-
Angeline Lee posted an update
i seem to be having a problem with s-cracks or cracks on EVERYTHING I make, even my handuilding. All the bottoms are cracking. What am I doing wrong? I blew out the bottoms of both glug jugs AND my teapot glug jugs and the project is already late and I am so dang frustrated! I just dont seem to have the energy to do pottery and these projects on a regular basis and I dont want to quit the crmx but I’m not sure I’m learning everything I need or want to and I am so frustrated.
I almost cried when I unloaded my bisque kiln last night (which didnt get to the right temperature and I think I need help with firing times and maybe how my kiln is setup/calibrated. idk)
I am so FRUSTRATED! Dang broken pots!
Melissa Williams3 Comments-
Did the cracks show up before or after firing?
If before: S-cracks are from the bottom not drying evenly (from what I have learned so far). When throwing, it can be contributed to water being left in the bottom of the vessel and/or not turning the piece over quickly enough so the bottom can dry out. I haven’t done a lot of hand-building yet, but I would think the same applies. How are they being dried? I imagine glug jug means some type of jug shape so that would be hard to flip upside down unless you made a support you could nestle it in. Or, maybe dry on a rack with holes so air can get to the bottom? Or drying on a slab of plaster or cement board to help draw out the moisture from the bottom? How fast did they dry? Do you cover any parts in plastic? In the little experience I have, slow and even is the way. It doesn’t always have to be slow, but it does need to be even. Slower gives it time to even out.
If after firing: How fast are you firing? Did you candle and leave a peep hole out or lid propped until there was no evidence of water vapor? On any given kiln load, it could be different so having a standard candling time won’t suffice. For the first CRMX project, I candled my vase for almost 8 hours because it was still wet when I put it in for bisque (ran out of time to let it dry naturally) and it took that long for any evidence of moisture to be gone (steam on mirror). My bisque and glaze firings typically take about 12 hours or so without preheat. I pushed it to 8 hours on the last project, but my pieces were small and/or thin.
I’m sure any one of the mentors can fully answer your question but then you have to wait for class or meet-up session and you mentioned being late on this project. Do you follow Tim See on FB? Post there, with answers to the questions above and photos. That’s most likely your quickest way to an expert answer.
At the end of the day, the decision to leave or stay is always your own choice. But I do urge you to at least sit on the decision for a little bit because it sounds like you may just be speaking out of frustration right now. Do what you can. You’re going to have good times and bad. Pottery’s definition should be the art of mastering humility, patience, and time-management.
-
one was before, one was after. one i trimmed the bottom too thin compared to the walls i think. the other i did not smooth my coils together tight enough i think.
-
@Familee85 I wouldn’t think not smoothing the coils together enough would cause a blowout unless I’m misunderstanding what you’re describing. On the last project I formed a bowl out of trimmings from a “parent” bowl. I didn’t spend a lot of time with blending or compressing from the inside to allow for a more natural hand-built feel. I was petrified it wouldn’t make it but again, slow and steady was the way. Perhaps I got lucky? On the first project, I didn’t leave enough at the bottom (untrimmed flat bottom) and it cracked during the bisque fire, but it followed the same curve as the vase (not an s-crack more of like a c-crack if that’s even a term). Of course, the crack grew during the glaze fire but as long as you don’t look at the bottom you’d never know. It’s a learning piece so I’m not upset. If I was making something that I’m selling and late on I’d probably be having a Meltdown Mary moment (what I call myself when I’m losing my shit).
-
-
