ESSENTIAL POTTERY EQUIPTMENT

There are both advantages and drawbacks to working in a studio, underground in a house built in to the side of a hill that generally is at a constant temperatures more or less. During the summer the studio rarely gets above 65 unless there is a prolonged period of temperatures in the 90s and during the winter it rarely drops below 56. Here though is the real conundrum, 60 in August is so comfortable to work at but the very same temperature in Jan is just cold, not cold enough to freeze the water in the throwing buckets but cold enough that you need to heat the water, wear and extra layer of clothing and be careful what you throw and how it is covered at night. Now maybe there is some keen scientist who can explain to me how 60 degrees is different in August and Janurary and perhaps has some solution to making my brain think they are exactly the same.  

Illustrated is a picture of the gang of four bottles that I made a few weeks back occupying a shelf like area on our furnace to keep them warm(ish) and help them dry a bit evenly. The furnace is an all important part of ceramic equiptment during December thru March to help dry pots and create a space where the radiant heat hits between 65 and 68 degrees based on the day and at times every available space has pots loitering about. In fact I have actually put pots in the pre-filter area of the furnace to get air flowing around pieces and it is highly effective for just that task and even keeping our house toasty warm.