In this episode of For Flux Sake, I dig into one of those studio heartbreak moments: you unload the kiln and little chunks of your unglazed foot ring are stuck to the shelf. That’s plucking. We talk through what’s actually happening at the materials level—why certain clay bodies are more prone to it, how kiln wash and shelf condition can make it worse, and what the “sticking” is telling you about the interface between the foot and the shelf during the firing. We also tackle a listener question on halloysite porcelains and plasticity. I walk through the practical ways I think about getting a short, finicky porcelain to behave—what to adjust, what not to over-correct, and how to keep the changes measurable so you don’t trade one problem for three new ones. Then we head to Materials Corner to address the chatter around EPK production. When raw materials get weird—availability, consistency, rumors—my approach is the same: verify what you can, test what you’re using, and don’t assume yesterday’s clay is today’s clay.