Bradwerd Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Hello! I'm a ceramics newbie just about to finish my associate’s degree in art. (One more semester!) I'm currently working on getting a studio set up in the spare room of my apartment, and I've got a home-owning friend who is willing to house an electric kiln if I can find one on craigslist. My goal is to create an inventory of work (mainly coffee mugs and pint pots.) between now and next spring to be sold at art fairs and flea markets. I was recently given a book about raku kilns and pit / barrel firing. (Alternative Kilns & Firing Techniques by Watkins / Wandless) and I really like the rustic finishing effects in there. I’m definitely going to be pit firing some decorative pieces, but am wondering about my mugs. From what I've read on the internet I've gathered that these low firing techniques don't produce a food safe finish. The question that I’ve got then is whether there is a way to add a food safe glaze to the inside of a cup and then give it an additional firing in a barrel kiln to add the sort of marbleized finish to the outside? Or is there a way to achieve similar effects in an electric kiln? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Welcome. You are correct, regarding the food safe nature of the Raku/ pit fired wares. Rakeware, the clay body is purposely under fired, which actually helps it against the thermal shock. So, since it is under fired, it is not vitrified, which hurts the food safeness. The same is true for pit fired wares. Since firing the wares a second time, with a higher fired/ food safe glaze, would remove the effects, from wither pit or Raku firing. If you fired the wares at a high temp, with a food safe glaze first, to vitrify the clay would also lead to issues. There are ways to mimic certain firing techniques. I am not expert on such things, but others here are. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Welcome to the forums. Here's a link to the FAQ section of the Technical Forum Section. First listing has a lot on food safety of glazes. http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/5731-technical-forum-f-a-q-listing-frequently-asked-questions/ best, ..................john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.