Hyn Patty

Small update - here is the finished oil clay with a very simple Lego mold box erected around it.  I tend to use Legos (or generic off brand) for tiny things and I made larger mold boxes out of wood or thick acrylic plexi as needed for larger projects.   I have sealed this down with oil wax and then added a bead of oil clay all the way around it on the outside.  I'm about to add a very thin bead of oil clay around the inner edge of the box as well so I can be REALLY sure there will be no leakage.  I will then coat the inside of the mold box and glass backing with oil soap.  I can fill it with water to the depth I want to check for leaks, then pour the water off and measure it to see how much plaster or rubber I will need to make my pour.  
At this point you can see I haven't bothered to lay in a pour hole, sprues for air venting, or even mold keys - but I can!   I'd just want a larger mold box to give me plenty of space to do that, which I have not set up  here.  This pour is set up for a uber simple one sided open mold.  It is otherwise about ready to pour plaster or rubber.   If I did this in plaster I'd want to make a rubber mold of my plaster mold before I started production so I can pour however additional plaster molds I might want or need in the future. 
Another option is I can pour rubber now and skip the plaster.  I can still use an open backed one sided rubber mold to cast a single flat resin.  I pull that out, clean it up and fine tune anything I like, even adding more sculpting in epoxy if needed.   I can get away with undercuts and very thin areas if it's going to be rubber molded for resin production.   I can also cast  a rubber positive master from that rubber mold, from which I can also go on to make plaster production molds.  So there are LOTS options on how to proceed! 
In my case I want to do BOTH so I have to decide which one I'm going to do first, then go from there. 
 
  
 
 

Small update - here is the finished oil clay with a very simple Lego mold box erected around it.  I tend to use Legos (or generic off brand) for tiny things and I made larger mold boxes out of wood or thick acrylic plexi as needed for larger projects.   I have sealed this down with oil wax and then added a bead of oil clay all the way around it on the outside.  I'm about to add a very thin bead of oil clay around the inner edge of the box as well so I can be REALLY sure there will be no leakage.  I will then coat the inside of the mold box and glass backing with oil soap.  I can fill it with water to the depth I want to check for leaks, then pour the water off and measure it to see how much plaster or rubber I will need to make my pour.  
At this point you can see I haven't bothered to lay in a pour hole, sprues for air venting, or even mold keys - but I can!   I'd just want a larger mold box to give me plenty of space to do that, which I have not set up  here.  This pour is set up for a uber simple one sided open mold.  It is otherwise about ready to pour plaster or rubber.   If I did this in plaster I'd want to make a rubber mold of my plaster mold before I started production so I can pour however additional plaster molds I might want or need in the future. 
Another option is I can pour rubber now and skip the plaster.  I can still use an open backed one sided rubber mold to cast a single flat resin.  I pull that out, clean it up and fine tune anything I like, even adding more sculpting in epoxy if needed.   I can get away with undercuts and very thin areas if it's going to be rubber molded for resin production.   I can also cast  a rubber positive master from that rubber mold, from which I can also go on to make plaster production molds.  So there are LOTS options on how to proceed! 
In my case I want to do BOTH so I have to decide which one I'm going to do first, then go from there. 
 
  
 
 

I'm SURE this has been posted on this forum somewhere before but I get asked ALL OF THE TIME to host mold making workshops.  So far I haven't, actually.  What I do with claybody work on already fired bisques and my custom glazing is already plenty to cover and isn't info you can really find online anywhere.  But mold making and slip casting there's tons of into out there if you just go looking!  So here is a GREAT VIDEO by my all time favorite ceramics nutcase himself with one of his many helpful videos.  If you have never made even a simple plaster mold of your own before, or even if you have made hundreds, I'm always learning more!  So give it a whirl!
Small Plaster & Silicone Molds by Tiki Technical Tuesday!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkf1FR7GsuY&list=PLVz2HhcJdyqgyPYSSeq80qnL-0CNgOJeQ&index=5

I fire daily some weeks, and only a couple of times a week other weeks.  But I am often firing my very small Olympic Doll kiln and only have one to three pieces in it at a time.  I only once in a while fire my larger Skutt.  If I'm working on a larger piece then I may fire it a few times a week for a while until that project is done.  Then months may go by without using my larger kiln unless I have a larger load.  A lot of my equine sculpture gets fired several times in the underglaze layers, then clear glazed, then may be fired a few more times with overglazes to build up the complex finishes I am known for on my horse pieces.  Especially if I did any claybody resculpting to the bisque then a piece might easily be fired 10 or 12 times (and in rare cases more).  So that can be a lot of trips in and out of my kilns!  Some days I have both kilns firing at the same time so they each have their own dedicated breakers.
Even with such a heavy firing schedule I have managed after 20 years to keep both of my kilns in pretty good shape.  My Olympic is starting to show wear and tear and needs to be rewired now (still haven't gotten to that yet) but my Skutt still looks shiny and almost brand new.  If I had to make an average over the whole year, I fire about twice a week.  Some weeks I fire every day, some weeks I take off from firing to work on sculpting,  molds or resin casting, etc.  But my art studio is my full time job and I am best known for my ceramics, so...
Edited to add a couple of photos.  This was a larger piece than usual for me, almost 15 inches long.  So I had to fire him in my larger Skutt instead of my little Olympic.  This was a porcelain bisque I resculpted the mane and tail on, made a new custom base for, and then custom glazed.  He was fired, I kid you not, exactly 20 times.  What a PITA!  Not a project I will take on again for a client anytime soon but he did come out very lovely and my client was well pleased!  Took a little extra TLC with packing him too, foam blocked and double boxed of course.  I was firing my Skutt a LOT when I was working on his china painting and enamel layers to build his color.  This is the Cybis 'Nashua' racehorse sculpture by JK Slick.  The brass halter ring was added after firing and due to the sculpture being porcelain, I attached the earthenware base using epoxy rather than trying to attach it in the kiln (and likely recracking later).  So anyway, pieces like this are why I fire so often.  Many layers can be delicate and need to be set and built up with a number of firings.  It took me all year to complete this commission due to various delays & distractions, other deadlines, etc.


I think it would be cool if you all posted a sample of your work with your reply or a shot of a typical kiln load, something!

I was looking at my poor kiln today, thinking I needed to fire a load soon, when I realized I haven't fired a load since September of last year. It used to be that I would fire a kiln at least once a month, sometimes twice. Back then I had a an L&L 23 that had 5 sections. I would mostly fire the 4 sections, but often in the Summer it would be all 5.  It would hold a lot of pots, and I could fire some pretty tall thrown vases and jars. However, when it came to plates it was tough to get very many in with the diameter at 23. The new kiln fires many plates at a time since it is a 28" diameter, but it is shorter so tall stuff is more limited. I really don't make a much of the taller stuff anymore mostly limited to 36' including the lid with handle/decoration. Seems of late I will get a load ready at an average of once every 2 months in the good weather.
QotW: How many times a month/year do you fire your kiln/s?
best,
Pres

I would estimate around 30  times a year,  I have past that number and my year starts in another 3 months.  I bought some clay Friday and started some hard blocks softening,  I hope to get some work done tomorrow.    I don't know if there is any football fans out there but it sounds like the 4th of July here.   My husband and I aren't sports fans but we watched the last 5 minutes of the Super Bowl.   The entire state of Kansas are fans of the Kansas City Chiefs.    Denice

I aim for 2 glaze loads a week. During the busy times I have 1 kiln firing while the other is cooling. 

Rainy today, good, err, ok for glazing!
"Good" on account o' I don't bike or yard work in the rain, hence more time to glaze.
"OK" on account o' no midday sunshine to warm up the Studio and no setting pots out in the sun to dry faster*.
Was doing seven to ten glaze loads/year, however, an accident (October 2022), then moving, some projects, and a few other things came up ...one glaze load in the new kiln at our new (to us) home since Fall 2022, glazing for the second load now.
Hope to get back to filling the kiln every month or so.
Before, I felt like there's a volume/time threshold where improvements ramp up, where there's some longer sessions and higher frequency, bringing along established "standards," and making time to explore variations, new shapes, sizes, forms, clay ...new stuff as well as moving along with the most familiar.
I like having a seven (6.7) cubic foot kiln to fill. There's enough repetition to get rhythm, but not too too much.

*I'm letting the pots thoroughly dry after liner glazing before glazing the outside - sunny weather is faster.
...add on that I wax, cut the transition, sponge for a sharp line - there's wait for the wax to dry, wait for the sponge-away moisture to dry, that's three waits.
Getting part of the load to the next step asap helps march them all along, like pipeline processing, heh.
 

I fire daily some weeks, and only a couple of times a week other weeks.  But I am often firing my very small Olympic Doll kiln and only have one to three pieces in it at a time.  I only once in a while fire my larger Skutt.  If I'm working on a larger piece then I may fire it a few times a week for a while until that project is done.  Then months may go by without using my larger kiln unless I have a larger load.  A lot of my equine sculpture gets fired several times in the underglaze layers, then clear glazed, then may be fired a few more times with overglazes to build up the complex finishes I am known for on my horse pieces.  Especially if I did any claybody resculpting to the bisque then a piece might easily be fired 10 or 12 times (and in rare cases more).  So that can be a lot of trips in and out of my kilns!  Some days I have both kilns firing at the same time so they each have their own dedicated breakers.
Even with such a heavy firing schedule I have managed after 20 years to keep both of my kilns in pretty good shape.  My Olympic is starting to show wear and tear and needs to be rewired now (still haven't gotten to that yet) but my Skutt still looks shiny and almost brand new.  If I had to make an average over the whole year, I fire about twice a week.  Some weeks I fire every day, some weeks I take off from firing to work on sculpting,  molds or resin casting, etc.  But my art studio is my full time job and I am best known for my ceramics, so...
Edited to add a couple of photos.  This was a larger piece than usual for me, almost 15 inches long.  So I had to fire him in my larger Skutt instead of my little Olympic.  This was a porcelain bisque I resculpted the mane and tail on, made a new custom base for, and then custom glazed.  He was fired, I kid you not, exactly 20 times.  What a PITA!  Not a project I will take on again for a client anytime soon but he did come out very lovely and my client was well pleased!  Took a little extra TLC with packing him too, foam blocked and double boxed of course.  I was firing my Skutt a LOT when I was working on his china painting and enamel layers to build his color.  This is the Cybis 'Nashua' racehorse sculpture by JK Slick.  The brass halter ring was added after firing and due to the sculpture being porcelain, I attached the earthenware base using epoxy rather than trying to attach it in the kiln (and likely recracking later).  So anyway, pieces like this are why I fire so often.  Many layers can be delicate and need to be set and built up with a number of firings.  It took me all year to complete this commission due to various delays & distractions, other deadlines, etc.


I think it would be cool if you all posted a sample of your work with your reply or a shot of a typical kiln load, something!

I fire daily some weeks, and only a couple of times a week other weeks.  But I am often firing my very small Olympic Doll kiln and only have one to three pieces in it at a time.  I only once in a while fire my larger Skutt.  If I'm working on a larger piece then I may fire it a few times a week for a while until that project is done.  Then months may go by without using my larger kiln unless I have a larger load.  A lot of my equine sculpture gets fired several times in the underglaze layers, then clear glazed, then may be fired a few more times with overglazes to build up the complex finishes I am known for on my horse pieces.  Especially if I did any claybody resculpting to the bisque then a piece might easily be fired 10 or 12 times (and in rare cases more).  So that can be a lot of trips in and out of my kilns!  Some days I have both kilns firing at the same time so they each have their own dedicated breakers.
Even with such a heavy firing schedule I have managed after 20 years to keep both of my kilns in pretty good shape.  My Olympic is starting to show wear and tear and needs to be rewired now (still haven't gotten to that yet) but my Skutt still looks shiny and almost brand new.  If I had to make an average over the whole year, I fire about twice a week.  Some weeks I fire every day, some weeks I take off from firing to work on sculpting,  molds or resin casting, etc.  But my art studio is my full time job and I am best known for my ceramics, so...
Edited to add a couple of photos.  This was a larger piece than usual for me, almost 15 inches long.  So I had to fire him in my larger Skutt instead of my little Olympic.  This was a porcelain bisque I resculpted the mane and tail on, made a new custom base for, and then custom glazed.  He was fired, I kid you not, exactly 20 times.  What a PITA!  Not a project I will take on again for a client anytime soon but he did come out very lovely and my client was well pleased!  Took a little extra TLC with packing him too, foam blocked and double boxed of course.  I was firing my Skutt a LOT when I was working on his china painting and enamel layers to build his color.  This is the Cybis 'Nashua' racehorse sculpture by JK Slick.  The brass halter ring was added after firing and due to the sculpture being porcelain, I attached the earthenware base using epoxy rather than trying to attach it in the kiln (and likely recracking later).  So anyway, pieces like this are why I fire so often.  Many layers can be delicate and need to be set and built up with a number of firings.  It took me all year to complete this commission due to various delays & distractions, other deadlines, etc.


I think it would be cool if you all posted a sample of your work with your reply or a shot of a typical kiln load, something!

Your new teapot is unlikely to cause you any harm, short of breaking it and cutting yourself on a shard accidentally. It doesn’t have any warnings about lead or cadmium, nor do I see any colours or textures in that line of work that would lead me to suspect any use of those materials. If you’re super nervous about anything and want some reassurance, you can get lead test kits for pottery on the ‘zon, but I’d be surprised if this item came back positive.
In the product description from your link, where it says Material Icon, there’s a number of little care instruction and definition buttons. When you click on “Iron in Powder” (likely a translation vagary) it points out that there may be some dark specks that appear in the final piece from iron impurities in the clay. There’s going to be considerably less iron that could possibly come out of this teapot than, say, a cast iron frying pan.
Glaze doesn’t work the way you’re describing, no. Whoever gave you that description may have been thinking of earthenware that was painted with some kind of lead bearing decorative slip or underglaze, but even that has some dubious underlying assumptions. 
First, not all pottery is made in the same way. Without getting overly technical, different kinds of clay that people use in different parts of the world will have different levels of porosity, firing temperatures, and a bunch of other stuff. So items made in Japan won’t use the same techniques or materials that get used in, Mexico, or the US, or even Canada. And studio pottery will not be made with the same materials/techniques as industrially produced items.  But in general, glaze is used on a clay body to make it stronger, and to make it more waterproof and easier to clean than just the clay surface would be alone. Also, it makes it pretty!
****IF**** a piece of pottery were to contain lead or cadmium, it won’t be in the clay body. Those metals will typically be present either in an underglaze decoration (they make pretty reds, yellows, oranges and some greens), in some forms of china paint decoration, or in the glaze itself. It’s important to note that a lead free clear over a lead or cadmium bearing underglaze **might** not block all lead bleed through should those materials be present. It’s also important to remember that not all yellow/red/orange/green underglazes or glazes will have any of those things in them. There’s lots of ways to get those colours that don’t involve those metals, and are safe for daily use. 
 
 

It looks like it’s a mineral of some kind (likely iron) bleeding through the glaze from the clay body. It’s quite common in stoneware clay of any kind. Nothing out of the ordinary at all.

I think hard to generalize and no way to guarantee anything is craze free forever. I do think there is reasonable correlation though. Differences in the expansion rate of clay and glaze being the prime issue, followed by the long term reliance of the glaze to tolerate the slight inevitable difference. The fired COE is often a result of fully firing so a clay body or glaze not fired or fully melted may have a different COE than one that is. Just imagine a clay body or glaze under fired by two or thee cones, we would normally expect it to behave very differently than fully fired stuff because it is under fired. If both are under fired the same amount will their under developed  COE somehow be even between them?  While I think in the ranges you are working in, likely a decent indication, just firing hotter does not necessarily mean the glaze will have greater flexibility and could actually become harder and more prone to tensile failure.
I think your logic is reasonable, but believe it’s always best to test the the clay and glaze combination fired to cone.

Diving,.taking underwater photos,tuna fishing,building, electrical work, solar ,Topside photos, gardening ,Nature,Outback camping. Travel . Lifes short

That's how I feel too and probably why I have stuck with ceramics for so long. So much too learn and experiment with, one lifetime is barely enough time to scratch the surface. I am especially interested in the chem side of ceramics because I always want to know the why of things or what happens if ...
Ever since I can remember I have had my hands in something. Started with textiles (batik, weaving, sewing) then wood (furniture) then clay. 
Thanks for posting my question Pres.

What a delight to hear more about the lives of people I interact with regularly but don’t really know at all.
I’m an art teacher at a public school (22+ years). It’s unusual in that it’s a k-12 school. I have to explore all sorts of creative endeavors just to be good at my job. A few of them drew me in far beyond what I needed to teach the subject.
Clay is where my heart is, I got a BFA and MFA in ceramics before my teacher life. A significant part of “extracurricular” creative activity still revolves around it. I like to make the tools I use and I want them to be as beautiful as my pots. The wood for handles and ribs comes from what I collect and I will use a branch or plank or block I harvested over lumber from the store at every turn.
The students got me into paper making, poor things didn’t know I was going to make them chop apart plants, boil them in alkali, then spend hours beating them to a literal pulp. I’ve made a lot of paper of my own since then. Coptic stitched a few journals too, @GEP. 
A serious creative anomaly happened when I decided it shouldn’t be so hard to distill essential oils from plants. I was wrong, but the process relies on third world technology and I’m pretty fluent in that. A couple years later I had an efficiently working still and system and obtained essential oils from the most interesting plants growing locally.
When I learn about something I get more interested in it. It’s a blessing, and a curse. I’m always up to something.

I like to say “even potters need a hobby,” and mine is bookbinding! I make hand-bound notebooks, sketchbooks, and journals. I love paper, cloth, adhesives, and sewing. My graphic design training taught me about pages/sheets/signatures, so I get to use my previous career’s knowledge. 

Not much into sports,  but I can walk around in my house and from my car to the scooters in the store.   I know this doesn't sound like much activity but my neuro is surprised I can still walk.  Most of our remodeling is finished and my sewing room has almost all of the junk stored in it gone.   I have already finished up some work and thinking about another project.   I am more of a upholstery seamstress  than clothing.    I am planning on planting some gourds this summer for qourd art.   Clay is my main focus,  I am starting to feel a little anxious  I haven't been out in my studio for three weeks because of bad weather.   Denice

Oooh, I thanks for the clarification of what QOTW means!  Nice thread I'll look forward to reading as others post.  Well... I'll keep this brief because I'm trying to get a sculpture finished up and shipped off today to be 3D scanned and then off to one of my casting services.
I am mostly an equine sculptor and do equine sculpture finish work in both ceramics and resin editions.  It's my full time job.  I own my LLC and am the sole proprietor.  In two years I'll hit my studio's 50th anniversary since I started doing this kind of work even though I'm only in my mid 50's - I started very young back in 1976!  My family was very encouraging!  Anyway, I got a degree in Illustration with double minors in Art History and Jewelry, then a Master's in Painting.   I mostly sculpt in oil clay but sometimes I work with epoxy for a hard original, or I work with wax.  I have tried to pick up 3D modeling but so far that's just not looking like my thing yet.
I'm also a landscape and wildlife painter working in oils, chalk pastels, watercolors, etc and do plein air as well as working from photo references, and I'm an amateur photographer.   I grew up with a dark room in one of our bathrooms so that's my father's fault!   I shoot all of my own work and I maintain my own website, newsletter, blog, articles, Facebook pages, etc.
I am also a class instructor and frequently asked to do seminars, workshops, judge juried and non-juried events all over the country.   This year I'm trying to pick up video editing so I can offer online courses - and I publish articles, so someday I'd like to work on a book.   I also dabble in jewelry but I don't have a lot of time for it.  I DO farm out my big projects but in studio I also do my own waste molds and solid resin casting (I don't have a roto caster for hollow casting resins but I do 3D print in house), make my own plaster molds and rubber masters for slip casting in earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, and I'm now experimenting with making my own English fine bone china slip.  3D printing in particular has been a steep learning curve the past two years but I got the hang of it!
I suppose I'm all over the place but because I do my art studio full time, I really like to switch things up and jump from project to project often to combat burnout.   I am cutting back hard on some distractions so I can focus down more on my own sculpting and casting, which means less custom glazing.  I am  however accounted as one of the finest custom glazers of equine ceramics in the world so that's not nothing!  I would also like to sculpt more dogs but I just haven't had time to do any in years.  I own two electric kilns, both about 20 years old. 
Oh!  And I ALSO do ceramics restoration!  I used to do it on the side for others but these days I only offer it to my own clients.  If they invest in a piece of my ceramics work I have a life time guarantee for FREE repairs in studio for most things if they pay the shipping.  So once in a while I also teach how to do that, or am doing it in between other projects.  I do both 'cold' repairs with epoxy and paint, as well as 'kiln repairs' and reglazing.  I have two pieces here I'm just finishing up and shipping out this week.  Sometimes I don't sleep much, hahaha!

Oooh, I thanks for the clarification of what QOTW means!  Nice thread I'll look forward to reading as others post.  Well... I'll keep this brief because I'm trying to get a sculpture finished up and shipped off today to be 3D scanned and then off to one of my casting services.
I am mostly an equine sculptor and do equine sculpture finish work in both ceramics and resin editions.  It's my full time job.  I own my LLC and am the sole proprietor.  In two years I'll hit my studio's 50th anniversary since I started doing this kind of work even though I'm only in my mid 50's - I started very young back in 1976!  My family was very encouraging!  Anyway, I got a degree in Illustration with double minors in Art History and Jewelry, then a Master's in Painting.   I mostly sculpt in oil clay but sometimes I work with epoxy for a hard original, or I work with wax.  I have tried to pick up 3D modeling but so far that's just not looking like my thing yet.
I'm also a landscape and wildlife painter working in oils, chalk pastels, watercolors, etc and do plein air as well as working from photo references, and I'm an amateur photographer.   I grew up with a dark room in one of our bathrooms so that's my father's fault!   I shoot all of my own work and I maintain my own website, newsletter, blog, articles, Facebook pages, etc.
I am also a class instructor and frequently asked to do seminars, workshops, judge juried and non-juried events all over the country.   This year I'm trying to pick up video editing so I can offer online courses - and I publish articles, so someday I'd like to work on a book.   I also dabble in jewelry but I don't have a lot of time for it.  I DO farm out my big projects but in studio I also do my own waste molds and solid resin casting (I don't have a roto caster for hollow casting resins but I do 3D print in house), make my own plaster molds and rubber masters for slip casting in earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, and I'm now experimenting with making my own English fine bone china slip.  3D printing in particular has been a steep learning curve the past two years but I got the hang of it!
I suppose I'm all over the place but because I do my art studio full time, I really like to switch things up and jump from project to project often to combat burnout.   I am cutting back hard on some distractions so I can focus down more on my own sculpting and casting, which means less custom glazing.  I am  however accounted as one of the finest custom glazers of equine ceramics in the world so that's not nothing!  I would also like to sculpt more dogs but I just haven't had time to do any in years.  I own two electric kilns, both about 20 years old. 
Oh!  And I ALSO do ceramics restoration!  I used to do it on the side for others but these days I only offer it to my own clients.  If they invest in a piece of my ceramics work I have a life time guarantee for FREE repairs in studio for most things if they pay the shipping.  So once in a while I also teach how to do that, or am doing it in between other projects.  I do both 'cold' repairs with epoxy and paint, as well as 'kiln repairs' and reglazing.  I have two pieces here I'm just finishing up and shipping out this week.  Sometimes I don't sleep much, hahaha!

Clay is a major creative activity for me.
The first thing that came to mind (yesterday) was problem solving.
My last full time working gig (and the two full time working gigs afore the last, similar) was all about problem solving - software, configuration, communication protocols analysis, et cetera - I miss it, somewhat.
Immersion in detail, research, analysis, application, testing, documentation - the time just flew by.
...and, every once in a while, someone appreciated the work.
I'm posing that defining "the problem" and "problem space" - where we believe the problem exists - is a creative exercise, where imagination, flexibility, and plastic points of view can be as/more important than grinding through all the possibilities.
Grinding is, however, required.
Grind.
Retirement is nice.
Now my main "others" include home construction/maintenance/improvement projects at our and our son's houses, biking, swimming, reading, and volunteer gigs.
...not so much "creative" in the typical sense.
What I'm going to take with me when (aaah, in a half hour or so...) I get up (from this recliner, heh) to face the current home improvement project, we're creating all the time. Our lives.

Hi folks, yesterday, @Minposted in the Question of the Week pool. . . .a suggestion for QOTW would be what other creative things are you involved with? This in response to a posting by @Hyn Patty where she says I have a million other things I do. 
QOTW  What other creative things are you involved with?
Myself, being retired, I have quite a bit more time on my hands than many of you. Because of this my regular activities changed and expanded. Where I used to bowl 1 night a week, now I bowl 3-4 afternoons a week depending on what week it is. I also exercise quite a bit, kayak when the weather is good, paint, draw, and other artistic venues. I often work in the HS Ceramics studio in the Winter aiding the Art teacher with the adult Ceramics class I started when I was teaching. We travel, next trip a cruise at ports in Japan with excursions, and then one later in the year to Greece. Yeah, I stay busy.
 
best,
Pres

I think resin work can be very  intense and deep with color but I will have to pass on it.   I have MS and my immune system thinks it is protecting me when I am around unusual smells,  it actually shuts down my lungs.     It can be anything from a strong cleaner,  bug spray,  spray paint,  mold, cat dander ect.   I carry a EPI pen with me but I usually just try to avoid situations that causes me problems.   I will have to check my bag of clay  and  see what brand I have,  it was my sculpture partner  favorite clay.   He was from a nearby tribe and mostly did southwestern sculptures  a lot of eagles and  cowboy and horses.  The slip I used was called a C5 Porcelain slip,  my supplier had it in black and white,  it was new on the market.   I'll have to look around and see what is new at my ceramics store these days.   Denice

Generally rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits are adequate to clean up uncured silicone caulk. Final clean with alcohol usually removes most oil residue and also not likely to harm whatever gasket material is in use. The service temp on high temperature silicone caulk (the red stuff) is generally up to 650f. It is commonly used on gas combustion products that typically top out about 500f. Kiln shells can meet or exceed this. I would not suggest anything rated lower for this use though, most ordinary silicone is rated up to 400f

You can get any platinum silicone adhesive at your local hardware store in the wood stove section - gaskets too that you can then trim down to fit your kiln if the thickness is right for what you need.  You'll need it to be platinum silicone if it is a location that gets hot at all as platinum based silicone is good up to 600 degrees if I recall correctly.  If the area doesn't get much heat and is far enough from the kiln,  then an ordinary, cheaper silicone will work just fine.  
I'd say you'll probably want to replace the gasket, yes - but keep reading.  Any uncured silicone will make it very difficult for new silicone to adhere.  BUT with that said, if you are inserting the gasket into a position where it will be wedged firmly into place and can't possibly fall out (not a door seal for example where you need to constantly be able to open it) then I'd just try reusing the old gasket first and not worry about it.  Any residue of uncured silicone should not be an issue with firing the kiln and heating it up if you used the right kind of silicone for however much heat is generated in that particular location.