Pottery Studio Water Systems - My eco-friendly at home pottery studio WITHOUT a sink!

[@dagnarieland5366]

Finally! I had not been able to see what drill attachments looked like on their ends until 11:34.

[@andrearoberts1873]

Putting the buckets on rolling bases - that was an aha moment for me, thank you! Also the "Mystery glaze" - that's something I'll really enjoy trying out.

[@missprettysunshine]

TIP : I gently scrap the bottom of my pots above it's glaze bucket before wiping with a sponge. The powdered glaze just falls back into it's bucket. You can use any flat surface tool, like a trimming tool, knife, etc.

[@StainlessHelena]

If I ever pick up pottery again, your way is exactly how I want to do it.

[@brighterdays4050]

Thank you SO MUCH for this video. I am an art teacher with almost 0 ceramics experience, and I was thrown into teaching a high school ceramics class this year. There are so many videos on how to make pottery, but not enough videos about managing a studio! I can't believe it took me half a school year to find this. So anyway, THANK YOU!!!!

[@PotterytothePeople]

im glad it was helpful for you! i also couldnt believe there are not more videos on this topic. it is so important!

[@4822PoundsofHam]

No way me too! I’ve been watching all her vids to teach myself. We got this!

[@Gilren1]

Danke, dass Du dein Wissen mit uns teilst! Wirklich hilfreich!

[@MissMoDean]

Such a helpful video, thank you! I love how you’ve set up your reclaim system! I do want to clear up one very common misconception! I also learned early on that firing glaze waste makes the chemicals inert; however, this isn’t true! Firing your glaze waste does not neutralize toxic chemicals or make them any less likely to leach into groundwater, etc. Only chemically stable glazes will not leach (this is true for the glazes we use on our pottery too!), and a mix of various glazes is very, very unlikely to be chemically stable once fired. IF your glazes contain toxic metals (many don’t!), treating them as hazardous waste (option 1) is really the only way to safely dispose of them, if you don’t use them up as a mystery glaze (option 3). Learning about glaze chemistry has really opened my eyes to analyze a lot of the “lore” we learn as potters, and I just like to spread the knowledge wealth where I can. Thanks again for this super helpful breakdown of your studio setup!

[@naominandn6509]

you are a galaxy brained genius for sharing all these details!!! I am already thing of how i can adapt some of your tips for my own little studio. Thank you for sharing💖

[@PotterytothePeople]

I’m so glad you found it useful! I love systems hehe

[@MsBlulucky]

I want to try pottery at home. So far I've only bought clay and some tools. Without your videos I probably would have never thought about the waste water and how to deal with it. It's all a bit daunting but thanks to your videos I feel prepared to tackle all these things!

[@elivean]

That was a great video! I am setting up my studio in an independent room from my house, where there's no water connection whatsoever haha so I've been designing the water system for a couple months. One thing I recommend for your water "stinkiness" is to attach a filter on the exit of your existing gravity filter, with activated charcoal pellets or granulate; it is an excellent odor remover. :)

[@Brendonluvr24]

thank you for all that do not just for the online community but for out planet

[@blabla1260]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your knowledge! What you´re doing with these videos is so helpful!

[@Manniemo49]

I just left dump the slop from my water bucket into a 5 gallon bucket and let the water evaporate, works great and cuts out so many steps. Good tips for glaze waste thank you

[@isabelmujica945]

Door number 2 for me, thank you. It started me thinking that the glazes then aren't such a good idea for tableware but you got to watch the whole thing to understand everything 🤗

[@PotterytothePeople]

Glad I could help!

[@kayewinfindale3055]

Thanks for this. Really interesting to see how other people run their studio. Will watch more as you post. Live the environmental aspect as well. ❤

[@karinkeeble1993]

I grew up where we had to pay the fire brigade to fill a cistern for our house. So I really approve of your water systems!

[@oliviablanc8726]

This video is gold!! I do pottery in my backyard so this is so helpful. I use a lot of underglazes and always wondered is there any special way to dispose of the underglaze water. Or would it just go into the waste bucket?

[@maricotera2779]

Mia, thank you! This is so informative and useful. I have a home studio with no sink so I use buckets, but I've never made it truly recyclable or functional. I'll be trying out many of your suggestions.

[@katie1068]

Thank you for highlighting the toxic nature of glazes, I hadn't realised! None of my ceramic classes mentioned it. Also, by 'drain' when you're fully getting rid of the *clay* waste water, do you mean outside drains that go straight to the sewers? I clean in buckets, then the top clearer layers I pour into the outside drain, or into flower beds.

[@damonmanni]

Great video Mia & thank you for sharing your knowledge. I’ve watched a few of your vid’s and you have many buckets each with criteria, steps, process, etc, and frankly I’m all confused by the end of the lengthy video, so a request: Can you make a Summary cheat sheet that I can print out containing: A list of each bucket name; what its purpose is/contains; and the process steps to get to the purpose of the bucket? A summary will help greatly. Cheers

[@betsyfrazier7138]

What do you do with the water left in the glaze waste bucket, after scooping out the glaze that settled in the bottom? Sorry if I just missed it in the video!

[@tobiasrankin9606]

Thank you very much great explanation and helping me prepare for my own home studio.

[@diana2495]

Thank you so so much! Im watching all your videos! What do you do with the glaze water after you've fired the collected glaze or dumped it safely? In the soil?

[@donadonohoe9437]

I am soo happy I found your videos!!! Thank you so much for breaking down all the questions that come up for a newbie! I’ve learned soo much! Thank you friend!👍🏼 18:14

[@lisanelhiebel5669]

Thank you for this great video and for showing techniques to limit waste as much as possible. Do you also use a specific technique to throw and trim your pieces so you generate less waste, e.g. water usage, form creation optimized for minimal trimming? Would be super interesting to see!!!

[@jennyp7084]

Mia, thank you! That was a super informative video. I don’t have a studio yet. At the moment I use a community studio where there is no limit on water use so I’d not given waste water much thought. Now I’m going to try to limit my water use there as a start.

[@chanmarielloyd5910]

Such a great video! This was IMMENSELY helpful as someone just getting into pottery. Quick question, though, what about underglazes or sgraffito? Do you have a special process for disposing of those?

[@bethbusbee1212]

This is a great video! Thank you! I will try essential oil such as lemon and thyme oil to clean the waste water in the gravity filter.

[@YinSumCantoneseMeditation]

Hello! I am wondering if you can compost the sludge you collect from the gravity waste water system. We use a composting method called Paca Digestora and it works for everything organic (even poop!). If the smelly, stinky sludge is all organic (mainly no plastics / glass / aluminium), then it's probably compostable, in which case you don't need to bag it and throw to the landfill?

[@AnaMahsati]

This is super helpful for me, cause I'm starting to do pottery at home and I don't want to clog the pipes. Is there something that can go to the soil? Like the stuff you take from the gravity trap, in a plot of not used garden or something? I'm thinking about those bacteria doing their job and the garden getting some soil. Or maybe putting it to dry in the sun?

[@PotterytothePeople]

lots of potters do that! just be prepared for it to affect your soil :) but an unused patch in your yard should be fine. I’ve never tried it myself though so I cant speak from experience.

[@AnaMahsati]

@@PotterytothePeople yeah, it'd need to be an unused one that won't have plants in it. I don't think plants do well in soil with much clay.

[@ithulah]

A few drops of tea tree oil, or maybe eucalyptus or lavender in the filter? Lemon eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora) might be nice. You wouldn't need much to keep bacteria somewhat under control. And it'd mask any residual smell.

[@sandiebrown9521]

Oil and water don’t mix. The tea tree oil would just float on the top. The bacteria in these buckets would be anaerobic and grow at the bottom of the bucket. Not sure how the oils would help?

[@jesuismama6312]

I couldn’t bring myself to waxing the bottoms either. But when I finally did it changed my life😅

[@suebubic3210]

Wow... thank you for such thoroughness and easy to follow explanations. danke schön

[@susanbuhler9932]

Excellent!!! I’m a new follower and I’m so pleased with you’re content!

[@PotterytothePeople]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@celloafterdark4173]

I wanna see that mystery glaze so badly now 😂

[@ryanfitzalan8634]

So strange question: could you use the mop bucket sludge from your water cleaning system as a glaze? maybe give it a quick sieve for large particles and objects, stir it up in a fresh bucket as a glaze and throw some decorative ware into it? Assuming that its just from water mopping, it is probably mostly clay, than secondly it would have dirt and other organic materials from your shoes, and lastly maybe a little bit of random glaze. If that's the case, than i would think heavy organic or inorganic particles would float to the bottom quickly after stirring, leaving just clay and light dirt and organics particles in suspension along with glaze particles. So it would be like glazing in mostly slip. If the result was pointless, than it could be cut with ash or some other glaze to perhaps give it interest again. IDK about anyone else but i love the idea of turning waste into utility, so if there isn't any reason it would be unsafe to fire it, than why not find a line of wares to put it to use on, for instance making plant pots (bonsai pots in my case) but for any potter they could just make a standard "terracotta-like" Plant pot with maybe a cheaper clay and use this cheap "Sludge glaze" to turn waste into product.

[@anamarcelino6450]

Question: what donyou do with the solid waist that eventually fills the gravity filter? What I mean is where do you dump it? Also loved this video! Super helpful ❤

[@anamarcelino6450]

Update I saw the last minutes of the video hahah informed :))

[@rodrigokimel]

Amazing video my friend! Just a question, does your clay water, the one you keep in the bucket with a lid, does that smell? My issue with the clay water is that it tends to smell bad quite fast, but I was not covering it with a lid..

[@PotterytothePeople]

It can smell if you leave it a long time. I used to have this problem in my Berlin studio. It can even turn black haha but it's not dangerous and will not affect your clay (besides looking dark when you use it, but it will fire out fine).

[@carlottasolari5174]

Hi, what would your advice be for someone who just has a small desk set up at home, in terms of water management?

[@awakenability]

Extremely helpful thanks 🙏 much appreciated

[@hlopez9696]

Excellent video & advice. Thank you so much 👏👏👏

[@mcchesney1000]

Thanks for the helpful video. Can you tell me what size buckets you use?

[@PamelaCuddihy]

This is exactly how a septic tank works for a house. Once a year you have them come out and clean out the sludge.

[@caroljordan2886]

Thanks for these tips. I’m organizing my studio and there will br no running water as it’s a shed.❤️🕊

[@goombasquaddie6118]

When clay scraps dry out completely, will it be usable again if you soak it in water? 🙂

[@Mellyh13]

I wonder if a uv light as a disinfectant agent would work! It’s popular with aquarium enthusiasts

[@didemalemdar6220]

Great information. Just what I needed. One question though; if I want to make mystery glazing and the glazes in the bucket are both ht and lt; at which temp do I need to fire them? 🤔

[@PotterytothePeople]

Always use the lowest temp of the glaze in the bucket! 🙌

[@gwenblake3875]

Thanks! This was really useful!

[@sigitwijaya5368]

hello, I just subscribed after seeing your video, I am very excited to learn more diligently about making ceramics because I am a beginner, I want to ask, do you need additional water glass / sodium silicate to process clay?

[@AshZification]

Could you put sodium bicarb in the gravity filter to help reduce bacteria growth?

[@reneeamyot4261]

So so SO usefull. Thank you

[@zeeeeeeeep]

what would you do if your glaze waste bucket filled up? are you able to siphon off the water in the top or?

[@flatflo]

How do you wash your hands when they are full of clay? Just wipe on a towel really well? And then how do you launder the towel and any clothing that get spattered?

[@duckiez71]

Do you reuse throwing water? I use my reclaim bucket at my throwing bucket but i dont knows how sanitary it is so i pour off the water and put fresh water each time but is it necessary?

[@thomassimonton8503]

Thank you for sharing such a Great video.

[@bettinakarolyi2634]

Thank you, so helpful! In which bucket do you clean your splash pan and tools? Extra bucket and the remaining clay goes into the reclaim bucket?

[@sandiebrown9521]

I was told that your throwing waste in the pan needs to go into your reclaim bucket as it is where a lot of the fines end up. You need to return the fines to the rest of the clay body to keep it stable and balanced.

[@etownem9]

I know the video is about water, but using wax is another product and packaging (single use plastic) that isn't really necessary, so I don't think it's a lazy thing :) . I'm curious where does your underglaze waste go?

[@erinhallmakes777]

I dont wax my bottoms because 1, I work in a studio with a full trap system. and 2 I am really concerned about what the wax even is if it creates reactions in the kiln as it burns off and most concerning to me, what are the environmental concerns of that being burnt off and releasing into the atmosphere via air.

[@726marsey]

Thank you thank you for this video!

[@lisataylor1305]

Thank you, that was so helpful to see

[@maritessburgos1910]

can you use the gravity filter water to water plants at the end?

[@NikoleVelascoo]

Is the clay trap necessary for reasons besides sustainability?

[@terryweir7163]

How do you clean your glaze brushes?

[@mikebery1265]

Its a great video, but……. Your map over the world, are missing Denmark. It’s just gone??? 😢😢😢

[@somegreenlife249]

Mal wieder ein super hilfreiches Video! Könntest du noch ein Video machen wie du das mit der Konformitätserklärung machst? Ich hatte verschiedene Laboren angeschrieben und nur eins führte die Untersuchung überhaupt durch und der Preis war bei knapp 400 Euro. Ich hatte dann noch andere Keramiker gefragt und die machen das alle nicht. Soweit ich aber weiß ist das vorgeschrieben wenn Gebrauchskeramik verkauft wird. Kennst du dich damit ein bisschen aus oder wie handhabst du das?

[@PotterytothePeople]

Ja, das ist ein sehr interessantes Thema, aber leider ist es schwer, solide Informationen zu diesem Thema zu bekommen 🥴. Als ich das letzte Mal recherchiert habe, schien der Konsens zu sein, dass es zwar technisch vorgeschrieben ist, das Gesetz aber nie durchgesetzt wird. Außerdem habe ich gehört, dass sie nur auf sehr offensichtliche Dinge wie Blei und andere Stoffe testen, die in modernen Glasuren nicht enthalten sind (oder Töpfer sollten es besser wissen, als sie nicht in Glasuren zu verwenden), so dass das Gesetz vielleicht überflüssig ist? So habe ich es jedenfalls gehört. Ich kenne keinen einzigen Töpfer, der dies tut. 😅

[@somegreenlife249]

@@PotterytothePeople Ah danke dir für deine schnelle Rückmeldung. Ich habe eben auch den Eindruck dass das kaum jemand macht. Kannst du dir ja nur einmal leisten bei den Preisen und dann musst du immer bei der Glasur und dem Ton bleiben, weil sonst müsstest du ja jedes mal wieder neu testen lassen.

[@KSCPMark6742]

Hey, hey. Denmark dropped off the map? That's concerning. Interesting setup, thanks for posting.

[@PotterytothePeople]

omg!!! i didnt notice that hahaha

[@katerynaivchenko1673]

There is also Czechoslovakia instead of Czechia and Slovakia separately :)

[@Gingy50]

You should change your mop water once a weak. If you leave it for a month you mop head will get pretty stinky, and dirty, with all sorts of bacteria and other germs x

[@ivetaolivova7674]

The map is out of date lol... Czechoslovakia do not exist for 30 years.

[@thanksaanderton]

Does anyone else find it hard to concentrate on what’s being said with music in the background?

[@PotterytothePeople]

noted, thanks for the feedback! I am also curious if others agree…

[@ixchelssong]

Background music doesn't usually bother me at all.If it does bother me , I think it's because it's too loud compared to whatever is being said. (Not the case here.)

[@touisbetterthanpi]

I didn’t even realize there was music in the background