According to our supplier, the market for nickel is fairly volatile right now and prices on chemicals including nickel have increased substantially. Unfortunately, that means that our prices on Nickel Carbonate and Nickel Oxide have gone up dramatically, too. Nickel Carbonate is now up to $26 per pound and Nickel Oxide is $36 per pound (half pound amounts are available for both of these chems).
It's been a long time since I actually posted anything here. Sorry! It's been a crazy summer around here - busier than normal. Some things wind up getting lost in the shuffle, and this blog was one of them. I'll be posting more regularly again. It's good to be back!
If you fire in the cone 5 or cone 6 range, these luscious new satiny glazes from Opulence will really excite you. The earthy hues of Bark and Chicory or the soft, spring-like tones of Everglade and Meadow could make a nice addition to your existing palette of colors. Try 1 pound sample bags of any of the colors for $6.00 each or go for the quantity-based discount for 5 pound bags of several (5 pounds makes about a gallon of glaze).
The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, otherwise known as NCECA (typically pronounced en-seek-ah), had their 40th annual conference in Portland, Oregon, from March 8th through March 11th. The focus of this year's conference was Explorations and Navigations: The Resonance of Place. I'm not exactly sure how they tied it to clay and ceramics, but there's usually some esoteric link. I've been to about a dozen of these conferences and I rarely pay attention to the "title" of the conference. Bracker's had two booth spaces at the conference and we rarely got out of the booth to explore the actual conference. It's so much fun to talk with potters from all over the country and even worldwide. A lot of lovely Canadians crossed the boarder to visit the conference this year, as well as some potters from France, England, Australia, and several Pacific Rim countries. I'm sure there were others, but I lost track. We introduced some fun new products, and I'll tell you all about them over the next couple of days.
The Lawrence Arts Center will host the 7th Annual Souper Bowl Saturday on February 4, beginning at 11 am. Word to the wise: In the past, this event has had people lining up and down the block to purchase handmade ceramic bowls and a hearty lunch of soup from HyVee and Great Harvest Bread, all for a $10 donation.
This event benefits the ceramics program each year, and it's always a lot of fun besides. Last year the Arts Center used the proceeds to repair our ceramic kilns, give scholarships for ceramics classes, and purchase studio materials.
All bowls sold are handcrafted by area artists, community members and students. During this event anyone in the community can purchase a bowl of soup with bread for a minimum donation of $10 - and keep the bowl!
