Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[Madhouse Pullet]

Getting things a little more straightened out here in regards to school, which surprisingly has been quite stressful. "Classes" start Monday but we (collectively parents and students) have no idea how things are going to be set up yet so I would imagine next week will be a cluster.

Yesterday when I was picking tomatoes, I counted about 20 pumpkin that are nearly ready for picking. I use a lot of pumpkin in our foods for things like pumpkin muffins, pancakes, and waffles, in soups and stews, and I use it to thicken things like stew, chili, and casseroles. It adds a lot of body without really changing any of the flavors.
It dries well in the dehydrator so if I can get through the mountain of zucchini next up will be tomatoes and pumpkins.

CMouse, I can't wait to see some of your pottery and creations.

My kids started school two weeks ago. I thought it was going to be easier since I am a homemaker.... not. I have cried almost every day I have 3 kids and 1 extra on Mondays, our [high speed] internet will only allow 2 computers on the wifi. School district wont be able to provide hotspots until early September. it's a mess!

Thanks, Snap. My clay should be here soon. Maybe today? I'll take pictures.

Madhouse, it is. I've done a lot of hand-sculpting before and I'm pretty good at it at big pinchpots/vases and such. I've made polymer clay/sculpy miniature figurines for years - some quite complicated. And I've known a lot of people who've done fired ceramics over the years... But this is my first time on a wheel.
The wheel was pretty inexpensive - $185 including shipping for a 25cm(9.2in) wheel with a detachable splash pan for cleaning. I guess these tiny tabletop wheels have cropped up from china in just the last couple years and are really accessible ($140-200) compared to other learner wheels that start at $600-800. Reviews for this one say it'll throw up to 12lbs and with run without knocks throwing every day for a month without cleaning (though I'd clean more than that) so it's promising. So far it seems to run smooth, though the pedal is not corded, it's attached to the machine which makes operating it by foot almost impossible. It comes with a big joystick style handle you can use instead though and seems to transfer through its speed levels very smoothly

That sounds amazing! I always wanted to learn sculpting so I bought the crayola clay to practice with. Definitely not the same!

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

My claaay came.

Yay!
I would love to see your work!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

My kids started school two weeks ago. I thought it was going to be easier since I am a homemaker.... not. I have cried almost every day I have 3 kids and 1 extra on Mondays, our [high speed] internet will only allow 2 computers on the wifi. School district wont be able to provide hotspots until early September. it's a mess!

That sounds amazing! I always wanted to learn sculpting so I bought the crayola clay to practice with. Definitely not the same!

I suggest getting a polymer clay like sculpey to try out sometime. That way if you make something you like you can make it permanent. Soft clays like that aren't food safe but you can bake them in your oven to harden them and make them permanent and relatively waterproof.

I don't have anything too recent right now. The only thing I have is a very unimpressive grey "Loxodon" statueette for one of my D&D players. I have a gift for each of them and one of their characters collects figurines in games so I decided to make it IRL and give it to him. It's pretty rough - on purpose. It's supposed to be like a crude tourist trap item. XD

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

I suggest getting a polymer clay like sculpey to try out sometime. That way if you make something you like you can make it permanent. Soft clays like that aren't food safe but you can bake them in your oven to harden them and make them permanent and relatively waterproof.

I don't have anything too recent right now. The only thing I have is a very unimpressive grey "Loxodon" statueette for one of my D&D players. I have a gift for each of them and one of their characters collects figurines in games so I decided to make it IRL and give it to him. It's pretty rough - on purpose. It's supposed to be like a crude tourist trap item. XD

I'll have to try that instead. I made a few things, without baking, and they didn't last very long. Painted a few and after awhile it cracks off. I wonder if I should have baked them.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I'll have to try that instead. I made a few things, without baking, and they didn't last very long. Painted a few and after awhile it cracks off. I wonder if I should have baked them.

Every clay has different properties so probably not. Most air dry/play clays do not bake safely. They will just crack and crumble in a normal oven and will never set.

Sculpey is a plastic polymer clay. It sculpts REALLY well. The plastics in it melt around 250*F. Like most plastics, when heated they shrink and harden. So after you bake it you get a little bit of shrinkage but the water bakes out and the plastics shrink and harden to create something mostly hard and waterproof at a low temperature. But it still reacts to acids, salts, oils, etc. so it's not food safe and it feels soft. Like you can tell it's not a rock, it's plastic-y even though it's hard and permanent. It has a little give like a hard plastic toy.

Low fire natural clays cook around 1800*F-2170*F and are ALSO not food safe, they are still reactive, but great for some permanent applications (like art sculptures) and feel very stone-y.

I'm shooting for clays that cook higher that that, up to 2400*F to become stoneware or porcelain. Those are the ones you can eat out of.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

My claaay came.

It was many years ago, but I was able to play with some clay on a wheel and enjoyed it very much. Far more so than traditional sculpting. Generally textiles is my medium (quilting and all things fiber) but trying more pottery has always been high on my desire list. There are some cool art places around that you can go and paint or throw some clay as a once in a while adventure, but I'm the type that would prefer to do something like that in the comfort of my own home.
I'll be living vicariously through your adventures for now.

My kids started school two weeks ago. I thought it was going to be easier since I am a homemaker.... not. I have cried almost every day I have 3 kids and 1 extra on Mondays, our [high speed] internet will only allow 2 computers on the wifi. School district wont be able to provide hotspots until early September. it's a mess!

That sounds amazing! I always wanted to learn sculpting so I bought the crayola clay to practice with. Definitely not the same!

Our district was supposed to start several weeks ago too, on a hybrid schedule, but things just keep changing. Thankfully our internet is decent here, not fast, but ok.
I'm sorry things are so difficult there.
We are rural here but just enough on the edge to have gotten decent internet. Many kids in our district don't have internet and will also need hotspots. Meals too.
While much of what's going on will probably be a set back for kids everywhere, they are resilient and should hopefully be able to catch up when life begins to look a little calmer.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

After much effort today I was able to make A Thing! :O

(Much effort on the left, A Thing on the right!)

Then I kept stretching the walls until it broke. Because that's what you're supposed to do to learn.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

After much effort today I was able to make A Thing! :O

(Much effort on the left, A Thing on the right!)

Then I kept stretching the walls until it broke. Because that's what you're supposed to do to learn.

Beautiful!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Well it's just a cylinder, but it's a start! I got to pulling a cylinder on the first day and I'll take it!

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

Well it's just a cylinder, but it's a start! I got to pulling a cylinder on the first day and I'll take it!

Oh, I thought that it was a cup.
Well, a cup is basically a cylinder, so....
Close enough, right?