copper to your clay! Use this method at your own risk.

The tutorial below covers maintaining a slop bucket with copper. As mentioned, try cycling your materials more regularly, keep organic material out of your bucket, and give your bucket a deep clean before trying this method!:

Step 1: Remove water, add copper carb, and stir

Ideally, the slop bucket is a settling tank so that heavier clay particles will separate and fall to the bottom. Pictured here is a 40 gallon trash can. As the can fills to the top and settles, pull off the top 10 gallons of water. This watery slip goes down the sink in my studio, but you could choose to let it settle and then decant.

After taking off the top 10 gallons, add about a half a spoonful of copper carbonate. This is about 2-3 grams of copper carbonate.

After adding the copper carbonate, stir or mix the whole slop bucket with a drill. It helps to disperse the copper.

Add about 1/2 spoonful of copper carbonate per approximately 20-30 gallons of slop. — Add about 2 to 3 grams (about 1/2 spoonful) of copper carbonate per approximately 20-30 gallons of slop.

Copper carbonate on the surface, ready to be mixed into the slop.

Step 2: Clean the Lid

Not exactly necessary, but a regular lid cleaning makes it easier to maintain and inspires respect from your fellow studio mates.

It’s a bit hard to see in the picture, but I am are using my favorite pro-grade cleanup sponges.

For the lid on our bucket has a DIY screen made by cutting a hole in the trash can lid and attaching rubberized mesh with nuts and washers. The mesh helps to keep tools, sponges, and large chunks of clay out of the slop bucket.

Step 3: Repeat as Necessary

Our bucket with a clean lid and a bit of copper to prevent any stinky odors.

As stated above, it takes us approximately 1 month to end up with about 15 gallons of heavy slip but usually every week or more often, I remove the top layer of watery slip from the bucket. Every time water is removed, I add copper to the bucket.

Once there is 15 gallons or so of heavier slop at the bottom of the bucket, I remove it and put it in 5 gallon “settling tanks,” This watery slop is then poured over dried out scraps or added to the pugmill as needed. It’s the best way I can think of to capture all the fine particles left over from the throwing process. I’ve also found that as this slop with copper moves through the reclaim process, it combines with other clay and helps keep that reclaim from getting stinky too.

Occasionally, I do notice a little green copper speck popping into a white glaze from the reclaim clay, so if you want to be extra careful, use the least amount of copper necessary, or mix it into a watery slurry before adding to your slop bucket.

Summary

This post has covered a variety of ways to deal with smelly glaze, underglaze, and slop buckets. Also detailed is how to use copper carbonate to eliminate odor in glaze buckets, underglaze jars, and slop buckets. It’s an effective and affordable way to manage the inevitable odors that arise in a ceramic studio.

Do you have any other techniques for maintaining odor-free slop and glaze buckets? Let us know in the comments.

Shop materials and tools mentioned in this post:

How to Make a Booklet with a Long Reach Stapler

February 16, 2020 Matt M-H

How to make a quick booklet with cardstock, office paper, and a long reach stapler.

There are many tutorials on work arounds to make a DIY booklet with two staplers, but a long reach or long arm stapler makes it really easy. With this stapler and some office paper (and maybe some cardstock) you’re ready to start your own little booklet factory.

There are a few long reach staplers out there but my favorite is the Swingline Long Reach Stapler paired with Swingline Premium Staples. The Swingline can reach up to 12 inches, so you could potentially fold a 24 inch piece of paper in half to make a booklet. This tutorial will cover making a simple booklet with printer paper and cardstock to make a booklet, but with your own stapler, you can make whatever you want.

Shop Swingline Long Reach Stapler at Amazon

Shop Long Reach Stapler at Staples

Tutorial

Step 1: Gather Your Tools and Materials

As pictured above:

> Swingline Long Reach Staper (Shop at Amazon | Shop at Staples)
> Swingline Premium Staples (Shop at Amazon)
> Office paper (Shop at Amazon)
> Astrobrites Cardstock paper for the cover (Shop at Amazon | Shop at Staples)

Making this on an 18x24” Alvin Cutting Mat is also helpful. (Shop Cutting Mat at Amazon)

Step 2: Staple

Set your Long Reach Stapler for half the length of the paper you are stapling. In this instance, it’s 6.5”. The example booklet has 5 pages and the cover cardstock.

The Swingline Long Reach can staple up to 20 sheets of standard office paper, and the guiderail can accommodate a 12” reach. For thicker papers, expect this stapler to staple fewer than 20 sheets.

Staple through your cover so the exposed ends of the staples are inside your booklet.

For standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, 3 staples should be enough.

Step 3: Fold

Fold your booklet along the stapled spine, and you’re set!

Other Ideas for Booklets

This tutorial used blank office paper, which is great if you want to make a quick sketchbook or notebook. But there’s much more you can do:

> Order bulk drawing paper to make student-grade sketchbooks.
> Turn scratch / recyled paper into a quick booklet for notes or to-do lists.
> Make an old-school zine by taping, drawing, photocopying, and then stapling.
> Print a simple photobook (depends on your home print quality)
> Work with kids to design, print, and staple their own books or coloring books.
> Layout, print, and copy a simple booklet.

Shop drawing paper sheets at Blick

Shop bulk drawing paper at Amazon

To go a bit deeper on bookmaking including perfect binding and trimming, check out Stephanie Syjuco’s google doc on how to set up a bare bones printing facility for under $1,000.

To print your own booklet, it is really helpful to have a duplex or 2 sided printer to do double sided printing. One of the best options and most affordable options is the Brother 2710 all in one monochrome laser printer. (Shop at Amazon)

Do you have a favorite bookmaking or booklet project? Please share in the comments.

Shop tools from this post:

The Best 10 Gallon Plastic Bucket

February 9, 2020 Matt M-H

The Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon Bucket (left) is the superior option when compared to the Rubbermaid 10 Gallon Bucket (right.)

10 gallon buckets are a great way to store glaze and dry materials in a studio. The larger size accommodates bigger pieces for glaze dipping, and a 10 gallon bucket will easily hold about 50 lbs of any dry material, such as plaster or glaze ingredients. It’s important, however, to have a sturdy, long-lasting bucket.

The best 10 gallon bucket for glazes and other studio uses is the Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon Bucket. It has thick walls and smooth interior. Other buckets, such as the new version of the Rubbermaid Brute 10 gallon, have upraised interior fluting that get in the way of mixing glazes or dipping work. For this reason, the Carlisle Bronco 10 gallon bucket is our top pick.

Shop Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon Bucket at Amazon

This post will review a few 10 gallon bucket options, describe the problems I ran into using the Rubbermaid bucket, and explain why I prefer the Carlisle Bronco.

Table of Contents

Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon Bucket
Rubbermaid Brute 10 Gallon Bucket
Rubbermaid Commercial 10 Gallon Ice Bucket
Summary

Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon Bucket

The Carlisle Bronco is the best 10 gallon bucket I’ve used. It has sturdy walls, a smooth interior, and will be a long-lasting addition to your studio. It looks like the “old style” Rubbermaid Brute, and is virtually identical to the more expensive Rubbermaid Ice Bucket. Most importantly, it has a completely smooth interior that allows for easy glaze mixing or scooping of dry materials.

The Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon is 16 inches in diameter and 17 inches tall. Carlisle makes lids for 10 gallon buckets, or a Rubbermaid 10-gallon lid will fit perfectly. It’s also available in a variety of colors, including white, black, gray, blue, red, green, yellow, and purple.

It may seem like a simple thing, but having the right bucket really can make a difference in the functionality of your studio, and for that reason, go with the Carlisle Bronco.

The Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon Bucket is available in a variety of colors.

Shop Carlisle Bronco 10 Gallon Bucket at Amazon

Rubbermaid Brute 10 Gallon Bucket

I’m generally a fan of most Rubbermaid commercial products, but I can’t recommend the Rubbermaid Brute 10 Gallon Bucket as a glaze bucket or for dry materials storage. This is now advertised as a garbage / trash bucket and that is only what it is for. It has fluting down the sides and upraised reinforcement in the base. This allows it to be made from less plastic (which is good) but the bumps and exposed plastic corners on the inside do not work well with a ceramic studio.

I ordered one of these as a glaze bucket for the busy community studio I manage, and within a few months, a student drilled a hole in the bottom. The hole was made with a cordless drill with a Jiffy ES-21 mixer blade, and this metal blade and the upraised base on the Brute did not work well together. (See pics below)

If you need a trash can, this is a lightweight option that is cheaper than the Carlisle Bronco. Just don’t plan to use it for anything else.

Shop 10 Gallon Brute at Amazon

Shop 10 Gallon Brute at Home Depot

Comparing the Carlisle Bronco and Rubbermaid Brute

Here’s two pictures showing the hole that was drilled in the upraised section of the Brute Bucket:

Below are two photos showing the Bronco (the clean bucket) in comparison to the Rubbermaid Brute. Note the upraised base of the Brute and the fluting, while the Carlisle Bronco is smooth inside.

The Rubbermaid Brute (dirty) alongside our new Carlisle Bronco 10 gallon bucket.

Rubbermaid Brute Ice Bucket

A very similar option to the Carlisle Bronco is the Rubbermaid Brute 10 Gallon Ice Bucket. It’s confusing that Rubbermaid has two 10 gallon bucket options on the market, but note that this is the “old” style with no fluting etc, and a smooth interior. It’s basically the same as the Carlisle Bronco, but costs a bit more.

Like the other buckets here, it is 17 inches tall and around 16 inches wide. This is a great option for a glaze bucket, but I’d save a few bucks and go with the Carlisle.

Shop Rubbermaid 10 Gallon Ice Bucket at Amazon

10 Gallon Bucket Accessories

The Rubbermaid Sliding Lid and Scoop is available for 10, 20, and 32 gallon buckets.

Sliding Lid: A standard lid is fine but the Rubbermaid sliding lid (pictured at right) is an interesting option for storing dry materials. Designed for food-service storage, it would also be great for glaze materials and dry clay storage.

Shop Rubbermaid Sliding Lid at Amazon

Glaze paddles: The smooth, even interior of the Bronco will work great with powered drill mixers as well as paddles, such as the MKM Glaze Paddle.

Drills: A cordless drill is usually just powerful enough to mix a 10 gallon bucket of liquid, but a corded drill will definitely get the job done. For our complete review of cordless drills, click here. For corded drills, click here.

Glaze mixing accessories: For a guide to glaze-mixing tools and accessories, click here.

Finally, here’s a how-to about mixing glazes from scratch.

Summary

I’m always on the hunt for the best buckets and tools, so if anything changes, I will update this post. But for now, the Carlisle Bronco is the 10 gallon bucket I will be using in my studio.

Do you have other favorite options for 10 gallon buckets? Please share in the comments.

Ceramic Podcasts from Hyperallergic

February 8, 2020 Matt M-H

Kent Monkman’s Buffalo Jump installed at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, 2015 — Kent Monkman’s *Buffalo Jump* installed at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, 2015

In summer 2019, the art blog Hyperallergic produced a 4-part podcast series on ceramics in conjunction with the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, Canada. All are worth listening to, as well as Hyperallergic’s other excellent podcasts in their Art Movements Podcast series.

From Hyperallergic:

This four-part series is produced by Hyperallergic in conjunction with Canada’s national ceramics museum, the Gardiner Museum and its Community Art Space, a platform for experimentation and socially-engaged art.
The series will explore how ceramics plays a role in contemporary art, and how artists and curators are grappling with the complexity of the age-old medium that continues to excite artists and audiences today.

The podcasts:

Shary Boyle’s Exploration of the Fantastic and Political Lives of Clay, released July 23, 2019

The Largely Unknown History of Blackface in Canada, released August 7, 2019

Kent Monkman’s Mission to Decenter the Colonial Museum, released August 9, 2019

The History, Context, and Legacy of an Ancient Maya Plate, released September 3, 2019

Click here to see more posts in the inspiration category.

The Best Hand Cream for Art and Ceramic Studios

February 5, 2020 Matt M-H

The various hand creams tested and reviewed for this post.

For this post, 10 hand creams were tested to determine the best product for potters, sculptors, artists, or anyone who works in a workshop or studio. Based on my experience in ceramic studios, I wanted to find the hand cream that would stick around, keep hands healthy, and not interfere with work. A few creams are clearly superior.

Top picks:

O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream (shop at Amazon) is the top pick. It is non-greasy, soaks in quickly, and sticks around. It’s got a bit of wax in it but doesn’t seem sticky or thick. It’s also affordable and does exactly what it says: protect working hands. That’s why it’s the top pick for a studio cream.
Aquaphor Healing Ointment (shop at Amazon) is the next pick. It can be a bit greasy for some uses, but it sticks around through intense wet work and a little bit goes a long way.
The third pick is Weleda Skin Food (shop at Amazon). It’s a rich, luxurious cream that is a pleasure to use, smells great, and has become the hand cream I use at home to start and end the day.

Full reviews are below but first, some history: For more than 10 years, my go-to studio hand cream was Kerodex 71. It’s a non-greasy, water-repellent cream that contains kaolin clay, mineral oil, and paraffin wax. This makes it a long-lasting, effective barrier cream for workshops and studios. Alas, it seems that it is no longer in production. (Please MedTech Products Inc. of Tarrytown, NY, bring it back!)

To find a replacement, I tried a bunch of creams designed as barrier, hand creams, and “invisible gloves,” along with a few other favorites, and did a head-to-head test. Results and favorites are below. Please note, almost any of these creams will be better than using nothing. Skin, hands, and studio tasks vary so my hope is that these reviews guide you to the perfect hand cream for your situation.

EDIT: After making the initial picks, I posted this in a few pottery forums and got a LOT of feedback. Many agreed with the top picks, but potters have a lot of thoughts on this topic. I’ve included some of the most recommended products at the end of this post, and plan to test more for a future review. In general, my favorite studio hand cream is something that contain a bit of wax or paraffin, such as O’Keeffe’s Working Hands or Kerodex.

Compare prices on the top 3 picks:

Top Pick: O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream
Second: Aquaphor Healing Ointment
Third: Weleda Skin Food
Honorable Mention: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing, Corn Husker’s Lotion, Workman’s Friend,
Not quite right: Gloves in a Bottle, Invisible Glove, and Ghost Glove
The (discontinued) Old Favorite: Kerodex 71
Some tips, recipes, and ideas on healing cracked, dried out hands
Other suggestions for hand creams
Wrap-Up: The Best Hand Cream for Artists

Top Pick: O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream

After testing, the top pick is O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream. It is a moisturizing cream that also contains a bit of paraffin, making it an ideal replacement for my previous favorite, Kerodex 71. This cream is quick to dry, non-greasy and had no smell. In testing, it stuck around through multiple washes. During heavier uses, like throwing pots, the cream was gone almost immediately from palms and fingertips, but it did stick around on knuckles and the backs of hands. There is no cream that survives heavy use such as direct contact with clay, but it was quick and easy to re-apply O’Keeffe’s throughout the day and it kept skin healthy. Throughout the testing period, this became the lotion returned to most frequently.

Drawbacks: There were no problems or concerns with this cream. It’s economical, does what you need it to do, and works as advertised. This is why it is the top pick.

O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Isopropyl Myristate, Ceteareth-20, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Aluminum Starch, Octenylsuccinate, Sodium Hydroxide, Acrylates/CID-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Paraffin, Dimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Diazolidynyl, Urea

Shop O'Keeffe's Working Hands on Amazon

Second Pick: Aquaphor Healing Ointment

The second pick is Aquaphor Healing Ointment. If you’ve never tried it, it is similar to Vaseline or petroleum jelly, but contains a few other ingredients such as Lanolin Alcohol and Glycerin. It will help protect your hands and can be used on the rest of your body too. It’s also used to temporarily protect minor cuts, scrapes, or burns, and seems to be a popular recommendation from pediatricians. It works on babies and kids, and it works in the studio too.

Aquaphor goes on easily but does stay a bit greasy. During testing, it stayed on through normal use, providing a long-lasting protection that could be felt throughout the course of a few hours. Although it costs more than petroleum jelly, it’s still an economical option because you just need a small dab at a time. And the extra ingredients make it a superior ointment to generic petroleum jelly. It’s a solid option and for some of our friends, it’s their favorite studio hand cream and protectant.

Drawbacks: This is one to avoid if you are concerned about getting grease on your projects, such as working with ceramic bisqueware or drawing / painting. It does stay a bit “wet” or oily longer than most creams, but will eventually absorb into the skin.

Aquaphor Ingredients: Petrolatum, Mineral Oil, Ceresin, Lanolin Alcohol, Panthenol, Glycerin, Bisabolol

Shop Aquaphor on Amazon

Third Pick: Weleda Skin Food

The third pick is Weleda Skin Food. Described as an “ultra-rich cream,” this is definitely the creamiest, most luxurious product reviewed. It smells great too—kind of a floral / essential oil smell that is very pleasant. The beeswax makes it similar to a barrier cream, but it’s not advertised that way. It’s just a really nice, thick cream that works great in the studio or at home. If it wasn’t on the more expensive side, I would rank this first or second. Through this testing it became a new favorite cream for day-to-day use at home, especially for hands and dry patches like elbows.

Drawbacks: Like Aquaphor, this cream stays “wet” or oily on your skin for a bit. Definitely something to avoid if you wanted to immediately begin working with paper, canvas, or bisqueware, as some oil could transfer to those surfaces. It’s also the most expensive cream reviewed. For those reasons, it ranked this third in this review.

Weleda Skin Food Ingredients: Water, sunflower seed oil, lanolin, sweet almond oil, alcohol, beeswax, glyceryl linoleate, hydrolyzed beeswax, fragrance from natural essential oils, pansy extract, rosemary leaf extract, chamomile flower extract, calendula flower extract, cholesterol, limonene, linalool, geraniol, citral, coumarin.

Shop Weleda Skin Food on Amazon

Honorable Mention: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion is the top pick in the Honorable Mention category. If you are looking for just one lotion for studio and home, this would be it. It applies easily and absorbs quickly, doesn’t feel greasy, is economical, and the fragrance-free option is a plus. All in all, a great daily lotion for hands and skin. One bonus: It’s not advertised except for a small mention on the bottle, but it contains dimethicone, a silicone-polymer skin protectant that is used in more expensive barrier creams.

Drawbacks: This is a standard daily lotion and is thinner than a skin cream. It doesn’t contain any wax or thicker ingredients and is not formulated for a high-intensity use such as O’Keeffe’s Working Hands. But it’s a fine lotion and does the job.

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion Ingredients: Active Ingredient: Dimethicone 1.2% Inactive Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Petrolatum, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetyl Alcohol, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride.

Shop Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion on Amazon

Corn Husker’s Lotion

The next honorable mention is Corn Huskers Lotion, which I have seen listed as a potter’s favorite on a few online forums. Think of it as gel-like, almost-liquid version of petroleum jelly. Unlike petroleum jelly or Aquaphor, it absorbs quickly into the skin. After applying, your skin feels smoother and not exactly slippery, but that definitely seems like an effect of the second ingredient, glycerin.

This is also a product that you might add to your throwing water when working on the pottery wheel (some people use baby oil). I don’t do the baby-oil-in-throwing water, but some swear that this addition of oil to the water keeps their hands from getting beat up.

Drawbacks: This product has a baby powder smell that sticks around for a bit. Not my favorite odor. For that reason, it was dropped it into the honorable mention category.

Corn Huskers Lotion Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, SD alcohol 40-B, algin, oleoyl sarcosine, methylparaben, triethanolamine, cyamopsis tetragonoloba (guar) gum, fragrance, calcium sulfate, calcium chloride

Shop Corn Huskers Lotion on Amazon

Workman’s Friend Barrier Hand Cream

Workman’s Friend Barrier Cream certainly seemed like it could be a great replacement for Kerodex 71, but after testing, I’m not sure this product lives up to that billing. It’s definitely a cream and has a thicker feel and application than a lotion such as Aveeno, but for the extra cost and all the extra words on the package, it just didn’t live up to the hype. It has 1% dimethicone, a silicone-polymer skin protectant and lubricant, but so does Aveeno Daily Moisturing. It’s also about double the price of the top pick. That said, it is a nice cream that I did enjoy using.

Drawbacks: More expensive for what seems to be a slightly thicker cream version of Aveeno lotion, it also doesn’t have the advertised barrier capabilities that the top three picks definitely have. This is a cream I’ll use but wouldn’t buy again as there are cheaper, better options.

Workman’s Friend Barrier Cream Ingredients: Deionized Water, Steric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Isopropyl Palminate, Ricinus Communic (Castor) Seed Oil, Cyclopentasiloxane, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Mineral Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Xantham Gum, Disodium EDTA, Acrylates Copolymer, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract.

Shop Workman's Friend Barrier Cream on Amazon

Not Quite Right:

Gloves in a Bottle

Like the Workman’s Friend Hand Cream, I had high hopes for Gloves in a Bottle as I have seen it for sale at many ceramic supply shops. But it did not deliver. It’s a lotion, not a cream, and it applies easily. It takes three to four minutes to dry completely on your skin and for a few of those, it has a slightly tacky or sticky quality. Taking this long to dry definitely involves some planning. After it dries, it’s seems a lot like a regular lotion and didn’t have any special sort of effect. I don’t feel it’s worth paying extra for a product like this.

Drawbacks: Maybe it was just my skin, but upon repeated washing, Gloves in a Bottle had an astringent effect and seemed to promote drying in my fingertips. I double checked this effect over multiple days, and it dried out my fingertips each time. I just did not have good luck with this product.

Gloves in a Bottle Ingredients: Purified Water, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Myristate, Stearyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Xantham Gum, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, VP/ Eicosene Copolymer, Steareth-21, Phenoxyethanol (preservative)

Shop Gloves in a Bottle on Amazon

Not Quite Right Part 2: Ghost Glove and Invisible Glove

Ghost Glove and Invisible Glove seem like great (albeit almost identical) products. But they weren’t what I was looking for. They are basically thick, spreadable soap that will protect your hands when you’re working with a greasy substance. When you’re ready to clean up, boom, everything washes right off. For a wet use, like ceramics or plaster, they would wash off right away. And if you were working with dry media, these products could easily rub off onto paper or canvas.

Drawbacks: Great products for working with greasy, oil substances. Neither contains any sort of moisturizer. Seemed like fine products, but not right for us or for a ceramics or sculpture studio. Seems more for a machine or automotive shop, and could be a good choice for artists working with oil paint.

Ghost Glove Ingredients: Glycerin, Water, Sodium Silicate, Soap, Emulsifier, Fragrance, Preservative

Invisible Glove Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Sodium Silicate, Soap, Fragrance

Shop Ghost Glove on Amazon

Shop Invisible Glove on Amazon

The (Discontinued) Old Favorite: Kerodex 71

I’ll close out this post with some pictures and info on Kerodex 71. I haven’t seen this for sale in a few years. Looking at the ingredients, it really stands out that kaolin (aka china clay) is the second ingredient. Combine that with mineral, petrolatum, and paraffin, and you’ve got a great barrier cream that also moisturizes. If any hand cream manufacturers out there are reading this, bring it back!

Kerodex Ingredients: Water, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Paraffin, Ceteryl Alcohol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cetyl Alcohol, Zinc Oxide, Isopropyl Alcohol, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Cetrimonium Brodime, Calcium Carbonate, Iron Oxides

Some tips, recipes, and ideas on healing cracked, dried out hands

If you have cracked or very dried out hands, here are some tips to get them healed. You may need to take a break from working with clay, especially intensive activities such as throwing, mixing glazes, or reclaiming clay.

Aquaphor or Vaseline under band aids, surgical gloves, or night-time gloves
If you have cracked fingertips or knuckles, apply petroleum jelly such as Aquaphor or Vaseline, and then cover it with a band-aid or night-time gloves. Alternately, put surgical gloves over the cream or lotion for about an hour.

Add Baby Lotion to Throwing Water
I haven’t tried but have heard good things! You could also try this with Corn Huskers Lotion. One thought is this might make your reclaim clay a bit stinky.

Mix Your Own Skin Lotion
This simple recipe was suggested was:

Mix in a blender:
16oz Vitamin E cream
16 oz Vaseline
27oz jar of Baby Lotion

Other suggestions for hand creams

As mentioned at the top, I posted the first version of this review in a few pottery forums and got a LOT of suggestions. Potters have strong opinions about what works for them. I plan to test as many of these products as I can, and add them to this review in the future. Until then, here’s the feedback:

O’Keeffe’s Working Hands: Many commenters agreed with the top pick of O’Keeffe’s Working Hands cream. Some preferred the version in a tub, which they find to be a bit thicker. But overall, more commenters preferred O’Keeffe’s than any other product, echoing my endorsement. Many others wrote in to say that they also really like Weleda’s hand creams, such as Skin Food.

Bag Balm Ointment was the next most recommended hand cream. Some said it was a bit greasy, but that it works great. It has a simple, 4 part recipe and has been around for more than 100 years.

Potters Skin Butter from Cara Mae Skincare was the next most-recommended hand cream after Working Hands and Bag Balm. Originally developed in 2004 by a potter for other potters, it looks great for any kind of hard working hands! In addition to the website, you can find it on Etsy.

Burt’s Bees Hand Salve was also highly recommended. If you go with Burt’s Bees, some preferred the Hand Repair Cream.

A number of people replied to say that their favorite hand cream is just 100% Shea Butter. Easy and natural! Others preferred just straight coconut oil for their working hands.

The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector also had a number of fans. This one is not cheap but it has ecstatic reviews on Amazon and other sites.

Cerave was also a popular mention. The Therapeutic Hand Cream seems ideal, but the company makes a variety of products.

Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Hand Cream had a number of fans.

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream also had some vocal fans.

The following products had just one or two people recommend them, but we are including the list here in the hopes it may help you identify the best hand cream for your situation.

A&D Ointment (yes, the diaper cream but works for wet hands too!)

Amlactin Body Cream

Cetaphil Cream

Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Hand Cream

Curel Ultra Healing Intensive Lotion

Du’It Tough Hands

Eucerin Original Healing Cream and Advanced Repair Hand Cream

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

Hempworx Hand and Body Lotion

Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair

Kiehl’s Ultimate Strenght Hand Salve

L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

Lotil Original Cream

Lubriderm Daily Body and Hand Moisture

Lush Helping Hands

Malaleuca Renew Intensive Skin Therapy Lotion (commenter said this is also good for treating new tattoos)

Nivea Créme

Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Hand Cream

Wrap-Up: The Best Hand Creams for Art and Ceramic Studios

In this post, I’ve shared results from testing 10 different hand creams. My favorite was O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream, followed by Aquaphor, and then Skin Food. Each of these moisturizes and protects your hands, and will stick around through some moderately heavy use such as throwing on the pottery wheel.

What hand creams or lotions do you use? Please share in the comments.

How To Use and Clean Up Wax Resist in a Ceramics Studio

January 31, 2020 Matt M-H

Brushes covered in wax. In this post, we’ll show you how to clean them with boiling water.

Wax resist is a great thing to use with ceramics and pottery. It gives you a lot of decorative glazing options, and is useful when glazing rims, lids, feet—anywhere you need to keep free of glaze. But inevitably, you will have to clean it up.

The best way to clean wax resist is with boiling water. Below is a step-by-step tutorial of how to clean your wax brushes and container. There’s also a review a favorite electric water kettle, and some tips of how to best use wax resist. The post will start with a review of wax resists.

Our Favorite Wax Resist: Amaco Green Wax
How to Use Wax: Tips and Tricks
What You Can Do With Wax
How to Clean Wax Brushes tutorial
Our Favorite Electric Water Kettle
Wrap-Up: Wax Resist Use and Clean Up

The Best Wax Resist

The best wax resist is the green Amaco Wax Resist available in pints and gallon jugs. It’s a premium wax resist that doesn’t peel or fall off when using on top of other glazes for decorative effects. You can buy it by the gallon, which is more economical. One gallon lasts 12 to 15 months in a busy community studio, so a pint is probably an appropriate amount for an individual studio. This resist does everything you need a wax to do and the green dye makes it easy to see on bisqueware or if it drips on a counter top. Out of the bottle, it’s a bit thick so it’s recommended to water it down by about 1/3 to 1/2 with hot tap water.

To store the watered-down wax, use an old container that can also hold your designated wax brush. To make cleanup easier, put a plastic plate or take-out-lid underneath, and and make a notched lid to go around the brushes to prevent the wax from drying. As needed, top up the jar with more wax and water. Inevitably, the brushes and sides of the jar will get wax build up. Below is a tutorial on how to clean this with boiling water.

Buying by the gallon and using a jar is a trade-off. It’s economical to buy in bulk, but the wax jar does take some maintenance. For a busy academic or community studio, this is an easier system to use and maintain than a pint jar with a threaded, screw-on lid. In most shared studios, those threads never stay clean which means the cap is never screwed on tight which can mean…ugh…semi-frequent spills of a pint of wax resist. You definitely don’t want a pint of wax resist all over your floor.

Shop Amaco Wax Resist at Blick

How to Use Wax: Tips and Tricks

This post is mainly about cleaning up wax resist, but here’s a quick overview of how to use wax resist:

Some recommend painting wax resist on the bottom of every pot, but I do not. Instead, think about your piece: will it be easier to clean up your glaze with or without wax? If it’s a large, flat form like a plate, you probably should use wax to cover the bottom. If it’s a small foot ring, it will be easier and faster to clean with a sponge. The key with wax is that you don’t want to unnecessarily waste time, material, or energy because of drips or simply using wax where you don’t need it.

As mentioned above, watered-down wax resist is preferred because it dries faster and leads to less build-up on your ware. A thin coat is all you need. Mix 1/3 hot tap water to 2/3 wax resist and stir. You might be able to go thinner! Test what works for you.
When applying, be careful to not create drips or puddles where you don’t want wax to go. To remove wax, you may have to re-bisque fire a piece. Alternately, you can remove by sanding or scraping, or by pouring boiling water on the bisqueware. The problem is that wax gets into the pores of your bisqueware, so it can be hard to remove.
Allow wax to dry completely before glazing. This can take 15-30 minutes.
Wax can be great as a decorative tool, especially on top of one glaze to create a resist effect in combination with a second coat. Cheaper wax resist options often peel up or don’t work on top of a chalky, dried glaze. That’s one reason to use the green Amaco wax. It works on top of every glaze I’ve tested and stays in place with no peeling.
Keep in mind that wax burns off anywhere from about 200–500 degrees. It doesn’t do anything to protect your kiln shelves. As this burning can create some smell and a small amount of smoke, it’s best to minimize wax use if your kilns are indoors. Definitely vent your kilns!

Other ideas for wax in the studio

Paint over thin areas of greenware to slow the drying of the clay.
Lid Wax: add 1/2 cup Alumina Hydrate to 1 pint wax to create a special wax for firing lids on pots. When the wax burns off, the powdered, refractory alumina hydrate will stay behind, leaving a chalky resist. This will hopefully prevent glaze runs, etc, that could cause the lid to stick to the rim of the pot.

Shop Amaco Wax Resist at Blick

How to Clean Wax Brushes and Jars: A Tutorial

To prevent contamination and keep things efficient and functional, designate 3 or 4 brushes of different sizes as wax brushes. These brushes sit in the wax resist pot, and over time, wax builds up on the sides of the brushes and the rim of the wax jar. Here is how to clean them.

Step 1

Brushes and jar with built-up wax resist.

Here is a picture of a wax jar with dirty brushes. The wax jar is a wide-mouth, recycled underglaze jar. For brushes, try using economical 1/2” chip brushes, and a few smaller brushes.

Step 2

Move brushes to a small container. Pour boiling water over the brushes.

If you have heavy wax build up on your brushes, you may want to cut off and dispose of this build up with a fettling knife.

Then, move brushes to a small container, such as a recycled yogurt cup. Boil water and pour over the brushes. Swirl the brushes in the water and use the brushes to clean the sides of the other brushes.

Step 3

Here’s a picture of the cleaning in progress and then the cleaned brushes.

After you’ve cleaned all your brushes, set them aside. The water and cup you’ve used for cleaning can be thrown away. (Don’t pour wax down your drain!) Or, let the water cool, remove and dispose of the cooled wax, and then clean the container. If possible, you could save this one container to reuse over and over as your wax-brush cleaning container.

Step 4

Next, it’s time to clean the cup. Using a fettling knife, cut off built-up wax from the rim and inside of the cup. If needed, pour out any wax into a reserve container, and use boiling water to clean the entire cup or jar.

Another option, if you have heavy build up, is to switch to a new container. The wide-mouth underglaze jars from Spectrum underglazes are great for a wax container.

Step 5

After cleaning the brushes and jar, refill the cup and you’re ready to go. Pictured here are a fresh glaze cup and lid. Depending on how often you clean, you might need a new wax cup about once a year or you could completely clean it and keep it going longer than that.

To conclude: Cleaning wax resist with boiling water is quick, easy, and effective.

Shop AMACO Wax Resist at Blick

Our Favorite Electric Water Kettle

The electric kettle and base

The kettle with the blue "on" light

Inside the kettle

To clean wax resist, you’ll need boiling water and an excellent kettle is the Chef’s Choice Cordless Electric Kettle. This is not a comprehensive review of kettles, but this kettle is great. In community studio I manage, it’s been in heavy use for almost 18 months and has had no problems.

Here’s what I love about it:

Sturdy construction and design. Simple on / off switch with light
Kettle is cordless
Base has storage area for excess cord.
Easy to clean
Inside is all metal
Boils water quickly

This is a great kettle that does exactly what you need it to do. If you don’t have a water kettle in your studio, it’s a simple addition that is great for making tea or instant soups. Adding the option of hot tea can really augment and improve the culture of your studio.

Wrap-Up: Wax Resist Use and Clean Up in a Ceramic Studio

Wax resist is a great tool for a ceramics studio. It takes some clean up, should be used only as needed, and my recommendation is to use a premium wax resist such as the Amaco green wax resist. To apply, try using chip brushes or other simple, cheap brushes.

It’s easiest to clean up with boiling water and this tutorial provides some tips, tricks, and ideas of how to do that.

What do you use wax resist for? Do you have a favorite brand? Please share in the comments.

Shop AMACO Wax Resist at Blick

The Best Oils and Lubricants for Art Studios

January 24, 2020 Matt M-H

A head-to-head comparison of the best studio oils and lubricants. Boeshield T-9 is our favorite.

A good lubricating oil is a must-have in any studio. One might be enough, but stocking two or three different oils allows you to take advantage of the unique properties and features of each lubricant. This post covers some favorite oils and how to use them.

My go-to studio lubricant is the Boeshield T-9 Waterproof Lubricant. It’s a superior lubricant with a mix of solvent and paraffin wax originally developed by Boeing for aircraft components. It sprays on and dries to a stable, long-term, non-greasy film. Bicyclists love this product but it’s got a wide variety of uses. I use it on everything and it’s just a cleaner, longer-lasting, and superior lubricant. For this reason it’s my number one recommendation.

A full review of studio oils and lubricants is below.

Shop Boeshield T-9 prices at Amazon

Top Pick: Boeshield T-9
Advantages of the Boeshield T-9
Wahl Hair Clipper Blade Oil
WD-40
3-in-1 Oil
Other Oils and Lubricants
Wrap-Up: The Best Oil and Lubricant for an Art Studio

Top Pick: Boeshield T-9

Developed by Boeing for the aviation industry, Boeshield T-9 Waterproof Lubricant is an all-purpose aerosol spray lubricant that is a combination of solvent with paraffin wax. It does not contain Teflon, silicone, fluorocarbons or acetone. As a penetrating lubricant / solvent, it can be used to clean dirt, flush out water, and prevent rust. It quickly dries to a waxy film that stays in place for much longer than a similar product, such as WD-40. In the studio, I use this on tools, pottery wheels, hinges, for loosening rusted parts, and just about anywhere a lubricant is needed. T-9 is similar to WD-40, but improved with the addition of paraffin wax.

A bike shop originally recommended this product to me and seeing how great it works as a dry chain lubricant that doesn’t attract dirt and grim, I quickly began to use it in the studio. You’ll love this stuff too. Just be careful: this is the kind of product that someone will “borrow” if you leave it sitting around. It’s that good.

Advantages of Boeshield T-9

Cleaner and longer lasting than other solvent-type lubricants
Non-sticky, doesn’t attract dust
Will not harm paint, plastic, rubber or fiberglass
Works on just about everything

Shop Boeshield T-9 at Amazon

Second Pick: Wahl Hair Clipper Blade Oil

This one might surprise you, but I love Wahl Hair Clipper Blade Oil as an all-purpose studio oil. It’s thin, light, doesn’t build up and sure, it works on hair clipper blades but I put it to use wherever you might use something like 3-in-1 Oil. What I really like is the long spout to get to hard-to-reach places, and the screw-on cap. I use this in situations where a solvent isn’t really needed as this is just pure oil. The bottle also indicates use a honing oil, but I haven’t tried that.

Wahl Hair Clipper Blade Oil is a basic, affordable, light oil in a convenient and functional bottle.

Shop Wahl Clipper Blade Oil at Amazon

Third Pick: WD-40

WD-40 is the O.G., the original, and for many, the best penetrating solvent / lubricant. You’ve probably got some in your shop or studio right now. I surely do. I do prefer the clean, non-sticky and waxy finish of the Boeshield T-9 but WD-40 definitely has a place in any studio. Its best use is as a cleaner / degreaser. It doesn’t really stick around too long though, so plan to use in conjunction with some oil with more body. But if you have something like a bunch of rusty bat pins or need to remove a lot of rust, there’s nothing better than a WD-40 soaking.

The other place WD-40 excels is in can design. The permanently attached straw with a two-way spray mechanism is a legitimate innovation. No more hunting for the little red straw. And you can also find WD-40 for sale everywhere.

Final thought on WD-40: no longer my favorite but I still keep it around and use it often.

Shop WD-40 at Amazon

Fourth Pick: 3-in-1 Multi-Purpose Oil

Another classic that is simple, effective, and very affordable, 3-In-One Oil is available in 3 oz and 8 oz bottles, there’s also a 4 oz bottle with a long, telescoping spout, which is a great idea. This is a squeeze or dropper type oil that’s great for wheels, casters, door hinges, or lubricating anything squeaky. To my eye (and nose!), it’s not as clean and light as the Wahl Hair Clipper Oil, which is why I prefer that product. But 3-in-One is easy to find almost anywhere. In addition to lubrication it will penetrate rust, clean and protect tools, and just do the job.

Shop 3-In-1 Oil at Amazon

Other Oils and Lubricants for the Shop and Studio

There are a few other oils and lubricants that we recommend for speciality applications in the studio.

Liquid Wrench

Liquid Wrench is another penetrating oil available in a dropper or aerosol bottle. It’s great for freeing stuck nuts and bolts or gummed-up machinery. I’ve used it on super-corroded bolts with success and would recommend it for that.

As with most of these oils, they’ve really expanded their product line so there’s quite a few specialized options. And in bottle innovations, they’ve taken it one step further with a spray can with an LED flashlight. Impressive! Probably great for machinists and engine repair but I haven’t tried that bottle yet.

Tri-Flow Oil Superior Lubricant

Tri-Flow Superior Lubricant is available in dripper or aerosol spray bottle and is a penetrating lubricant with Teflon. Think of it as juiced-up 3-In-1 Oil but it will stay drier and doesn’t attract dirt like 3-In-1. I used this for bicycles before discovering T-9. It’s a good lubricant but is no longer in the mix for us. But if you need a special application with Teflon, this is what you want.

Plastic Oil Dispenser Bottle

These bottles are great if you’ve got an oil you like or want to find one of the above oils in bulk. Make your own dripper with a long spout! Very handy to have around.

Wrap-Up: The Best Oils and Lubricants for Art Studios

My favorite all-around oil is the Boeshield T-9 penetrating oil because of it’s ease of use and dry, long-lasting waxy finish. I also like that it is a solvent and paraffin wax mix without Teflon, silicone or acetone. It’s the best lubricant I’ve ever used and I put it to use it all around the studio and at home on bicycles.

But I keep a few other oils around too, including Wahl Hair Clipper Oil and WD-40. I like WD-40 for rust and corrosion removal but after it evaporates, there’s not much body or oil left behind. The Wahl Hair Clipper Oil is a simple light oil that is great on tools, wheels, casters, hinges and other uses.

What oils do you like? Please share in the comments?

The Best Kiln Wash Recipe for Cone 5-6 Mid Range Firings

January 22, 2020 Matt M-H

Our bucket of kiln wash in action. Not too pretty but it gets the job done.

A useful, functional, and durable kiln wash is really important for your ceramic studio. Kiln wash preserves kiln shelves, saves time on cleanup, and hopefully doesn’t shed crumbs all over your kiln room. I have tried all sorts of commercial kiln washes that come dry and pre-mixed. They’re horrible! They always crack off and don’t really work that well. The solution: mix your own with just a bit of feldspar to help the wash stick to the shelves.

For years, I have used and loved John Britt’s Super Awesome No Crack Kiln Wash Recipe. But my current ceramic supplier doesn’t carry two of the four ingredients, Glomax and G-200 Feldspar. So I made some modifications and found a better recipe that works great for me for low fire and mid-range firings.

For the G-200, a potash/sodium feldspar that is no longer mined, I used NC4 Feldspar as a replacement. This 1% feldspar is the whole key to the recipe. It melts just enough so that kiln wash sticks, but not enough that it can’t be removed easily.

Second, I tried to make calcined kaolin by bisque firing a bowl of EPK, but that didn’t seem to work or blend well. In frustration, I replaced the calcined EPK with regular EPK and found that it’s even better than the regular recipe! Especially at cone 6. I don’t experience any cracking or peeling with this kiln wash. If you are firing to Cone 10, definitely try to maintain the original recipe. (I used to fire to cone 10 all the time but now, it’s just mid-range…)

Here’s a simple, BEST recipe. Maybe it can be called Modified Best Super Awesome No Crack Kiln Wash? In any case, this simple 3-part kiln wash is what I use.

  
  Cone 6 Kiln Wash Recipe

    Ingredient
    Percentage
    3000g batch
  
    EPK or Kaolin
    50
    1500g
  
    Alumina Hydrate
    50
    1500g
  
    NC4 Feldspar
    1
    30g
  
    101
    3030g

Ingredient	Percentage	3000g batch
EPK or Kaolin	50	1500g
Alumina Hydrate	50	1500g
NC4 Feldspar	1	30g
	101	3030g

I love this kiln wash. It comes out such a bright white that it almost could work as an underglaze — something to test in the future. To use, mix approximately 2,000-3,000 g to a buttermilk consistency in a gallon bucket. If it settles and cakes at the bottom, you may have watered it down too much. Try adding a very small amount of epson salts and remixing if this kiln wash settles.

To apply, grind your shelf as needed and clean lightly with a damp sponge to remove any grit and dust. Then paint on a thin layer or two of kiln wash either in spots or over the entire shelf.

The original version of this recipe, along with other kiln wash recipes and TONS of useful information on glazes and materials can be found in John Britt’s Complete Guid to Mid Range Glazes. It’s the main glaze book that we consult regularly and is recommended for every studio firing to Mid Range temperatures. You can also find this book at bookshop.org.

What kiln wash do you use? Please share in the comments.

#Glazes That Work

For more info:
Read our guide on mixing glazes from scratch.
See our reviews of the best scales, cordless drills, or corded drills for mixing glazes.
Check out our recommended glazing accessories.

Ben Okri: A Time For New Dreams

January 20, 2020 Matt M-H

A Time for New Dreams, published in 2011 by Ben Okri, contains 22 short essays on poetry, art, magic, childhood, the future, hospitality, and new dreams. There’s also a piece of experimental prose on the the first African masks that Picasso encountered, which is recommended reading if you love Picasso or early Modernism. The whole book is a great read for anyone, especially those who are writing, composing, or making art.

I learned about the book from the profile of artist David Hammons published in December 2019 in the New York. Here’s a few sentences from that piece:

Ben Okri, a Nigerian-born poet and novelist who lives in London, learned, in 2014, that David Hammons wanted to meet him. Hammons had been deeply impressed by a collection of Okri’s essays called “A Time for New Dreams.” (In a Japanese restaurant last winter, Hammons wrote the book’s title on the paper that his chopsticks came in, handed it to me, and said, “I want you to read this.”)

Anything that David Hammons is endorsing is definitely worth checking out!

Below is the first section of A Time For New Dreams, by Ben Okri. (Shop the book at Amazon)

Poetry and Life

1

Heaven knows we need poetry now more than ever. We need the awkward truth of poetry. We need its indirect insistence on the magic of listening.
In a world of contending guns, the argument of bombs, and the madness of believing that only our side, our religion, our politics is right, a world fatally inclined towards war — we need the voice that speaks to the highest in us.
We need the voice that speaks to our joys, our childhoods, and to the Gordian knots of our private and national condition. A voice that speaks to our doubts, our fears, and to all the unsuspected dimensions that make us both human and beings touch by the whisperings of the stars.

2

Poetry is closer to us than politics, and is as intrinsic to us as walking or eating.
We are, at birth, born into a condition of poetry and breathing. Birth is a poetic condition: it is spirit becoming flesh. Death is also a poetic condition: it is flesh becoming spirit again. It is the miracle of a circle completed, the unheard melody of a life returning to unmeasured silence.
Between birth and death what are our daily moments but a double condition that is primarily poetic: the odd conjunction between inner and outer, between that inner sense of timelessness and that outer evidence of transience.

3

Statesmen talk about matters of state; poets help us to resonate with the fundamental rhythm of life, the iambics of walking, the elliptical strophes of every unique way of talking, the mysterious pulse of living.
Poetry begins in us an inner dialogue. It suggests a private journey to one’s own truth.
Let us bring together the voices of poetry from all over the world, and make our hearts a festival, a dreaming place, and our minds an academy of essentials under the stars.

4

Poetry is not just what poets write. Poetry is also the great river of soul-murmurings that runs within humanity. Poets merely bring this underground river to the surface for a moment, here and there, in cascades of sound and suggested meaning, through significant form.

5

The ancient oracles may be silent; and we may no longer believe in the many ways that the gods speak to us, or through us. But living means that we are the focus of many pressures: the demands of society, the strange pressures of being itself, of yearnings, inexplicable moods, dreams, and of feelings powerful with all the currents of mortal life.

6

We concentrate too much on our differences. Poetry returns us to the surprise of our similarities. It brings us back to the obscure sense that we are all members of a far-flung family, sharing feelings both unique to us and oddly universal.
We need more poetry than politics. But we need to constantly raise the possibilities of poetry. Poetry will not necessarily change the world. (Tyrants have been known to be poets, that is to say bad poets.) But so long as our poetry sends our minds into realms of gold and questions, and touches our deep and tender humanity, then it will always be a force for beauty, for good, in the world, neutralizing slowly the noise of guns and hatred.

7

The reason for the exalted condition of poetry is simple. Poetry is a descendant of the original word which mystics believe gave the impulse for all creation.
Poetry, at its highest, has alive in it, even in homeopathic doses, the creative power of the universe. Poetry incarnates that which shapes, changes, transforms. It makes something from what seems like nothing. How insubstantial words are! Who can weigh a word on a scale, even against a feather of truth? And yet see how much words weigh in the heart, in the imagination, in dreams, echoing down the ages, as durable as the Pyramids. Words, lighter than air, are as mysteriously enduring as lived time. Poetry hints at the godlike in us, and cause us to resonate with high places of being.

8

Poets want nothing from you, only that you listen to your deepest selves. Unlike politicians, they don’t want your votes.
True poets just want you to honour the original pact you made with the universe when you drew your first breath from the unseen magic in the air.

Excerpted from A Time For New Dreams, by Ben Okri, originally published in 2011.

Shop Book at abebooks

Shop book at Amazon

If you haven’t read anything by Ben Okri and you enjoyed this, you might also want to try his masterful novel The Famished Road.
Click here to find The Famished Road at bookshop.org

Click here to find at Amazon

Click here to find at abebooks

Filed under #inspiration, our first in a series of posts on inspirational texts for artists and makers. For more posts, click here.

The Best Fan for Your Studio

January 19, 2020 Matt M-H

An older model (at left) and brand new Honeywell HT-900 Air Circulator fan

There’s always a need for a fan in an art studio. Drying out projects, moving air around, keeping things cool in the summer… you’re going to need a fan at some point.

My favorite studio fan is the Honeywell HT-900 Air Circulator Fan because it is small, effective, and dirt cheap. It’s so cheap that it’s ok if it gets beat up and covered in clay and gunk. It is definitely not a most powerful fan, instead it is a gentle fan that is great for drying clay or plaster projects on a countertop, or for moving a bit of air around the studio. These fans are also a LOT quieter than a box fan, which is fine by me. Regarding noise, in online reviews some complain that the latest models of these fans are too quiet and don’t work as “white noise” machines anymore.

I also use one of the larger Honeywell models, the HT-908 to move air in the kiln room, but the HT-900 is great for gentle, countertop drying.

For around $15, I can’t imagine finding a better fan at a comparable price.

Shop Honeywell Air Circulator prices on Amazon

Our Main Pick for a small studio fan
Advantages of the Honeywell HT-900 Air Circulator
Other fan options
A Note on fans and air quality
Wrap-up: The Best fan for your studio

Top Pick For A Small Studio Fan

In the ceramics studios I’ve managed, there’s almost always a fan running to dry projects or move air around the room. A box fan is always an options but for a small, countertop (and cheap!) fan, the best we’ve found is the Honeywell HT-900 Air Circulator. For around $15, you get a 3-speed, 9 inch wide fan that can pivot from horizontal to vertical. The housing and stand is made of plastic and it has plastic blades. It measures about 9” wide, 11” tall and is a bit over 6” deep.

In the studio, we’ve got one of these fans that is about 15 years old and a new one. We had to replace one after the cord ripped at the back of the fan after years of heavy use in a community ceramics studio. We belive a tool should be a “lifetime” investment, but 15 years for a countertop fan is a great run.

If you want something bigger, go for the 12 inch wide Honeywell HT-908 (shop at amazon), which is more of a floor or table fan. It’s built exactly the same as the smaller HT-900, but measures a total of 14.5” wide, 15” tall and 8” deep. This larger model is great to move air in a kiln room.

Shop Honeywell HT-900 Air Circulator at Amazon

Advantages of the Honeywell HT-900 Air Circulator

An older (back) and brand new Honeywell HT-900. We use these fans hard! They get dirty with clay but just keep working.

This small fan has a lot going for it:

Compact
Pivots
3 speeds
Quiet
Easy to store when not in use
Moves a lot of air
Approximately 3 foot cord

Shop Honeywell HT-900 at Amazon

Other Fan Options

There are tons of fans out there: box fans, desk fans, pivot fans…. As long as they work, they’ll do what you need them to do—move air. Here are a few of our favorites:

Vornado Compact Air Circulator

Vornado makes great fans, with a variety of different models. The Vornado 133 Compact Air Circulator is my number two pick for a fan and it comes highly rated on Amazon and other sites. In many ways, it’s a better fan and built more durably than other options with features such as a removable air grill for cleaning. It does have just two speeds. If you like quality, go with a Vornado. But for a studio fan that gets dirty and covered with clay, I like the cheap Honeywell fans for a busy community studio. But for your personal studio or home, where you know you can keep it just as clean as you’d like, the Vornado is great.

Shop Vornado Fan at Lowes

Shop Vornado Fan At Amazon

Holmes Convertible Tabletop and Clip Fan

The Holmes Convertible Desk and Clip Fan is a great little combo fan that gives you a lot of versatility around the studio. You can use it as a gentle table top fan, or quickly remove the clip from the base, and attach it to a chair, pottery wheel splash pan, cabinet door or anywhere else. This is useful if you need air to move in a very specific direction, or you want to move the fan around the studio easily. Just make sure you don’t lose the base if you need that option. Small clip fans are also great to put in your bathroom at home or for a desktop where space is a premium.

Shop Holmes Convertible Desk and Clip Fan at Amazon

Lasko High Velocity Floor or Wall Fan

If you need to move a lot of air or have a bigger room, you will want the power of a fan like the Lasko 20” High Velocity Floor or Wall Fan. This will really move air and is great for a shop, garage or bigger room. The all-metal construction and sturdy base make this a great option at around $60. This 3-speed model with a pivoting head is highly rated on various consumer sites, and it also has a built-in handle to make it easy to pick up and move around.

Shop Lasko Floor Fan at Amazon

Shop Lasko Floor Fan at Home Depot

A Note on Fans and Air Quality

If you are working in a ceramic studio, woodshop, or anywhere generating dust, be cautious and use best practices when using a fan. You don’t want to breathe the dust generated in these studios. If the air is dusty, a fan is only going to keep this dust in the air and possibly make things worse. Before using a fan, make sure you are keeping floors clean, that you are not kicking up dust, that you are using air filters if necessary, and that the fans are operating on low speed so that the air flow doesn’t generate more dust. If you can have open windows or doors, aim the fan outdoors. If the air continues to be dusty, stop using the fan and assess where the dust is coming from and remediate those problems before turning your fans on again.

Wrap-Up: The Best Fan for Your Studio

Two Honeywell HT-900 Air Circulator fans. The latest model is at right.

The Honeywell HT-900 is a great, compact and cheap fan that moves a lot of air and is very durable. It holds up just as well as its more expensive counterparts but if it gets beat up or you spill glaze and clay on it, you won’t worry too much. If you need a more powerful fan, step up to the Honeywell HT-908 Floor Fan, which is also effective and relatively sturdy for it’s price and size. Both of these models are quieter than a comparable box fan, and take up less room on a countertop or floor.

Whether you are working in ceramics, sculpture or painting, there’s almost always a need for a fan and the Honeywell fans are cheap, effective and they just work.

What fans do you use in the studio? Please share in the comments.

The Best Heavy Duty Bucket Dolly

January 11, 2020 Matt M-H

A Chemical Guys Professional bucket dolly after a cleaning. A clean dolly is a beautiful thing!

A bucket dolly is a great addition to your studio or workshop. Dollies are great for anything heavy, and also maximize studio space by allowing you to move and reorganize for any task. In my studio, we use them for glazes and clay slop and they really save time, energy and reduce possible back strain.

In this post, I’ll review a different bucket dollies, show how to make your own, and share a few tips and tricks.

The best bucket dolly I’ve found is the Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly. I’ve had a few in use for 5 years in a busy academic ceramic studio, and these dollies are still going strong. They are worth every penny. I have also used homemade dollies and other options, but the quality of the casters, ease of clean-up, and large plastic tightening screws make the Chemical Guys Dolly a superior product.

Shop Bucket Dolly at Chemical Guys

Shop Bucket Dolly at Amazon

Keep scrolling for the full review with pictures and more info.

Top Pick for Bucket Dollys
Advantages of the Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly
Other Bucket Dolly Options
How to Make Your Own Bucket Dolly
Other wheeled options for the studio
Wrap-Up: The Best Bucket Dolly

Top Pick for a Heavy Duty Bucket Dolly

The Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly after a few months of heavy use for reclaim / slop storage.

The Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly is the top pick for the best 5 gallon bucket dolly on the market. It’s made of thick, easy-to-clean plastic, has 5 high-quality, full swivel casters, 2 of these casters have locking levers, and 3 large plastic screws to lock in your bucket. I have used these buckets at two different studios and even after years of hard use, they just keep working. I usually clean the dollies a few times a year and at that time, hit the bearings with a bit of grease such as Boeshield T-9 or 3-in-1 Oil. As of this writing, these bucket dollies cost about $40 each.

Advantages of the Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly

These dollies just work and keep working. They do exactly what you want, the roll easily, and they are well built and long lasting. If you don’t have your buckets on wheels, you’ll experience an immediate quality-of-life improvement with these. Your back will thank you! This is just one of those simple but effective products that really help in a studio.

Shop Bucket Dolly at Chemical Guys

Shop Bucket Dolly at Amazon

What you can do with a 5 Gallon Bucket Dolly

Glaze storage
Clay reclaim and slop storage
Store a mixing drill with a long drill shaft
Move for clean-up or glaze pouring
Dry material storage
Store bricks or kiln posts
Anything you would put in a 5 gallon bucket
At home, great for garage storage
Also useful for cleaning your car or truck

More Pics of the Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly

These images are of a Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly before and after cleaning. It’s been in use for approximately two years in a busy community studio.

A bucket dolly after a few months of use with a bucket for slop storage.

Detail pic of the large plastic screw and wheel lock mechanism.

Check out those red casters! It’s very easy to clean.

Other Bucket Dolly Options

Bucket Wheelies

A great budget option comes from potter and tool maker Bill van Gilder. His plywood Bucket Wheelies are are functional and economical at $24 each. If you coat these with a water-based sealant, especially the exposed plywood sides, you should have a long-lasting and easy to clean wooden dolly.

Other Plastic Dolly Options

If you want a plastic dolly, the Original Bucket Dolly is another option. It is usually listed at a higher price than the Chemical Guys Bucket, around $50, and the screws are metal with a plastic cap. If you are working with clay, it’s best to avoid metal when possible as the wet clay can lead to rusting and other problems.

Shop Original Bucket Dolly at Amazon

There are a few other plastic bucket dolly options we’ve seen, but none that we’d recommend. One option, the TCD Parts 5 Gallon Bucket Dolly, looks a lot like office chair feet / casters, and just doesn’t seem useful for a studio.

Here are some product links to the various bucket dollies, to compare prices.

How To Make Your Own Bucket Dolly

This can be a great way to make your own dollies of any size, especially if you are making a bunch for all the glazes in your studio. If you just need one or two, it’s probably easiest to order one of the dollies mentioned above.

Here’s what you need:

Plywood cut into squares or circles. Use plywood that is a minimum of 5/8 inch thick. This can be ordered online but probably cheapest to go to your local hardware / plywood supplier.
2 inch swivel casters with or without brake (This 4 pack is $14.99)
wood screws
Drill

Steps to making your dolly

Cut and sand plywood. Make sure it’s a bit larger than the bucket you need
For a bonus, screw or glue on raised corners such as in the van Gilder Bucket Wheelie pictured above
If desired, treat plywood with 1-3 coats of a water-based sealant, such as an outdoor deck sealant. This will make cleanup easier and extend the life of your dolly.
Turn board upside down and arrange casters evenly. Trace holes with pencil
Pre-drill holes with a small drill bit
Screw casters to board
Ready to use!

Here’s a video from YouTube on how to make a 5 Gallon Bucket Dolly.

Other Wheeled Options for the Studio

Moving Dolly

An 18x30 inch moving dolly is a great addition to the studio. Put a piece of plywood on top and you’ve got a perfect way to store up to 800-1000 lbs of clay. This can be useful if you need to move clay around, or want to move clay for cleanup. This two pack of moving dollies is just $40.

Rubbermaid Ingredient Bin

The wheeled Rubbermaid Commercial Ingredient Bin is a wonderful addition to a studio where you are mixing glazes from scratch. It can hold well over a 50-pound bag of dry materials. We use them to store dry materials such as plaster, feldspars, sand, silica, etc. They are sturdy, tough, keep things dry, easy to scoop, and access, and best of all, they are on wheels. Wheels just make everything easier in a studio.

Wrap-Up: The Best Heavy Duty Bucket Dolly

Through years of experience and research, I’ve found the Chemical Guys Professional Bucket Dolly to be the best 5 gallon bucket dolly on the market. It’s exactly what we use in our own studio, and what we’ve purchased for studios we have managed or consulted with. It’s durable, functional and at $40, worth every penny. Buy one and you’ve made a lifetime investment.

In addition to Bucket Dollies, other wheeled devices such as moving dollies and Rubbermaid Commercial storage containers will make your life easier in the studio..

What wheeled storage containers to you use? Have you made your own dollies? Leave a comment with your experience below.