Crimes And Mythdemeanors

[Matt Katz]

Hi All,

I wanted to welcome everyone to the Ceramic Arts Daily Forum.

My name is Matt Katz and I will be the moderator around here.

If anyone has any questions or concerns around here, please PM me.

 

I wanted to start my first topic with an open forum to discuss common myths that plague the ceramics world.

There is a litany of these things and I will add to them as we go. Please feel free to add your own or ask a question about something you have heard but are unfamiliar with. No question is too rudimentary, in fact I'm going to start with one that most of you may know, but some may not.

 

Air Bubbles in Clay DOES NOT cause work to explode.

Explosions in ware are always caused by Water/Moisture that remains in the clay.

As a kiln heats and work warms, any remaining water in the body is quickly converted to steam. The steam rushes to escape the ware. If the release of steam is faster then the steam can leave the body, pressure builds and then the clay pops like an over inflated balloon.

 

So dry your work thoroughly! To that end, avoid Hotboxs to dry. Hotboxes can cause similar failures and aid in cracking.

A fan will do a much better job...but that is a topic for another day.

[crystalsf]

I am working at 6700 ft altitude near Santa Fe, NM and drying ware is interesting. Unless it is simple and doesn't have thickness variations I have to dry stuff in plastic boxes. Frost is especially bitchy about drying and cracking on the bottom.

[Matt Katz]

I am working at 6700 ft altitude near Santa Fe, NM and drying ware is interesting. Unless it is simple and doesn't have thickness variations I have to dry stuff in plastic boxes. Frost is especially bitchy about drying and cracking on the bottom.

 

 

Hey Crystal,

Try wrapping your work in damp cheese cloth. It will allow the work to dry in a more homogenized manor.

[Tree]

That is nice to know. How did the myth get started?

[ClaireS]

Hi All,

I wanted to welcome everyone to the Ceramic Arts Daily Forum.

My name is Matt Katz and I will be the moderator around here.

If anyone has any questions or concerns around here, please PM me.

 

I wanted to start my first topic with an open forum to discuss common myths that plague the ceramics world.

There is a litany of these things and I will add to them as we go. Please feel free to add your own or ask a question about something you have heard but are unfamiliar with. No question is too rudimentary, in fact I'm going to start with one that most of you may know, but some may not.

 

Air Bubbles in Clay DOES NOT cause work to explode.

Explosions in ware are always caused by Water/Moisture that remains in the clay.

As a kiln heats and work warms, any remaining water in the body is quickly converted to steam. The steam rushes to escape the ware. If the release of steam is faster then the steam can leave the body, pressure builds and then the clay pops like an over inflated balloon.

 

So dry your work thoroughly! To that end, avoid Hotboxs to dry. Hotboxes can cause similar failures and aid in cracking.

A fan will do a much better job...but that is a topic for another day.

 

 

 

My favorite myth is adding beer to clay for the yeast to help the clay age. With the exception of a few speciality beers, modern beers do not contain live yeast. The yeast is killed before bottling. Better to enjoy the beer than to waste it in the clay. Cheers, Claire

[Mudlark]

Hi All,

I wanted to welcome everyone to the Ceramic Arts Daily Forum.

My name is Matt Katz and I will be the moderator around here.

If anyone has any questions or concerns around here, please PM me.

 

I wanted to start my first topic with an open forum to discuss common myths that plague the ceramics world.

There is a litany of these things and I will add to them as we go. Please feel free to add your own or ask a question about something you have heard but are unfamiliar with. No question is too rudimentary, in fact I'm going to start with one that most of you may know, but some may not.

 

Air Bubbles in Clay DOES NOT cause work to explode.

Explosions in ware are always caused by Water/Moisture that remains in the clay.

As a kiln heats and work warms, any remaining water in the body is quickly converted to steam. The steam rushes to escape the ware. If the release of steam is faster then the steam can leave the body, pressure builds and then the clay pops like an over inflated balloon.

 

So dry your work thoroughly! To that end, avoid Hotboxs to dry. Hotboxes can cause similar failures and aid in cracking.

A fan will do a much better job...but that is a topic for another day.

 

 

 

My favorite myth is adding beer to clay for the yeast to help the clay age. With the exception of a few speciality beers, modern beers do not contain live yeast.

yeast is killed before bottling. Better to enjoy the beer than to waste it in the clay. Cheers, Claire

 

You are correct BUT when the myth was but a youngster all beer would have contained live yeast and so the myth lives on. I think that the ancients following the dictum "Necessity is the mother of invention" developed pottery just so they could make and store beer. Why else would they expend all of that effort making pots?

Mudlark

[tmpotter]

I use white vinegar to age reclaim -- mix it in and let it sit.

 

Another myth dispelled: you can use previously frozen clay; it just needs a lot of wedging or some pugging. I actually find it great to work with; very

smooth and aged.

 

cheers!

 

 

 

Hi All,

I wanted to welcome everyone to the Ceramic Arts Daily Forum.

My name is Matt Katz and I will be the moderator around here.

If anyone has any questions or concerns around here, please PM me.

 

I wanted to start my first topic with an open forum to discuss common myths that plague the ceramics world.

There is a litany of these things and I will add to them as we go. Please feel free to add your own or ask a question about something you have heard but are unfamiliar with. No question is too rudimentary, in fact I'm going to start with one that most of you may know, but some may not.

 

Air Bubbles in Clay DOES NOT cause work to explode.

Explosions in ware are always caused by Water/Moisture that remains in the clay.

As a kiln heats and work warms, any remaining water in the body is quickly converted to steam. The steam rushes to escape the ware. If the release of steam is faster then the steam can leave the body, pressure builds and then the clay pops like an over inflated balloon.

 

So dry your work thoroughly! To that end, avoid Hotboxs to dry. Hotboxes can cause similar failures and aid in cracking.

A fan will do a much better job...but that is a topic for another day.

 

 

My favorite myth is adding beer to clay for the yeast to help the clay age. With the exception of a few speciality beers, modern beers do not contain live yeast.

yeast is killed before bottling. Better to enjoy the beer than to waste it in the clay. Cheers, Claire

You are correct BUT when the myth was but a youngster all beer would have contained live yeast and so the myth lives on. I think that the ancients following the dictum "Necessity is the mother of invention" developed pottery just so they could make and store beer. Why else would they expend all of that effort making pots?

Mudlark

[hansen]

Then there are those who DRINK the beer the pee in the clay (seriously) and swear that it makes the clay more plastic. I had some really plastic clay once but that was because it was a 300 million year old Permian sedimentary deposit; this is what makes clay plastic or not. Our life time is so short, we can't achieve that. Let nature help you, it's easier. Besides which who needs pee in their clay?

h a n s e n

 

 

I use white vinegar to age reclaim -- mix it in and let it sit.

 

Another myth dispelled: you can use previously frozen clay; it just needs a lot of wedging or some pugging. I actually find it great to work with; very

smooth and aged.

 

cheers!

 

 

 

Hi All,

I wanted to welcome everyone to the Ceramic Arts Daily Forum.

My name is Matt Katz and I will be the moderator around here.

If anyone has any questions or concerns around here, please PM me.

 

I wanted to start my first topic with an open forum to discuss common myths that plague the ceramics world.

There is a litany of these things and I will add to them as we go. Please feel free to add your own or ask a question about something you have heard but are unfamiliar with. No question is too rudimentary, in fact I'm going to start with one that most of you may know, but some may not.

 

Air Bubbles in Clay DOES NOT cause work to explode.

Explosions in ware are always caused by Water/Moisture that remains in the clay.

As a kiln heats and work warms, any remaining water in the body is quickly converted to steam. The steam rushes to escape the ware. If the release of steam is faster then the steam can leave the body, pressure builds and then the clay pops like an over inflated balloon.

 

So dry your work thoroughly! To that end, avoid Hotboxs to dry. Hotboxes can cause similar failures and aid in cracking.

A fan will do a much better job...but that is a topic for another day.

 

 

 

My favorite myth is adding beer to clay for the yeast to help the clay age. With the exception of a few speciality beers, modern beers do not contain live yeast.

yeast is killed before bottling. Better to enjoy the beer than to waste it in the clay. Cheers, Claire

 

You are correct BUT when the myth was but a youngster all beer would have contained live yeast and so the myth lives on. I think that the ancients following the dictum "Necessity is the mother of invention" developed pottery just so they could make and store beer. Why else would they expend all of that effort making pots?

Mudlark