I will once again be selling my pottery at Leikam Brewing's Holiday Craft Fair, on November 27th. Not only will you be able to get mugs & slugs & bowls & birds from me, but this year there will be two other ceramic artists. So visit Leikam and fulfill your holiday gift-giving needs with some local Portland handicrafts.

This is one of the few art/craft shows where you can drink tasty local microbrews while you shop. And it's the only one where you can drink kosher beers while you shop for Hanukkah gifts. So drop by!

November 27th
3pm to 7pm
Leikam Brewing
5812 E Burnside St
Portland, OR

One of the major drawbacks of having a pottery studio in a 1951 detached garage is the lack of running water. In the summer, I have an outdoor sink I run with a garden hose, but that's no good in the winter. I needed something that would allow me to easily wash my hands and small tools, with warm or at least lukewarm water. It couldn't require a lot of space, or a lot of electricity.

Now, there's high-end options like the Cink, but even if I had the $2000, I don't have the space.

Instead, I give you the $50 portable warm-water studio sink. No, it's not elegant, but it does the job for a tight space and a tight budget.

First, you're going to need to buy this particular electric pump faucet, which was recommended to me by someone on Clay Buddies. There are possibly other brands that will work, but you'll need to fit them yourself then. While you're at it, pick up another Clay Buddies recommendation: this aquarium heater (the 50W version; do not get a more powerful one).

Now, that faucet is designed to go on top of a 5-gallon water cooler bottle. Which is not what we're putting it on top of, so we need to manufacture a fitting. Which means ... on to the 3D printer! You'll need to print this design. If you don't have a 3D printer, I recommend PrintaThing (please do not contact me about printing one for you for hire; that's not a business I'm interested in).

You're also going to need a few other tools:

• 3.8" drill
• hacksaw or keyhole saw
• drill bits, including 1/8", 1/4" and 3/8"
• hole cutter (hole saw) drill bit, in graduated sizes up to 2.5"

However, it only requires a few other materials, some of which you may already have:

• A 5 gallon insulated beverage cooler (buy one now, they're on sale for winter)
• One wood, plywood, or strand board, around 15 by 19 inches and 3/8" to 3/4" thick, ideally painted or varnished to keep it from getting waterlogged
• Three #8 by 1/2" screws, preferably brass
• One 1.5" rubber stopper
• Four 12" cable ties
• One multi-outlet extension cord or plug tree
• A plastic washbasin, no more than 4.5" tall
• A large funnel
• A micro-USB charger

Now, first you need to use the saw cut a slot in the screw threads of the beverage cooler, so that you can slide down the cord of the aquarium heater and still screw the lid of the cooler closed. You'll need to cut a slot around 1/4" wide. Then slide the cord in, stick the heater to the bottom of the cooler, and run the cord to the extension cord. Fill the cooler most of the way with water, because after this refilling it will get significantly slower. Set the heater to 80F.

Now it's time to cut some holes! First, you're going to cut two holes in the lid of the beverage cooler (while it's off, so you don't get plastic in the water). One you'll drill with the 3/8" drill bit, which should be around 1.5"-2" in from one of the edges of the lid. The second one you'll use the hole saw for; you want to cut it around 1", but check what size it needs to be for that rubber stopper to fit snugly. The second hole should go opposite the first hole, and around 2" in from the closest edge.

Now you need to cut matching holes into the board. Use the lid as a template to mark the holes. One narrow end of the board should tangent the edge of the lid with the small hole; the big hole will end up closer to the middle of the board. Drill the small hole with the same 3/8" drill bit. For the big hole, you want to make it bigger than the one in the lid, so get a 2" or 2.5" hole saw and cut a bigger hole, centered on the one you drew.

Put the 3D printed faucet mount on the board, with its hole matching up with the 3/8" hole. Using the 1/8" drill bit, drill three pilot holes to match the screw holes for the faucet mount tabs. Drill these around 1/4" deep.

Time to assemble. Screw the lid on the cooler so that the small hole is at the back. Put the board on top, line up the small hole, and put something through it to hold it aligned. Make sure the big hole is also aligned. Get the 1/4" drill bit and drill two holes close to the edges of the board where they hang over the handles of the beverage cooler. Put the cable ties through these holes and the handles, at first loose and then gradually tighten them one at a time, tying the board into place.

Put the rubber stopper in the hole in the beverage cooler lid. Assemble the electic faucet, attaching its silicone hose, run the hose through the faucet mount, and fit the faucet onto the mount. Run the silicone hose through the board and the lid and down into the water. Use the three brass screws to fasten the faucet mount to the board. Plug the USB charger into the extension cord, and the USB cord into the faucet.

Put the plastic washbasin on the board. Press the button. You now have warm running water!

When you want to top off the water, move the basin, unplug the rubber stopper, and pour water in using the large funnel. I suggest pouring in already-warm water, or it's liable to take a long time to reheat. When the washbasin is full, dump it out in the yard.

Note that the silicone hose from the faucet will not reach the bottom of the cooler, so you can't use all the water. This is on purpose, so that the heater doesn't melt the cooler.

When I was learning to throw, how I was taught to attach handles and other pieces of clay to each other was:

1. score heavily with a fork (both pieces)
2. add thick slip to both pieces
3. score the slip
4. push them together until slip squished out
5. clean off the excess
6. add a thin coil into the crack
7. blend together

I did the above for 20 years and more pieces than I want to count. Many — probably most — students are still taught this method. And it's completely wrong.

Students should be taught the modern way to stick clay together. Not only is it easier, it's more effective and it looks better:

1. Dip a toothbrush in Magic Water.
2. Rough up both sides with the toothbrush, dipping it again as necessary so that both sides are wet and rough. Ideally, the brush strokes should go in the same direction for both pieces.
3. Gently press the two sides together, wiggling them until they "stick".
4. Smooth out the joint.

"But what's Magic Water?" you ask. "And won't the handles pop off? And what's the green stuff in the picture? And what am I supposed to do with this fork now?"

Magic Water is both a deflocculant (a substance which changes the binding properties of clay) and a flux (one which makes clay melt). As a result, it allows to pieces of clay to bind together better when wet, and it helps them stay together when fired. Here's a recipe, originally developed by Lana Wilson. It's easy and cheap to make if you have access to a ceramics supply house:

• 1 gallon purified water
• 3 Tbs liquid Sodium Silicate
• 3 grams Soda Ash

When I switched from slip to Magic Water, I decided to do an experiment. I made 18 mugs, half using slip-and-score, half with Magic Water. Two of the slip-and-score mugs had handle separation issues (one broke off entirely). None of the Magic Water mugs had problems.

Now, if you're using magic water and your handles are popping off anyway, you're probably not controlling drying properly. Sometimes handles pop off because they weren't stuck on well, but most of the time they come off (or break in half) because they were allowed to dry at a different rate from the cup. Just avoid these three pitfalls:

• sticking a wet handle on a dry mug body
• letting the mug dry too fast
• letting the handle dry faster than the mug

For the first, you'll lower your loss rate tremendously by attaching the handle before the cup is leather-hard. This does make it difficult to trim the mug, which is why most of my handled mugs have flat instead of footed bottoms. But the closer you can get the handle and the mug to the same level of wetness when combined, the fewer problems you'll have. The second problem can be avoided with a wetbox or some dry-cleaner plastic.

For the third problem, well, that's where the green stuff comes in. Handles tend to dry faster than mug bodies because they are thin and get air from all sides. If they are allowed to dry as fast as they want, then they will crack or pop off because the handle will become shorter than the clay it's attached to. That green stuff is AFTOSA wax, a thick formadehyde-soluable wax which will stick even to leather-hard clay. By painting the thin edges of the handle, you slow down the handle's drying rate to match that of the mug. I've also found that waxing the joints makes cracking at the joints less likely, although I'm not completely sure why.

So, there you go: a newer, better-looking, easier, and more effective way to attach your handles to mugs. Now go and make some mugs!

As for the fork, well, maybe a salad?