Ceramics Committee Meeting 20200902

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Ceramics monthly meeting. 09/02/2020 18:30 meet.google.com/vao-xhap-bxt Dial-in: (US) +1 413-338-0558 PIN: 128 478 955#

Call to order: 6:30 pm.

Present including dial-in

  • April B.
  • Anette H.
  • Steve B.
  • James H.
  • Christy K.
  • Clark P.
  • Amanda
  • Amy
  • Monika T.
  • Tracy
  • Olivia
  • Beth A.
  • Kris K.
  • Utopia
  • David T.

News

  • Two throwing wheels have been moved to the kiln area - may not be able to stay very long with bids out for workshop walls to be built. We may be able to utilize other parts of the warehouse to keep them in use.
  • Stone slab has been placed on one of the work tables.
  • Kiln Firing team guidelines have been posted on the Wiki along with firing schedules for the Skutt's and the Paragon.
  • Majority of the group agreed to purchase the enhanced version of Kiln link for the 2 Skutt's ($99.00 each for 1 year). The purchase will allow much more data to be available to us and Skutt. History, current status, graphs of firing, start and end times, etc.
  • Stickers should have been placed on slip casting molds by now. April will work on getting rid of the items that did not have stickers or very few. We need to clear off the shelving that is not in our area.
  • Clay for Chuck - Tracy would like some clay to make chucks for the space. April will provide him with some of the class clay.
  • Group agreed that we will not post or open kilns until 100 degrees or less for either bisque or glaze.
  • Specialty firing can happen about once a month. First one will be Luster. Christy K. will put up classes so that we can get enough items for the firing.
  • We will cover the glaze shelves to help reduce/eliminate other contaminants. April will get shower curtains and magnets to create the coverings.
  • Hump molds - square was purchased and put in our area. The rounds were on back order.
  • Majority agreement that for larger hand built items that need to stay on molds we can keep them on the mold for 48 to 72 hours (2-3 days). Label your board as we do on the bats and only the chair/vice and or two committee members can remove the mold if it is needed by another member. As usual great care needs to be taken as to not damage someone's piece.
  • Slab roller - studies ave shown that fabric is not a high risk for transferring COVID. The majority of the group agreed that we should be able to use the slab roller table and canvas now. We will also look into slab mats for the space and usage. Using the slab roller table and canvas is like everything else, use at your own risk.
  • Need soap to be provided at our sink so we can actually wash items as required. (Got some from the janitor closet to begin with).
  • Classes - first part of beginner series should include the main basics of Ceramics 100 class so that new folks are getting the information.
  • Cabinet for bulk clay buys - majority agreed that we would purchase and use for clay storage. James said to pick it out and let him know and he would get it ordered.

Procurement

  • Monika got a new batch of glazes and cones.
  • April and Anette got 6 boxes of white stoneware from the Trinity clay sale for class clay.

Agenda

  • Went over Kiln Firing Team Guidelines - Kiln opening (including pulling peeps) allowed at 100 degrees or below, run set schedule Programs/My Programs/DMS 1027 Bisque for Skutt 1027, Programs/My Programs/DMS 1222 Bisque or DMS 1222 Glaze for Skutt 1222, Paragon has to be manually programmed. Details on kiln firing team guideline link.
  • Montly specialty firings, Christy K. agreed to setting up gold lustre class/firing for our next event.
  • Majority vote agreed on purchasing expanded mobile premium kiln link version, including history (not just temperature like current has). One year subscription: $99 per Skutt kiln (we have 2) + tax: https://skutt.com/kilnlink-page/
  • Slip casting molds - people should have been putting stickers on the molds we want to keep, dispose of the rest to make space.
  • Clay for Chuck - decided to provide clay to Tracy to make chucks for the space.
  • Beth to check on reclaim.
  • Decided to cover the pieces on the kiln staging shelves to eliminate possible contaminates from other areas. Specifically the glazed items waiting for firing. Idea of using a shower curtain was approved.
  • Hump molds may be used and stored on the in progress shelves for 2 days (48 hours) marked with name and date.
  • Slab roller table - fabric table and slab mats will be available for use again based on majority vote. Use personal caution.
  • Classes and curriculum were discussed. Beth summarized in Talk post. https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/beth-expounds-on-the-calendar-and-multiple-part-classes/74616
  • Discussion about charging fees and different ways to do so. Get information from treasurer on what is acceptable.
  • Discussion around working with Trinity to get a new student package together so we can tell students to go buy the package for the upcoming class. We could think about something like this.
  • Majority vote to procure a cabinet to store class clay so we can take advantage of sales and/or bulk pricing.

Adjourned at 7:45 pm.

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