Keeping Pots Moist

Keeping mugs moist until I can 'handle' them

I worked at a community art center for several years and I know how frustrating it can be to have a pot become too dry to finish.  It is such a waste of effort.  I encourage anyone whose studio is remote to transport pots in order to monitor drying time.  You will never make the best pot you can if you always have to accomodate for a dry pot.

Drying time is difficult to quantify.  There are so many variables that will affect how quickly a pot will dry: weather, humidity, A/C, drafts, pot shape, type of clay, etc.

I contend it is better to have a pot be too wet to work on than too dry to save.  So here are a few tips to keeping a pot moist.

• Wrap in good plastic – dry cleaner bags are great; grocery store bags are not.  In general, the more noise a bag makes, the less desirable it is for wrapping pots.
• Once the pot is dry enough to avoid having the plastic stick to it, wrap the plastic around it so that the plastic is in contact with pot.
• Tuck the plastic underneath the batt; do not drape if you want to delay drying.
• Use multiple layers of plastic.
• Undercut the pot, but leave it on the batt.  It will stay moist longer.
• If you move the pot to a wareboard, lay plastic on a wareboard and then wrap up the pot.
• Do not wrap multiple pots in plastic if they are different heights because the shorter pots will dry faster.