How much sand do you put in your clay? I fill this small bowl to about 3/4's full then add that to between 9-10 pounds of clay.
How do you fire your ceramic pieces? Below is a slideshow on how I fire mine.
In the beginning not photographic I set the pieces around the fire and give the individual pieces quarter turns every few minutes. Once the primary fire burns down I start the secondary and the photos begin to tell the story...
How do you achieve blue in organic glazes?
Harvesting Cochineal. Ethical/Vegan ways? Is there a vegan method? And does it work?
I've recently thought of an acquired a method to harvest "Dead cochineal" will this method be more ethical than other methods of harvesting live ones; only to kill.
My method is, once the cochineal dies of natural causes; freezing, falling of host plant, succumbing to natural causes sun, air, or ground ect.. I then harvest in a glass jar and leave the lid off to prevent suffocation. If they are alive I then would return to the host plant.
Is this more ethical? Have I broken the Vegan Rule?
I'm attempting to make black slip. Is this possible with diesel, magnesium oxide and graphite?
This seems safer than using manganese which is toxic.
Photos are diesel and graphite then dried and burnished with a river rock
