My objective for this grant is to get adequate Drying and Wet/ Damp Cabinets for the ceramic's room.
Why do I need a Drying Cabinet. Right now the students place their completed clay projects to dry on a old TV stand. The TV stand has open shelves where students can go up to and touch their and other students artwork. Pieces get broken when students do this. Most of the time it's unintentional but it happens quite a bit. Over the years, I repeatedly ask "don't touch" and I also have signs that says "don't touch" but the kids never listen. When clay dries it is the most fragile at the greenware state (right before it goes into the Kiln). The Drying Cabinet will protect artwork when it's in the greenware state. The Drying rack that I am looking at is a shelving unit that closes and locks so that no one can touch the artwork when it's at this greenware state. When I taught at Truckee, they had one of these drying cabinets and it was extremely helpful for protecting student work. Debcor's drying cabinets are designed for drying and storing greenware and clay pieces. They're constructed of 13-gauge angled steel pieces welded to 3/4", 16-gauge expanded steel mesh. Top and bottom panels are of 16-gauge steel. This design provides full air circulation. The four shelves are constructed with 1/8" perforated hardboard, andare supported by fixed welded brackets. Dark Brown with Antique Gold doors.
Why do I need a Damp Cabinet? When the students need to preserve their clay so they can work on their pieces at a later date, they place their work in a plastic bag and place it on a labeled shelf. Sometimes the clay will dry out and become unworkable and the students need to start over. A damp cabinet will help keep clay workable for a longer period of time. Not all pieces need to go into a damp cabinet, but some pieces that have a lengthy process to complete a damp cabinet will be extremely helpful. Truckee also had a Damp Cabinet and I enjoyed having it in the classroom and students didn't have to start over as much. The Damp Cabinet is designed to keep clay projects moist and workable, Debcor's Damp-Proof Cabinet is constructed of 19-gauge welded steel with 16-gauge supports. Foam rubber gasketed doors seal the air and keep the moisture in. Exterior walls are "double-walled" with an internal layer of anodized sheet aluminum. The 4 heavy-duty, bolt-on shelves have aluminum surfaces and water retaining bats. The unit is dark brown with antique gold doors. Doors have a 3-point locking mechanism with 2 keys.
Damp and dry storage cabinets offer a safe place to store in-process clay work. Damp storage cabinets keep both wet and leather-hard clay workable. Dry storage cabinets, on the other hand, are for storage of clay pieces during the drying process. Dry cabinets allow dry and delicate greenware to be safely stored until it's able to go into the kiln.
Since I have been at NTHS I have wished we had these cabinets in the ceramics room.