7 Comments
Sep 29, 2023Liked by Emily Maloney

Thinking about your quest to find the translucency you want in midrange porcelain and the truth and transparency with which you share. Stirring all the sticky mass to the right consistency in a beautiful mind much more capacious than a five-gallon bucket ❤

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Thank you for writing this. I am also having one of those stretches where my writing process finds surprising new ways to betray me, and it helps to hear about others' messes. Good luck!

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Thank you for this - so interesting. I'm thinking about how it works as a metaphor in thinking about climate catastrophe, personal relationship, and the growth of trees. The value of learning things that are challenging, of letting go of things we cannot control, of learning how to at least influence things that matter, whether they are cups, birds, icebergs or relationships.

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Emily - first thank you for the gift of this word: thixotropy.

When I'm not writing memoir, or reading, or moving my entire office one floor down (where we just found out today I'll be without internet for a few days unless I use my hot spot - maybe a vacation from the desk is called for...), I'm a total science-y poet, with an ongoing hunger for words with interesting spelling, sound, and meaning. Seriously - thank you for thixotropy! (And yes, I had to look it up.)

Also, I concur with your thoughts about sharing the difficult, the financial (in all it's complexity), the failures as well as the successes. I will keep that in mind when my internet access is again available.

Other than that, wishing you all the best in this sticky middle of writing.

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The best way thixotropy has been explained to me is in terms of landslides. Ori pictures it as a ketchup problem. But it's very common in especially translucent, porcelain type clays fired to 2200F. Because of the thixotropic tendency, the surface of the clay can cause crazing in the glaze (little cracks everywhere). And there's a real learning curve in using this type of clay, since it resists handling. Enjoy being internet free for a bit! We canceled the internet at home at one point and it was a lovely time.

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Oh this. I am here too, in my book. (Sub "sewing" for "ceramics", but I am right there too)

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I dragged my sewing machine out of the basement too, just in case

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