6 Money-Saving Tips for Potters

We invest a lot of money in our artwork, and rightfully so! But there's no reason to spend more than you have to. Here are some starting tips to help you keep more money in your pocket when you sell your work.

1. Use a Pug Mill to Recycle Clay

 Save your scraps! Potters who use Pug Mills save huge amounts of scrap clay from hand building, trimming, and throwing. Pug mills make it possible to re-hydrate all of those icky, dried out scraps of clay that you would otherwise just throw away! Since clay can get expensive, we don't want our members to have to do that. That's why we will be buying a Pug Mill for our pottery studio! 

2. Make "Mystery Glazes"

 Stop throwing away the last bits of glaze because its "not enough to use on anything." You can recycle glaze remnants by making "mystery glazes."

Combine glazes of the same firing range to create unique, experimental glazes.

Making mystery Glazes is not only a great penny-pinching strategy, its also good for the environment! Glazes are full of trace elements that are not very healthy for our water, so keeping them out of landfills is a plus for the green-minded potter (and the baby sea turtles)!

3. Learn About the Kiln

Investing a little bit of time and energy into learning the details of the firing process can save you a lot of pots! When you know how to load and fire your kiln properly, you could save a lot of art work. We will be offering free firing lessons for members at our new pottery studio in august.

4. Re-purpose Tools

 Find creative ways to make your own pottery tools and invent things to suit your needs. re-purpose miscellaneous items into pottery tools. Dental tools make good carving and texture tools. Junk credit cards and gift cards can be cut to make unique ribs and forming tools The list goes on!

5. Preserve your Green-Ware Properly

 If you are a busy person, it can be hard to get into the studio at just the right moment in the drying process to catch your green-ware.  A lot of pieces may get wasted because they died out before you were ready.

 You can extend the life of your green-ware by extending the drying time of your clay. Clay should be stored in a cool, moist environment. Store your green-ware  in thick bags, and keep them out of the sun and heat. 

Keeping you clay in an airtight container, such as an old refrigerator, or a cooler keeps your clay workable for much longer. 

6. Commit to Your Artwork

When you commit to year of studio membership, you will be able to buy all of your clay and glazes at wholesale price plus shipping. That's about half off of what you may be currently paying. 

If you're dedicated to your work, and you use a lot of clay and glazes, then our year-long membership is a great way to save hundreds. For more information about our Pottery Studio Memberships, visit our Pottery Studio Page. 

Painted Stained Glass Windows

I did this project with my kids in my mixed media painting class on Friday. 

 I created a template with a few simple lines that formed a little bird sitting in a tree. I printed out enough for my class and taped them against the front side of a document frame. 

I gave my kids sharpie markers and had them trace the bird onto the back of the glass. Then, they used Galleria Acrylic paints to paint in each section of the glass. Its okay if they paint over the lines that they drew, because the line still shows up on the other side of the glass. 

When they are finished, we removed the bird templates and held their pictures up to the light. This was a win-win project. The kids really enjoyed the process, and the results were beautiful! 

Jimmy shows off his painting. 

Emma and her fantastic painting.

I will be doing this project again many times! Hopefully in a Saturday Kids' Painting Club event!

Making Paper Sculptures

Last week I taught my students how to make paper sculptures out of fiber and water. We used bisque molds, (once fired clay), 130g water, and about 10g of fiber to make each sculpture. I used a sensitive kitchen scale to measure the amounts of each material.

Toilet paper works great for the fiber: its easy for the kids to mash up into the water. I had them mash it together with a popsicle stick for about five minutes until it turned into goop.

Once the pulp was ready, they scooped it up with their hands and pressed it into the mold with their fingers. I  put towels underneath the bisque molds so that the excess water wouldn't make a mess. I reminded them to press really hard to make sure that the pulp got into the eye and ear crevices of the animal molds.











To help absorb more of the water, we put one side of the towel over the mold and pressed the water out of it.

They will dry over a period of the next few days, but putting them in a toaster oven for 20 minutes works too. The bisque molds work because bisque absorbs water. Plaster, we discovered, doesn't absorb water nearly as well. It can still work but more often than not, the paper sticks to the mold.



After the molds are done, we painted them with tempura paints and used them to make some great collages! I let the kids integrate their paste paper from last week, and some flat bottomed marbles into their artwork as well.

Mixed Media Class: Art Paper

On Friday, my class of 14 Students made papers for a future collage. Based off of a paste-paper project I did in college, we painted and stamped textures onto construction paper to create unique art papers. My students used rubber stamps, foam stamps, sponges, toothbrushes, forks, pallet knives, straws, and other objects to texture and color their papers. Instead of the paste material, I used tempura paint! 

This paper was sponged with red and then stamped with blue. 

 Some students dipped plastic forks into their paint and then sketched lines all over their papers. 

 Some students splattered interference paint onto their darker papers to add a shine.

 this texture was made by dragging a fork across a layer of paint in diagonal lines.

Each student made two or three papers. next week we will cut them up and use them to make fascinating, vibrant collages!

Zentangle Craft Ideas #1 - Alcohol Inks

Did you know that we are offering a Zentangle Class? 

For this project, you will need...

Yupo paper, ceramic glazed tile, glass, or high gloss photo paper.

Alcohol ink colors, (blending solution, brushes)

Micron Pen, and basic understanding of Zentangle.
(optional) acrylic varnish

On your smooth surface material, create a colorful composition using alcohol inks. Let the image dry completely. Tangle over the various color sections with a micron pen. 

If you want to turn a tile into a coaster, spray a protective varnish over it, let dry, then paint with a liquid varnish. Do not put in the dishwasher. 

Another Zentangle Class on Schedule!

Great news for our Zentanglers out there. Our May 18th Zentangle class is completely full! But have no fear.  Samantha Taylor, visiting CZT, has agreed to host a second class on the following Saturday. The second class is called Zentangle II, and will be an intermediate level Zentangle in which students can learn more wonderful techniques.

Zentangle fans can take this course as a follow-up class to the May 18th class, or jump in as a beginner!

Click here to register for Zentangle II, May 25th. 

Raku Bead Workshop, May 9th

Riverwood Pottery is coming back to Bear hands this may for another wonderful Raku Bead Workshop! I want to share these pictures of last year's workshop so you can get an idea of what the whole thing is like. The Riverwood pottery group travels all the way down from Dillsboro (a little town tucked away in the smokies) to teach at Bear Hands. 

Class details: (3 sessions) May 9, 10 & 11, Thurs & Fri 6 pm-9 pm, Sat. 9:30 - 5:oo   $145.

Register

Every student makes hundreds of beautiful, unique beads in this class! Jewelry makers and potters, don't miss this opportunity! 

Some of the beads in green-ware form

Stamps and texture tools used to make the pendants.

Students at work in our spacious, well-equipped studio.

 Bisque ware ready to fire in the raku kiln!

 Brant Barnes of Riverwood pottery, heating up the kiln outside.

 Stunning results!

Students made a lot of product, and many of them went on to create beautiful jewelry and sold their work! these unique pendants make great gifts for friends and family members.  Click HERE to register

How To Make Your Own Clay Tools

On May 7 & 8, from 6-9pm,  you can learn how to make your own pottery tools at the Bear Hands Studio. Bear Hands welcomes Brant Barnes of Riverwood Pottery (Dillsboro NC) to teach this awesome workshop.

Brant is very experienced at making pottery tools. He will be bringing along some of his unique, innovative creations, such as the opening tool made of a 2x4, a door hinge, a mop handle, and a laser pointer!

Brant says that in this class, he will teach students to make the items like signature stamps, texture and pattern stamps, handle makers,  and pattern/texture wheels. Materials are included!

You may also create bowl ribs,  foot makers, slip trailers, and more. Brant will teach you how to make ribs and wooden tools, and will bring along some wild cherry wood for his students to use. He will demonstrate some unique glazing techniques, and show students how to make stamps out of foam. 

It seems like Brant can make pottery tools out of just about anything. 

"My latest and most favorite tool I made from the handle grim of my bicycle and now I have clay paddles for texturing clay.  My handle tool is made out of the spout of a two gallon gas can. I go to the flea market looking for texture tools. An old cheese slicer or meat tenderizer can easily be used to make clay art."

We will only be offering this workshop ONCE! So don't miss out! Click here to register.