ClayKatie

Thanks for this kind hearted comment. I do want you to know though that I definitely don’t feel bad for not knowing everything. And learning this craft, especially the challenges, does not make me unhappy. Do not worry for me, I delight in “learning the abc’s” knowing I am swimming around in a craft that is as old as human history. I realize there is more to know about ceramics than I can wrap my head around all at once and that does not embarrass me or make me think I should give up. The truth is, I have had many questions along the way and books and google and YouTube have been amazing but, well, they miss the mark after a while:). I am not one who needs to know it all to be happy(I do like to eventually kniw enough to control my outcomes!)I have other areas of my life where I am the  “expert”. Being the expert doesn't make me happy, learning and improving and the creative process, that is what makes me happy. I have learned a lot in a short amount of time and, frankly, it is awesome. I am loving it! And my pots came out pretty decent actually! I haven't had much time today for testing but I did soak a newly fired cup and a fully vitrified cone 6 body cup of the same design and then microwaved them both. I could feel no temperature difference. Now I’m sure someone will tell me how wrong or inaccurate that is, you are probably right, I’m still learning! Give people a break, its not a crime to learn something new, make mistakes and question “but WHY do you have to do it that way?”

Thanks for this kind hearted comment. I do want you to know though that I definitely don’t feel bad for not knowing everything. And learning this craft, especially the challenges, does not make me unhappy. Do not worry for me, I delight in “learning the abc’s” knowing I am swimming around in a craft that is as old as human history. I realize there is more to know about ceramics than I can wrap my head around all at once and that does not embarrass me or make me think I should give up. The truth is, I have had many questions along the way and books and google and YouTube have been amazing but, well, they miss the mark after a while:). I am not one who needs to know it all to be happy(I do like to eventually kniw enough to control my outcomes!)I have other areas of my life where I am the  “expert”. Being the expert doesn't make me happy, learning and improving and the creative process, that is what makes me happy. I have learned a lot in a short amount of time and, frankly, it is awesome. I am loving it! And my pots came out pretty decent actually! I haven't had much time today for testing but I did soak a newly fired cup and a fully vitrified cone 6 body cup of the same design and then microwaved them both. I could feel no temperature difference. Now I’m sure someone will tell me how wrong or inaccurate that is, you are probably right, I’m still learning! Give people a break, its not a crime to learn something new, make mistakes and question “but WHY do you have to do it that way?”

Well seeing as I had already built about 35 pieces out of this nebulous clay, (which I swore was a ^6 as I looked it up in Laguna’s online catalogue while I was standing over it at the art shop-need to upgrade my glasses again apparently) I begin my experiment and set my kiln. My pieces have thin walls, quite a bit of exposed clay and I am doing a slow glaze, I hope all these things add up to less heat work needed and more heatwork occurring at ^8. I also added in a 20 minute hold. My last pieces, done in ^6 clay to ^6 had a bit of a burnt look on some raw clay edges. Maybe my new kiln fires a little to hot? Again, arent I so good at bargaining with myself? Later I plan to go buy some ^6 B mix at the art store, this is too stressful!! 

You have to do the absorbsion test to anything about the end results. Underfired leaking clay is good for nobody no matter what the cost.

If you are making functional ware from either a mid or high fire clay then the clay shouldn't leak even when there is no glaze on the pot. Absorption of under 1.5% is ideal. 
Clay is at it's strongest when fired to maturity.

Your best bet really is to do an absorption test and find out exactly what that looks like under the firing conditions you want to use. We can tell you all day, but you wouldn’t be the first one of us that need to hold a thing in our hands to truly understand a lesson.