Friday, March 12th, 2010
The CAG (Ceramic Artist Guild) will be presenting a series of workshop/seminars to train experienced Ceramists to become certified judges for sanctioned ceramic competitions.
If you have a background in ceramics and would like to participate and expand your own horizons, you may want to consider becoming a judge.
Some of the upcoming class locations and dates include:
PHOENIX, AZ – 3/18 BOISE, ID – APRIL VALLEJO, CA – 6/10 SALT LAKE CITY, UT – 6/15 DENVER, CO – 6/18 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – 6/22 ATLANTA, GA – 6/26 WASHINGTON, DC – 6/29 BOSTON, MA – 7/1 BUFFALO, NY – 7/5 (Including our friends in Toronto, Canada) LACROSSE, WI – 7/8 BISMARK, ND – 7/10
BOISE, ID – PHASE II CLASS – 7/14
The CAG is also offering portions of the three phase training seminar online for those who are unable to personally attend a live session.
You can find out more about these training sessions by clicking here.
I encourage you to sign up early as space is limited.
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
By now, you have some idea as to what kind of venture you want to tackle. And you have pretty well determined where you want to locate your new business. Of course money is going to be a strong factor in how much space you have to begin; but I encourage you to not cramp yourself too tightly because this kind of business can grow by leaps and bounds.
Break your shop into sections. The number and kinds of areas will be determined by the needs you will have to perform the kind of business you are wanting. Imagine if you will:
an area for mold production, an area for firing, an area for greenware, an area for bisque, an area for supplies, a classroom for open workshop, a classroom for formal training/classes, areas for display of projects or featured activities, or promotions, a check out area, a possible lounge area, a possible children’s corner,
an area for finished giftware
To read the rest of this seminar, click here
Monday, January 18th, 2010
The Plan
Regardless of what kind of ceramic endeavor you choose to pursue, you need to start with a plan. You need to have an idea of what kind of business you want to set up and then follow a design to achieve that goal. Some of the things you will need to address include:
1. Create a Name 2. Secure a web domain 3. Make a budget 4. Obtain a checking account 5. Licensing and legal matters 6. Secure a location 7. Lay out floor plan 8. Gather fixtures 9. Order stock and supplies 10. Set up method of inventory control 11. Set up method or record keeping 12. Turn on utilities 13. Set up the store
14. Advertise opening
To read more about these steps, click here.
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
Introduction
You fell in love with ceramics as a hobby and you heard that you could make some money from it. It is tempting, why not do it? Or better yet, DO IT! This is the first of a series that will be designed to help you start a ceramic business.
There are many ways to turn your hobby into a business venture, but I don’t recommend you just jump in without doing some research and some homework. There are many ways that you can garner an income from doing something you love; but make sure before your turn from a hobby/business into a full-fledged income making business you know what you are doing.
The Internal Revenue Services has strict guidelines as to what is a hobby and what is a business, you are advised to get acquainted with all tax issues from the get go. But before we move on to that part of your new enterprise, lets analyze some of the ways you can make money with ceramics.
Presented here are several types of ceramic businesses. They cover all gambits from small enterprises to a large, full-fledged operation.
To see the rest of this seminar, click here.
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
There are many ways to fire your clay. Artists experiment and develop new firing techniques and methods all the time. There are two primary methods most commonly referred to as Oxidation and Reduction firing. In addition there are offshoot methods like wood/pit firing and salt glaze firing. Included in the reduction firing there are additional techniques which will be discussed further in other articles, like Raku, Horse Hair, Bone/ash, etc.
Knowing how Oxidation and Reduction firing works, will help the ceramist to better understand the other types of firing as well as many techniques.
Oxidation Firing
Most commonly, the ceramist will use the Oxidation type of firing for their ware. This is typically done in an electric kiln; but can also be done in gas or propane kilns. In this process, the kiln has adequate oxygen to interact with the glazes during the firing stage. The results are most typically bright and rich colors.
Most of the commercial glazes on the market are designed to develop specific colors under the conditions of Oxidation firing. This firing can be accomplished at low or high temperature ranges. Oxidation results are predictable in that they will match the color intended by the manufacturer when fired to the temperature suggested by the manufacturer.
For final results in the color to be achieved, it is necessary for the presence of adequate oxygen during the last part of the firing process.
Reduction Firing
Most usually, reduction firing is favored by potters and is done using gas, propane or other fuel burning kilns or methods. Reduction firing is the exact opposite of Oxidation firing. It is the lack of oxygen in the last part of the process that is critical for the desired effects. Fuel burning kilns give the artist control of how much or how little oxygen enters the firing chamber and when. Preventing oxygen from interacting with the glaze maturation creates unusual and sometimes unpredictable results. There are many popular techniques that utilize reduction firing such as Raku, Horse Hair, Salt Glazing, and more.
The corrosiveness of these methods makes them undesirable for electric kilns.
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
Submitted by Mal of L’Oie Peintre in France:
In writing this article I have made two presumptions, rightly or wrongly, that you are already familiar with the firing process of an electric kiln fitted with a kiln sitter, or that you are investigating the possibility of purchasing your first kiln fitted with an electronic controller and have already read Majik’s article on “How To Fire Your Kiln”. By saying this it will save a lot of repetitive comments on firing techniques.
I also wish to make it quite clear that I am in no way associated with, or connected to any kiln or controller manufacturer.
So firstly what are some of the advantages of electronic controllers?
1. Firing to whatever cone temperature you require can be done without the use of pyrometric cones. So, you no longer need to have a wide variety of cones to fire at different temperatures. You simply pre set the cone number that you require and the kiln will cut off at the appropriate temperature. This is very useful if you are like myself and experiment firing glazes to different temperatures to those recommended by the manufacturers, or if you want to use potters glazes which are not always fired to the more commonly used cone 06.
2. The start time can be delayed to suit your personal needs. If you have a studio or shop that is open to the public you don’t normally want to have the kiln firing when you have clients or students present. So the start time can be pre set to when you are closed and you don’t have to be there to start the firing process. It will then run through the firing cycle until the pre set cone no. is reached.
3. This facility can also be used to take advantage of “off peak” electricity, thus reducing energy bills and helps to make you a little more Eco friendly
4. If you wish to change the rate of fire or ramp normally slow, medium or fast, this can also be done without your being present.
5. There are certain glazes and techniques that require a “hold time”; again this can be pre programmed into the firing cycle according to your requirements.
6. Choosing your firing time carefully enables you to fire the kiln according to ambient temperatures. By this I mean that if you are working in a warm or hot environment, i.e. S. California, Texas, Caribbean etc, then the kiln can be fired overnight and not in the heat of the day. Or on the contrary if you live in Alaska, the firing can be timed to finish just before you start work, so that the kiln heat has already warmed the workplace.
To read the rest of this article, click here.
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Indeed, it is not to soon to plan for the upcoming ceramic show season.
Phoenix AZ —- Jan 8 – Jan 9 San Bernardino CA —- Jan 15 – Jan 16 Orlando FL —- Feb 4 – Feb 6
Atlanta GA —-Feb 26 – Feb 27
Many companies offer special discounts for pre-show orders, so get with your favorite companies now and verify their attendance to the upcoming shows, their new products and for new mold releases.
Now is the time to get a jump-start to provide your customers with the newest and the latest items available. Get those budgets made, start saving $$, pre-advertise if you find something new and exciting for you customers.
Surf that net and reel in the savings.
Monday, December 28th, 2009
If you are in the business of ceramics, at any level, a new trade magazine is being launched in January.
BLUEPRINT was originally a newsletter for the CAG (Ceramic Artist Guild) and is now expanding to a full online e-magazine.
BLUEPRINT will be published Jan, Mar, May, July, Sep, and Nov 2010 the opposite months of when CERAKANVAS is published.
BLUEPRINT is FREE, as well as membership in the CAG. But you must be a registered member of CAG to get your password to acess the site. You can register today at http://www.ceramicartistguild.com
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Many people do not realize that greenware can get old. When it gets old it is more difficult to clean and there is more risk that it will warp or crack during firing. I’ve been in ceramic shops where some of their greenware looks like bisque, it is so old it has become white. From all appearances it seems to be harder and therefore stronger, but it isn’t.
Of course, as it ages, the moisture leaves the ware, so one might think there will be no problems – at least it won’t explode in firing, right? Well, most likely it will not explode, but other problems can arise. I do know that the structure of the clay particles become weakened over long periods of time. Perhaps that is due to the 100% loss of all water content. Even DRY greenware has miniscule droplets of water within the clay platelets. That is why you need to vent the kiln during greenware firing – so that the moisture leaves the kiln as it evaporates.
In addition to the possible warping and cracking during firing, there is a strong chance that your resulting bisque will repel glazes and even some acrylic stains. That is because the entire piece has developed one big hardspot (the shell/crust).
To read more about this subject, click here.
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
When I had my fully functioning ceramic shop, I was continually looking for ways to keep the customers entertained as well as ensure a steady income, especially during the slow times.
To keep my customers coming back I set up various clubs and once they took off, my shop was a beehive of activity all year.
A ‘club’ is a group of ceramists who meet with a specific goal or purpose in mind. These can be scheduled groups or for drop in traffic.
Make sure you have some kind of display and visible advertising for your clubs. These will draw interest and potential members.
Clubs are a great way to keep the customers coming back and many can be adapted for online sales as well. It is a great way for you to be able to plan stock. You have time to pour up a quantity of the next featured item.
To read how you can incorporate Clubs in your business, click here.