grackle

I like to throw slabs, and I was taught to throw the clay one way and then the other to minimize warping. also taught to turn the slab 45 degrees in the slab roller to minimize the warp factor. No that it always works, but it seems to help. Have been making cactus sculptures, and they do not always stay as straight as I would like.

Still trying to work out how to add images!!

I have used melted wax, but I move too fast and drips can happen. Using Armadillo wax resist has proved better. I make some cups I call "cloud cups"--brush on some white glaze in circular shapes and then wax resist, and dip in a nice blue. The Armadillo wax resist has worked well.

I do like dipping--do have to have a good sized bucket of glaze for anything big. . Have experimented of late with pouring on a glaze partially on something and then dipping for the rest of the piece. Made some leaf shaped incense holders for a friend, and that worked well. Some glazes definitely combine well on the piece and some do not. Keep really good notes about what works and what does not. Learning learning learning as I refresh my ceramic memory after 15 years away. A good glaze kiln opening will make you happy.

oh my. have wanted one of these for some time, and finally got it all together to make one. 16" by 16" by 2". cannot really believe how fast the water is absorbed and the clay is ready for wedging. I cover the batch with a cardboard box, and flip the clay when one side gets a little stiff. hesitated to make one because I could not find the absolute recipe for plaster to water--i mean there were instructions on the bag of plaster, but one needs to be a mathematician or something!!! had 16 pounds of plaster and finally came up with 5 quarts of water, and it is perfecto. thought I had better do something before the clay that needed recycling got out of control. starting to think I will throw with the Nara porcelain going forward, and handbuild with the red and black clay just to keep things simpler going forward. may need another plaster bat for the white clay. getting used to the L and L kiln, firing to cone 5 instead of 6, as it seems a bit hot based on the witness cones and the end work. thank you for all the advice and kind words~~

yes. I did use witness cones--5, 6 ,7 to see what the kiln actually fired to. 6 and 7 were slumped ALL the way down, which surprised me. the tip of 5 was touching the kiln shelf. the ware itself gave me the impression of a firing that was a bit too hot/overfired. I stared with ceramics in the late 90's, and continued for about 10-12 years, and then stopped as I had other things going on. Sold all my equipment, and thought that was it. (pretty dumb when I think about it now) the Skutt I had used a kiln sitter, so never really knew anything about electronic controls until now. after retiring, i realized I still wanted to do more, and bought an L and L kiln--mostly because during the covid stuff, it was the only one readily available at the time--had a skutt originally. and a wheel, a brent. now have a pacifica which is just fine.. using cone 6 clay from armadillo now and also some cone 5/6 porcelain--which is delightful to work with. have to admit, i am NOT crazy about the idea of looking in the viewing thing to see what the cones are doing--just too hot, and hard to find those special glasses. last few firings at cone 5 have turned out well, but I will definitely use the witness cones next time I fire a glaze kiln.

thank you all! when i get home, i will certainly do more test firings. so if i just run an empty kiln with cones, would not that be different than a kiln with ware inside??? i did that when i first received the kiln which made me realize it was firing hot. and since most of my glazes are cone 5/6, i just assumed cone five would work. i know all about the assume thing!!!

apparently, i still have a lot more to learn about what the info provided by the kiln can tell me!! i programmed it to fire to cone 5. i started with cone 6 firings, but it was obvious it was firing a bit too hot. have been on the road for the past month, but will check all the info about the last firing when i get home next week.

so, still wondering why my L and L kiln did not shut off when it reached temp. have not fired it since then (off traveling). the work inside was fine, not my best work, but that happens no matter what sometimes. planning to call the company when i get home.

well, this firing turned out ok. there were some problems, mostly caused by glaze being a bit thin, altho, i think it still might have been a bit hot. i am still relearning about how long to dip pieces in glaze, and what combinations of glaze i can expect to work--always trying new bits of combinations, also slowly some new glazes. i make a lot of coffee/tea cups, as they seem to lend themselves to experimentation. if a piece turns out poorly, it is usually something i did. now my big question is should i have waited when the genesis said I had reached cone 5 and i let it go 3 more degrees and shut it down, or should i have waited 5,6,7,8,9 10 degrees just to see what happened. i get so invested in the pieces i have in the kiln--would hate to see a big load ruined. ineed to check the firing log and see if each of the 3 thermocouples is represented by temp. must admit, i have not checked that thoroughly. when i used a kiln sitter, i just waited until the tiny cone sagged and the kiln turned off!!! will definitely have cones in there next time.

the last three firings were so perfect that i did not put cones in this time. lesson learned. will post tomorrow when cool enough to open. thank you all for the insights! my first kiln, 20 years ago, a Skutt. had a kiln sitter, so i am new to electronic.

and yes, i know i should have waited to see how things look!!

I have a new L and L kiln. I caught a mention of something in one of the posts in this thread that might explain what happened today. I am firing glaze to cone 5--the kiln seems to run a bit hot with cone 6, and so far, cone 5 stuff looks great. Have done about 5 glaze fires so far. Then today, I knew it was just about to temperature (2167), and was watching, and it just went right on past to 2170, so I stopped it. have not opened it yet, way too hot, but does the kiln control know more than me????? Thank you for any ideas.