Expert: Leisha Hiester - 12/25/2011

Question
I am a hobby potter with no formal education. I was recently asked to  make a ceramic trivet. What type of clay would work best? I was planning on using the slab tech and cutting out a snowflake design. Any suggestions on appropriate clay thickness to make it a strong design?  
I have also had problems with glaze pitting.  I was using a low fire clay and glaze.

Answer
Gloria,
Congratulations on potting! I would use a heavy grogged stoneware, but almost any clay will work. That's a great idea, a snowflake! I would roll out the clay fairly thick, 3/8" or a little more.
The pitting can be due to a number of things; are you sure the clay body matches the glaze? Are you sure the bisque firing was up to cone? Here's a site that will help you tremendously on these type of things; www.ceramicartsdaily.com They have a daily e-mail you can subscribe to. You can also search topics for help.

Hope this is helpful. Leisha