Jerseypotter Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Greetings from the Jersey Skylands!! I bought a kiln from an ad on Craigslist this week!! Yay!! Now I need to fill it. Unfortunately my enthusiasm greatly outweighs my experience and equipment. I took a ceramics class 15 years ago and loved it. It was an introductory hand building class and it focused on building techniques. The actual firing and glazing was done by the instructor. So I need some advice. First: I bought a Paragon s-82 in great shape. The rating plate says it is good to 2300 degrees. It has the typical kiln sitter. I intend to do all slab building until I get bored with it and can convince myself to buy a wheel. I plan on starting with functional plates, bowls, cups, etc. I will likely be buying my supplies from Ceramic Supply (in Lodi, NJ - http://ceramicsupplyinc.com), unless someone could suggest a place in the greater Allentown, PA area, or anywhere closer to the Allentown area. Second: My first major project will be dinner plates. My wife wants them to look handmade (that should be easy!). She wants them to be made of a light colored clay with cobalt blue accents. (She likes the look of unglazed or clear glazed stoneware). So, my questions. 1. What clay should I buy? 2. Which glazes should I buy? 3. What cones should I buy? Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerdry Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Welcome back to clay. Check out the thread recently started by CPT on clays for handbuilding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyAmores Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Greetings fellow Northeastener! Just wanted to mention that The Ceramic Shop is in Philly, and they carry Standard, Laguna, and Amaco clays as well as most major commercial glazes plus a few of their own. I'm sure that they or the folks at Ceramic Supply would be more than happy to answer any questions you have about their clays and best usage. For handbuilding functional items, you'll probably be looking for a clay with low absorbency (under 2.5% at least) and a bit of fine grog. Hope you have fun with your return to mud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebekah Krieger Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Do you know what cone you are planning to fire? I would figure that out first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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