Congestion pricing will provide $15 billion in badly-needed funding for infrastructure improvements to the subway and other MTA projects. The state legislature passed the congestion pricing law years ago, and the program is set to begin on June 30.
New Yorkers need the original congestion pricing program to fund these transit improvements. We cannot let Gridlock Governor Kathy Hochul's reckless actions burden us with decades more of congestion and bad air quality. Her proposed plan to find an alternative funding source unjustly places the cost burden on hardworking, transit-riding New Yorkers.
Take action NOW
Head over to https://savecongestionpricing.org/ to learn more about how to call your representatives and find out more about in-person direct actions!
Starlit sky on a clear night / the milky way / eternity / clarity / raindrops sticking to window glass
Black stoneware clay with fine white grog, slab-built, denim satin glaze
One of the things I love most about working in a community studio is hearing about other ceramists' experiences with new-to-me clay bodies. This has helped me feel confident in trying out many different clay bodies, and I now use a bunch of different clay bodies in my practice.
Yet there are too few commercial clay body reviews out in the world, even if you deep dive various topical forums! I figured my blog might be a good place to pass along my experiences to other interested ceramists, and I'll be starting with some colored stoneware offerings from Standard Clay Company today. I like working with each of these clays individually, and they also work well marbled together!
Standard 112, 211, 308, and 760 marbled together: as moist greenware on the left, fired to cone 6 and left unglazed on the right
Note that I currently practice community in a studio that glaze fires to cone 6 in oxidation, so my observations reflect that.
My community studio calls this color "sand" for a reason: it looks like wet beach sand when fired because of its grey-ish tan speckled color
The speckles in this clay don't show through translucent glazes like the ones in 112.
Very plastic
Has some fine grog, which is slightly noticeable when throwing
OK for handbuilding, but doesn't have the same level of stability as clays with more fine grog or larger grogs.
When I'm slab-building with this clay, I prefer to let my slabs firm up before assembling and reinforcing with coils. Slab-built pieces also need a long, slow dry to minimize warping.
Marbles well with 112, 211, and 308 - just make sure to dry slowly.
Two examples of what Standard 760 fired to cone 6 looks unglazed
My community studio calls this "speckled" for a reason: it's light brown with black speckles that can show through glaze formed by granular manganese. It's very popular at my studio for its ability to turn lots of glazes into speckled glazes!
I find the orange-y salt flashing on this clay especially beautiful, especially in my tape-resist work.
Medium amount of fine grog: noticeable while throwing and not as supportive while handbuilding as 211 or 308
When I'm slab-building with this clay, I prefer to let my slabs firm up before assembling and reinforcing with coils.
Once this clay dries out some, it can be a little finicky to rehydrate back to plastic quickly: best to spray and slam repeatedly and leave overnight, in my experience
Marbles well with 211, 308, and 760 - just make sure to dry slowly.
Two examples of the granular manganese in Standard 112 showing through translucent glazesFlashing from salt in glaze on a tape resist piece on the left vs. no flashing on the right on Standard 112
Deep brick red/brown color with light-colored fine grog and sand: there's a huge difference between well burnished pieces (seeing less grog makes it look more maroon) and those where grog is at the surface (much more orange looking). Burnished or not, this color is very polarizing at my studio!
Turns a murky brown (in my opinion) when covered in clear glaze
Very plastic and rehydrates easily and quickly from leather-hard back to plastic
A dream for handbuilding with all that sturdy grog!
Test glazes for pinholing
Marbles well with 112, 211, and 760 - just make sure to dry slowly.
A burnished, slab-built piece made of Standard 308 on the left vs. an unburnished pinch pot where water was used to bring out the grog on the surface - different tones of red are achieved!
