My wife took a pottery class. The instructor did all the glazing until the last class. Where-in she had the students do the glazing. In my wife's case apparently to much glaze was applied. So the instructor made a circle out of ceramic clay (like a coaster) and put that under the piece. While the piece was being fired the glaze ran down on the coaster and the coaster and piece has been fuzed together in many spots.
My wife took this class at a hobby shop in a university union. The instructor had moved on after semester break. So when my wife went to pick up the piece the instructor was gone.
So we are looking for a solution of how to separate the coaster from the piece. Suggestions would sure be appreciated.
It is unlikely that you will separate these pieces without doing damage especially as you state that it is fused in many spots. You could get a diamond saw blade - what would you would use to cut tile, and cut through the 'glass' of the glaze where it connects the two pieces. Wear protective eye and breathing gear because what you are going to have is glass dust that is really bad to inhale or get in your eyes, gut, etc. Basically, much as your wife may treasure her work it is really not worth the pain and effort as a functional piece. As it is, it makes a perfectly fine memory item that can be put in a planter, the yard, or elsewhere for decoration. If she is serious about being a potter, then she needs to learn to cull from the herd...
I'll second Donna's post. However, don't give up too soon. Note that the situation you describe is perfectly normal for those who use crystalline glazes. Such glazes have to be runny to work properly, so potters just have to put up with a lot of grinding afterwards.
If your only alternative is to scrap the piece (ie you can't find a way to "feature" it with a "built-in base") then here's something that might work. (Well, it's worked for me, anyway.) Put on your goggles and get a cold chisel. Place the piece on an old board and gently tap away with a hammer on the chisel to nibble away the base. Sometimes this goes surprisingly well, since the glaze may sort of pop loose from the base. Eventually, you may be able to chip most everything away. The piece will be left with a ragged bottom and edges, which will be much easier to grind than the whole thing would have been. Wear a respirator as well as your goggles. For this small amount, you can use a regular grinding wheel. Some folks use Dremel (hand-held) tools for touch-up grinding... slower if you have a lot to do, but possible. You can even just use a convenient slab of concrete and hold the piece vertical and slide it firmly around.
For final small touch-up, a hand-held grindstone works well, such as the kind they sell to be used with an electric drill... just skip the drill and hold the stone directly. This will allow you to remove any sharp edges around the base.
Best regards,
Bob Masta D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
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Jim, My two cents worth, but it doesn't sound like you both went to a good class with a good teacher.I can't understand why a teacher doesn't allow their student the opportunity to learn glazing by themselves and wait until the last class. Glazing is intergral to the classes of ceramics. that's how you learn from your mistakes. Additionally, an experienced teacher can usually tell if too much glaze has been applied.and would have let the student correct that mistake or themself. sorry, but I think you didn't get your money's worth out of this class.Next teacher that comes along, ask him/her how do they teach. Is glazing instructions involved and how often? I would also complain to the dept. about this so they don't make the mistake of rehiring this person. Other than that, you are pretty much stuck with the coaster thing. At least your other piece is still intact. Consider it a lesson learned and make the next one not so runny. It's not even worth trying to separate it. sorry. Warmly, Kathryn in NC
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