Honestly, I used to stick it real close, like 6-8 inches away. I saw a video that completely changed my mind, though. They showed how holding it back at 12-14 inches gives you way more even heat and stops that scorching. Total game changer for getting smooth results.

Consider how hard your water is too, @nguyen.river. That totally changes how much soap you need. I moved from a city with soft water to a place with really hard water and kept using the same small amount of detergent. My clothes got this gross, stiff feeling because the minerals in the water weren't getting rinsed out. Honestly, you might need even less than half a cap if your water is soft, or a bit more if it's hard. It's not just the machine gunk, it's about the water chemistry fighting your soap. Took me forever to figure that one out.

The 'sweeter success' part really ties into what @sandrafoster said about pottery not always being peaceful. Sharing those cracked piece stories in the community makes the wins feel earned together. It's like the struggles we talk about build a base for the good stuff later.

Reusables really do make a difference (once you see the mess, anyway).

Did you hear about my friend who was sketching commuters at the train station last week? He was just using watercolors to capture the morning rush, and this guy started shouting about privacy invasion! Leo had to calmly show his palette and paper to prove he wasn't filming, which totally killed his creative flow. Reading @wadec39's post reminded me how often artists face this nonsense now.