A "Racer"

In every kiln firing, there is usually one piece that comes out better than you dreamed. Some people call them "Racers". 

Here's my racer.

This thing has been setting around on a shelf waiting to be fired for a long time. It's big. There hasn't been a firing that allowed a free shelf, so this piece got put off and putt off. 

But this guy made it into the OVERFIRE kiln. Yikes. All these glazes are supposed to be good up to cone 6. I don't know how hot the last kiln got because the thermocouple malfunctioned. The chances of duplication? almost nil.

I do know that this is celadon and iron applied over it.

 

It did blister a bit, but no explosions or craters. 

I just love it. It's a keeper.

New Glazes Tiles

Doing glaze tests is a tedious thing....

I can see why people find one or two glazes they like and just do everything with those.

But that would be too easy......


Testing glazes means a lot of stirring, sieving, dipping, drying, labeling, shifting buckets around, making notations on my test record pages.

Some tests were about new glazes; some were just checking old ones that might have changed over time.

I used to make my tiles really small because I put a string through the hole in the top and tie the tile to the glaze bucket. If the glaze is in a jar, I fasten the tile to the side with a big piece of transparent package tape.

I also use a Sharpie to label the bucket or jar in big letters. Saves a lot of time when you're trying to hunt down a glaze.

Bigger tiles mean more room for notes. I use any underglaze to do this. Just a dot on a piece of paper or spare yogurt lid is fine and handy for the underglaze. I also like the fine limner brushes to do the lettering with.

So, I'm rather sloppy when it comes to making these. Speed is the thing here, not perfection......

----------Of course, just as soon as I wrote this and fired the kiln, the thing overfired. The thermocouple failed. Pots welded themselves to the shelves and the witness cones are beautiful,  pearly puddles. 

A trip to Clay Art Center is in order. New shelves, new thermocouple, and while I'm at it, some grinding stones. 

Pottery:  It teaches you how to deal with failure and move on.

ALL the time.

Kiln Firing Programs

So, after the last firing, which went very well by the way, I've decided to edit my preset computer program. I think I'm being 'way too cautious and can speed it up a bit.

I also noted that the kiln is firing a bit cooler this time, so that's another reason to speed up the ramps and temps.

The old schedule was:

Ramp Temp To Temp Hold Time

1 50 200 2 hrs (2.00)

2 80 350 2 hrs (1-6) depending on dampness and pack

3 90 1200 0.00 kiln will go until timp reached

4 250 1944

Alarm 1000

Start

New Schedule will be:

1 50 250 2 hrs

2 80 500 1-6 hrs

3 90 1200 0.00 (until temp is reached)

4 250 1944 0.00

Alarm 1000

Start*

*I have to put this in to be sure I hit that start button to begin the firing--can't tell you how many times I didn't do this and couldn't figure out why the kiln wasn't firing. heh

Kilns are always evolving. I have noticed that this kiln is beginning to fire a tad cooler, so I can up the ramps and, if it fires again to 05, I will increase the target temps to compensate.

This is why it is really great to keep good notes about each firing--this was a loose pack kiln this time--so I know that if I fire a load that is really full and tight, I should up the final temperature to make sure the ware gets bisqued well.

It can be critical when it comes to a glaze firing because of those glazes you know only work well at certain temperatures.

With all the variables that come into play with clay work, it's a wonder we even pull it off sometimes!!

Firing Program

Yesterday was the first day I fired my kiln since the big repair and house reconstruction. I had tested it to see if the elements lid up, but had not run it through a complete sequence until now.

This was a computerized bisque kiln firing of a Skutt 1018. The program I entered ran through it's sequence, but the firing took over 16 hours. Much too long. Granted, it was a very slow ramp sequence, but I'll reprogram the temperatures for a faster fire next time. I think I can up the temperature range and judging from the witness cones, the kiln fired a little cooler than it has previously.

That's the thing about kilns, they are always evolving. So even though you may think you know how it will fire from one time to the next, it's a really good idea to load it up with cones to make sure you know whether it has begun to fire cooler or hotter.

I record everything I can about the firing, the cones, the size and composition of the load, whether the greenware is really dry or maybe a bit wet. If I suspect there is still a little moisture in some pieces, I will program in a hold at the lower two temperature ranges.

Everything came through fine, no cracks, no explosions, no problems. Whew!

Record Keeping

I have an old 3-ring binder standing on a music stand in my studio. A pencil is tied to the stand with a string. (I can NEVER find a pencil or pen when I need it.)

The binder is divided in sections and one section says, Glaze Record. Another says, Firing Record. A third says Throwing Record (although handbuilt pieces are included).

I make blank pages for these sections so they are already formatted for my notes.

Here's what a sample looks like filled in:

The last page, the firing page, has a check-off box for the type of firing, a place to note the program number on the computer and one for noting how long the firing took. (Kilns change over time and you need to know about any changes in firing.)

The box in the corner is for quick notes on this firing I want to remember. The space at the bottom of the page is for more elaboration. This makes it easy to flip back through the pages and find what I'm looking for if I need to review a past firing.

The Throwing page is really just a blank grouping of sheets available for me to note down the measured diameter of a teapot lid, the beginning raw clay measurements of a piece so I can know the shrinkage rate, a place to diagram something--whatever you Think you'll remember, but Know you won't.

I find this works for me and I keep scanned copies of these pages in a file on my computer to print new ones quickly when I need them.

Kiln opening

The kiln opening went fine with the exception of one teapot. I was attempting a bas-relief of figures on the sides and one side popped off onto the shelf. Hammer Time. Next time, I will sculpt the sides and join them when they're leather hard. Trying to form the figures on the side of the pot after it's put together causes too much difference in the dampness of the two operations. I suspect that's my problem, anyway.

Live and learn................................Live, mostly.

My other pieces came out really well.

While I was unloading the kiln, I kept hearing scratching sounds. The studio is in one finished double garage; the kiln room is another attached unfinished garage. There's a door between. I had left the door open since my storage shelves for bisque are in the studio. My dog was snorting his brains out and when the noise finally penetrated my brain, I began to wonder what was going on.

I walked into the studio and was almost eye-to-eye with a red squirrel running around the ceiling on the garage door rails. I don't know how he got in. Maybe he snuck in the door when my back was turned. He can get into the attic--much to my irritation. I keep thinking we'll finish the spaces out and I'll eliminate that problem, but seems like everything else comes before that.

Anyway, I panic because I have a lot of work standing on shelves all over the place, the dog panics because his heart's desire is within reach, the squirrel panics because he's a squirrel.

He jumps from the door rails to a shelf, runs along it behind the bisque, across to the corner where my glaze materials are stored, back behind two shelves loaded with some of my prize pieces. He's just dancing on the open support strips, runs across two window sills. All the while the dog is barking and jumping. Yee gods! I grab the broom, open the garage doors, shut the adjoining door and try to chase him toward the big opening so he can get out of there. In the process, I run into a major spider web (they're moving inside because cold weather is coming) get web all in my hair and have a spider running around on my shoulder and arm.

Meanwhile, the squirrel runs back across a window, the back behind the shelves of prized pieces, across another window, back to the glaze stuff; the dog jumping like he's on a pogo stick. Every time he barks, the squirrel gets a little crazier.

I wave the broom, block him from the adjoining door and try to chase him toward the open garage door. He finally gets it, makes a mad dash down the wall. (How'd he do that!) and out onto the driveway, the dog in hot pursuit.

That little devil. I've tried to catch him with a Hav-A-Hart baited with everything I can think of. He has an abundance of pine cones, so he's not interested in sunflower seeds or peanut butter. I'd love to take him for a ride.

New 04 Firing Sched

Trying out a new computer program for my Skutt.

After looking at the book, Mastering Cone 6 Glazes, I decided to take their recommended bisque firing sched.

Since most of the pieces in this firing are porcelain and a couple of them are maybe a bit damp, I'm going to see how it works.

04 Bisque

80 - 212F/0 (slow)

180 - 1650F/0 (fast)

100 - 1760F/0 (slow)

80 - 1944F/20 (soak)

Alarm 1000

Delay 9 hours

Fingers crossed!

Kiln Wash

Kiln Wash I

Calcined Alumina (EPK) 50%

Kaolin (China Clay) 25%

Silica 25%

Kiln Wash II

Alumina Hydrate 50 Grams

EPK 25 Grams

Silica 25 Grams

Once, when I was a new potter, I bought some kiln wash at a pottery supply, slathered on my shelves and after firing a glaze kiln load, found that everything - I mean everything - stuck to the shelves. After much puzzling, I finally decided the kiln wash was at fault. Nothing I could prove, but ever since, I have mixed up my own wash.

Kiln wash is pretty simple. The above are two mixes--I use the last one usually. I mix it up, put it in a large Yogurt tub and mark it with a black Sharpie. The consistency should be about the same as really thick cream--Thick enough to cover well, yet thin enough to spread evenly.

When I apply it to a new kiln shelf, I use a soft, goat hair brush, apply it on in one direction; then when the first layer is thoroughly dry, lay down another layer in the opposite direction.

Before firing a glaze load, I dust the shelves lightly with Alumina. During the unloading, I tap the empty shelf over a large bucket to reclaim the powder.

All this may seem elementary, but these are the little things that new potters have to learn along the way. It's good to share.

Terra Sig

Terra Sigliata, meaning sealed earth, is a pot finish as old as clay. It's really clay on clay, a slip made with a fine-grained mix of earth and water. The mix is allowed to settle out until only the top layer with the finest grains of clay remains.

I've only done a couple of terra-sig pieces and that was in a workshop using gas reduction. It was interesting,

The blue flashes on this tile were the result of an application of a final layer made up of a mix of chicken feed and chicken poop. Who knew?

After the tile came out of the kiln, I applied brush strokes of black paint.

AAAaaagh!

Disaster!


Woe is me!


Ahem


I guess I was due.




For years I've fired my little shortie kiln with no mishaps, no glaze-running-down-the-side-of-the-pot, no blisters, no spitting glaze off the pots, no meltdowns, or whatever other problem you could possibly have within the power and mysteries of kiln goblins.

This time though, they got me.
All of them.

My lamp bases, (the white one was gorgeous, by the way) the three square teapots were cemented to the shelf and, of course, the lids were perfect. One glaze blistered and ran straight to the shelf and my shino glaze had gotten senile and developed a skin condition to boot.

Could I have used stilts? Set tiles? Nah, this time, there could be no remedy.

Okay, okay. My dues payment should now be marked "In Full". (Hah, brave front here, but I don't think they heard me, though.)

NOW what do I take to NCECA?


Photo: Nightmare by Fuseli

Firing Update

Firing completed. All tiles came out perfectly. Now to waxing the bottoms, a glaze dip and the final firing. Yea!

I'm firing a second bisque load now with glaze tests to decide on which glaze to use. The tile guy comes tomorrow. He was sick all last week which gave me some wiggle room.

In celebration (Not of the tile guy's being sick, but of the successful firing), I had the last piece of lemon pie with strawberries. I'd show a picture of it, but it's all gone now.

Actually, it's the extra pie that I stuck into the freezer after everybody left following the Fourth of July. Didn't know it for sure at the time, but it freezes really well. This pie is about the easiest, simplest pie Ever, hands down, bar none, tampoco:

EASY LEMON PIE

1 Graham cracker prepared crust
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened condensed mink (14 oz.)
3 medium egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (ca. 2 lemons)

Mix lemon juice with egg yolks using a wire whip. Add condensed milk and blend well. Pour into the prepared crust. (Turn down the aluminum edge to protect the crust from too much heat. And of course, unfold the rim for serving!)
(Save the clear plastic lid so you can put it back over the pie for storage in the refrigerator or to seal it up for for freezing. Crimp the rim back over the plastic lid edge.)

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Check and rotate the pie. Bake about 20 minutes more. Pie should be lightly brown. To test for doneness, insert the tip of a knife into the center. If it comes out cleanly, the pie is done. This is a very rich pie, so smaller slices are in order.

Serve hot, cooled or frozen. Great with strawberries.

GIGO - Garbage in; Garbage out.

Well, not exactly. But every time I load the kiln, I have this idea in my head about how the pieces will look when they come out. Most of the time, everything clicks; some of the time, it doesn't. Now that can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing.

A glaze ruuuuns right-off-the-pot and onto the kiln shelf.
(Forehead slap) Why didn't I put a set-tile under that?
Maybe I should incorporate a set-tile into the piece? no no no

That combination of glazes never acted like THAT before!

Did I calculate the glaze right?
How thick was it when I put it on?
Has it changed from the last time?
Where's my notes!

Ugh! I don't like that at all!
Why did I waste that piece?

Did the kiln fire right?

ANOTHER learning experience?

I'm going to stick to one glaze from now on.

It's Hammer Time.

Or

Wow Wow Wow
I'm only going to do (white, black, green, That Glaze) from now on!

I LOVE it!
Where's my notes?

Ooooo, That's a keeper! I'm going to take it into my house and live with it forever basking in it's gloriousness.
(That is, until an even better, more beautiful pot comes along.
Or a show comes along.
Or a customer comes along who can't live without it. (It had better be a good price. Oh, where's my camera? Need a picture of it before it goes out the door.)

I've put pots away thinking they were the pits and have unpacked them later and thought, "Hum, that's a nice pot. Why didn't I like it? I'll have to do that again."

It's all in what you think the pot will look like after it's fired. If it doesn't measure up to your mental picture, you might judge it to be a failure while everyone else may think it's great. It's all in your expectations. I try not to have expectations, but it's hard. I've learned to let a piece "cure" for a while. (In some cases, they fester.)

If the construction is fine with no technical flaws and it's a saleable piece, take it to a show or offer it for sale. You'd be surprised how many people may love it and want it. You just never know.

What a Difference a Glaze Makes

This tumbler didn't come out like I pictured it in my mind. The glazes ran 'way more than I expected, although I've done this before, but on a flat surface where they behaved themselves. This isn't quite IT overall. I want the base darker. I'll brush the rim to match and the flare at the bottom of the vessel, then wax the thing. Then do the body. This was an experiment: I threw the top and base separately. I scored the base heavily, bisqued them separately, then glazed both pieces and set them in the kiln on short kiln posts. (The inside of the base wasn't glazed.) Musta' been all those fumes because a couple of these guys got drunk and s-l-i-d ever so slightly off-center. I still like the look. It's worth repeating, I think.

"Cup Committee Meeting" When I photographed this group and looked at the result, I thought it looked as if they were all talking to each other. (I must eat lunch)

I had a lot of fun making these. I wanted them loose with interesting variations. They all have names: Sluggo, Unkempt Lady, Nose, Three Bumps, One Bump, Three Knuckles, etc. They came out pretty much like I expected. I mean, they're WHITE. Total emphasis on form here. I'll make these again, only bigger and more 'out there'. They're fun for you hand.

This tumbler was done after I did a series of smaller ones with more applied bumps. (Pictured below) It has a nicer shape, is larger and just classier looking. Not a whole lot of difference in the raw clay and finished piece. Easy to drink out of because of the lip-fitting flared top, Nice balance in the hand and easy to clean out because you can get your hand inside easily. I really like the size. It's about 10 oz. without filling to the top.

This is "Warts and All". This little devil and all his kin ran like a bandit. Pictured is the only surviver that can stand without leaning. Lovely interior, though, don'tchathink? A note will go in my glazing journal: Do NOT use this combo on anything vertical!

A cylinder form that has been paddled to make a square bottom works well with this glaze. It's a fake ash matt and the runs are very nice. Simple form/show-off glaze.

The grouping below is "Nice Family" because every one has one stamp at the bottom that is the same; the top stamp is different on each. This is a glaze combo I'm very comfortable with. I've used it before with stamped pieces and it pools nicely in the cavities. Celadon is always satisfying.