#i love my linework and bright colors on clay a lot of firings just aren’t my thing

[pansylair]

i'm just starting out with ceramics and i've been encountering a weird amount of pressure to spend on high-fire clay and kiln rentals - it's maybe a classism thing? anyway, i've been a fan of your work for years and recently noticed your INCREDIBLE allosaurus is fired to cone 6. i'm sure as i get more confident/knowledgeable i won't worry about pressure from others, but at my level it's really encouraging to see that great work doesn't automatically require high firing. you're very open and welcoming, i hope to be a little like you someday.

i guess some people take a high firing like. cone 8 porcelain or vapour glazing etc. as a step up in your career? obviously a poor line of thought when theres such wonderful work in lower cones or terracotta or backyard raku and pit firings. basically all my ceramic work is cone 5.5-6 stoneware since that’s the cone my guild works with (and i also don’t want to fork over $$ for a kiln rental to fire at a diff cone) and i keep on missing when someone puts together a raku firing haha.

seems those people forget how fortunate one is to have access to a studio/afford materials and firings and should instead be open and consider making the medium and environment more accessible- classism is definitely something to be discussed more and have those barriers taken down in this field/other arts.

overall do what makes you happy as you learn and let curiosity instead of pressure lead to experimentation and good work will follow.

best of luck with your work and thanks so much for the kind words! it’s very appreciated. 💛 :)