PeterH

Valuable experience. To emphasise the obvious: if @kawaiidumpling wanted to follow this approach they would need to make a casting-slip version of a commercial "sculptural" body. (As you cannot remove the deflocculant from a slip-casting body.)

Congratulations, some very ethereal results. Could you give a few more details of your process? I'm assuming it's something like: - Inkjet printing onto paper? - Sprinkling oxide/stain powder onto damped paper? - Press clay onto image? PS Vague memories at the back of my mind ( probably from reading about laser-printed transfer plates) suggest that pre-treating your digital image before printing it might change the nature of your final images. For example, digitally process your image to produce either a "halftone" B&W image or a low-resolution one. (Perhaps try 100dpi to see the effect, then maybe 300dpi in practice.) Print them at whatever resolution your printer has. You might get a more accurate greyscale.

You could also make/buy texture sheets/rollers to provide a low-relief background for your sculptures. e.g. https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/polymer_clay_texture_sheet

Posted the plate for the record

Still arguing for using the same body for mug and sculptures. If you want/need to attach hand-build sculptures, why not hand-build the mug. 101 on making a slab mug, with tips on rolling out the clay if you are unaccustomed to hand-building https://thepotterywheel.com/slab-built-mugs/ Personally I prefer to join round a tube of some sort, as in https://clairepalmerphotography.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/how-to-create-a-cylinder-vase-slab-building/

FYI tried to find the voltages I see you are in the US, a US page https://www.hot-clay.com/nabertherm-top-190-pottery-kiln-free-uk-delivery.html?gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjcH8s4HA_gIVMYBQBh3gDAqeEAQYAyABEgIKX_D_BwE gives On p46 of the English catalogue https://nabertherm.com/sites/default/files/2023-02/artscrafts_english.pdf

Do you have any porcelain clays in mind? What cone do they need to be fired at, and can you reach those temperatures? Mugs need to be waterproof, so you would probably need to fire to maturity. If you made moulds from your sculptures you could slip-cast them in the same casting slip and apply them to the freshly cast mug, largely avoiding compatibility/shrinkage issues. Easier if you restrict yourself to low-ish relief with no undercuts, but you could go the full multipart figurine route.

From http://www.potters.org/subject03706.htm my emphasis Vince Pitelka on thu 21 nov 96 I have been putting holes on the foot(s) of my platters for hanging, and they keep >filling up with glaze. I also place holes (1/8"-dia.) through the foot of my platters. I have eliminated the problem of glaze flowing into the holes by threading a damp pipe-cleaner through the holes and leaving it there while I glaze the wares. I then remove the pipe cleaner, re-moisten it, and run it in and out of the hole a few times. This seems to remove enough glaze from around the openings that the glaze does not flow into them. Of course, I tend to apply my glazes thinly, which certainly makes them less likely to flow. - Vince Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@Dekalb.Net Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801 Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville TN 37166

If so this thread may be of interest This thread referenced a paper, but the link provided is dead. The_Combination_of_Glass_and_Ceramics_as_a_means_of_artistic_expression_in_studio_practice_Jessamy_Kelly This paper can still be found at several places, including https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/3656/1/The_Combination_of_Glass_and_Ceramics_as_a_means_of_artistic.pdf

Details at https://picworkspottery.blogspot.com/2016/11/trimming-chalice-stems.html

... although in this case you could reduce the cost by casting a thin coloured layer backed by a thicker white one. (But might have issues where the white shows.) e.g. https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/daily/article/Slip-Casting-Ceramics-Using-Colored-Casting-Slip Wet the mold with a sponge. Pour the colored casting slip into the mold and let it set up for approximately ten minutes (figure 5). Then pour the colored slip out of the mold and let it drain figure 6). Once the slip has stopped dripping from the mold, immediately pour in the white casting slip. Leave the white slip in the mold for about 30 minutes before draining. The longer you leave the slip in the mold the thicker the piece will be. I prefer to make my pots just a little on the thicker side.

What defloculant(s) are you using? If there are other dispersants/rheological-modifiers about there may be interactions. I've no idea how the various sorts of deflocculants interact, so speculation follows. > Antiprex 461 is an aqueous solution of low molecular weight polyacrylic acid > Alcosperse® 149 is a pale amber liquid acrylate-based dispersant BTW https://digitalfire.com/material/sodium+polyacrylate Sodium polyacrylate dispersants like Allied Colloids 311 and Darvan #7 are used as an alternative to sodium silicate in casting bodies used in ceramics. If you are currently using a polyacrylate defloculant it might be worth trying to something else/in-addition as there are already polyacrylates about. https://digitalfire.com/article/deflocculants%3A+a+detailed+overview PS Just for the record, a back-to-basics "lab-technician" guide to optimising the level of deflocculant in a slip https://static1.squarespace.com/static/527ac372e4b0d4e47bb0e554/t/527fd7f1e4b0c046bfa9b90d/1384110065234/Dispersant+Addition+Procedures.pdf ... and a longer presentation with some pictures https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/34584429/slip-casting-alfreds-clay-store ... I've no idea how this sort of clay interaction would react with the more ionic deflocculants IIRC neither discuss the use of multiple deflocculants (except soda ash + sodium silicate)

Examples of Knight kiln-plates

This thread may be of interest.

Looks like it's here http://www.cressmfg.com/wp-content/uploads/B23H-240-VAC.pdf PS Broken link showed as ... and a google search for "B23H 240" (with the quotes) found it (even though access to the enclosing directory https://www.cressmfg.com/wp-content/uploads/ is forbidden).

In an earlier thread @neilestrick gave holds he'd used for cone 6 to 8 and cone 4 to 6.

Isn't that 120f in the last hour and 100f in the preceding 58m? (1948-1828)f in (16:18-15:18) (1828-1728)f in (15:18-14:20)

Thin pickings ... but it looks like she sprayed kaolin slip onto really dry sanded clay. From https://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/friedman1/index.html I build big forms, the clay will dry slowly and not collapse. When the form is ready and the clay is dry, I sand away at the surface and then spray it with a slurry of kaolin. The pieces are finally fired in stoneware temperature, about 1250 From https://www.callancontemporary.com/press/non-present-presence-eva-hild-s-evocative-sculptures-fill-space-with-meaning-and-poeticism-art-new-orleans Each work is monochromatic, either in pristine white or rich, chocolate black, and results from a four- to six-month-long process. Hild shapes stoneware clay into coils, allowing plenty of drying time, then fastidiously sands and sprays them with kaolin coating to impart a preternaturally matte finish. Finally, she fires them at 1,250 degrees Fahrenheit, ending their long genesis and beginning their new journeys as objects d’art.

Wiring diagrams Paragon site https://eadn-wc04-7751283.nxedge.io/wp-content/uploads/A66WD.pdf Clearer image and firing schedules https://ltt.arizona.edu/sites/ltt.lab.arizona.edu/files/MED Paragon Kiln Wiring Diagrams and Parts ID.pdf The diagram emphasises Neil's points on the need for a 4-wire supply. The B in A-66B indicates a stainless steel jacket ... can you also post a picture of the 230v shown on the front, it may be on something like a controller/kiln-sitter mounted on the kiln itself.

TNF-82 spec https://shop.clay-planet.com/Paragon-TNF-82.aspx Wiring for TNF-82 https://eadn-wc04-7751283.nxedge.io/wp-content/uploads/wtnf82.pdf I find it hard to see how it's only pulling 12 to 15A at full power. [With 240V measured across the elements and all elements conducting/glowing.] R=1/2*(10+6)=8 V/R=240/8=30

Possibly relevant: Outdoor Weather Resistant Ceramics https://digitalfire.com/article/outdoor+weather+resistant+ceramics This thread, especially

Sadly that looks like the knob, the switch appears to be sold out https://kruegerpottery.com/collections/rk-2-parts/products/tanac006232-rk2 It's also discontinued here https://www2.ceramics.nidec-shimpo.com/parts-list/ I found no immediate hits for the part-no SRH623-2 Wiring instructions here https://www2.ceramics.nidec-shimpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/RK-2-WIRING-Troubleshooting-Manual.pdf I would guess that the switch gives straight-through, crossed and no connections, although I've no idea which pin is which (or what this type of switch is called). Maybe you could find an "equivalent" switch that would physically fit? A UK search for "changeover switch" gives some ideas. A search for "shrimpo crossover switch" gives several hits, including https://www.theceramicshop.com/product/27976/fwd-rev-switch-vl-whisper/ This is a replacement forward and reverse switch for the Shimpo VL Whisper and RK Whisper pottery wheels. This item is the switch only, but for the switch assembly click here. Unsure if this is equivalent (or even 3-way) let alone a direct replacement. Good hunting!

Could the fact that "dried" coffee is deliquescent have anything to to with it? [Tending to absorb moisture from the air and dissolve in it.] Do molds stored where they are permanently damp have similar problems? Obviously multiple wet/dry cycles are not a problem.

A photo would help. But here is a manual for the LT-K & LT-3K kiln sitters. http://www.fireright.com/docs/kilnsitter/lt3andk.pdf

Thank you for your patience. Looking at the figure in the as-cast orientation: ... and assuming that the dotted line marks the intended parting-line, and is where the clay was positioned before casting. The current position of the plaster suggests that: - either the figure has moved away from the plaster after casting (perhaps as the embedding clay was pulled away) - or the embedding clay moved to enclose more of the figure during the casting (difficult to imagine, especially given the cleanly cast edge) Can you pull the figure out of the plaster and look at the cast. Is the cast "clean"? How far up the figure would the cast go? Can you push the figure back into the cast. How far does it go in? Obviously any undercuts will hinder the movement of the figure relative to the plaster.