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Hey guys! I'm looking to make a sink basin for my bathroom in the upcoming months. I want to use Standard Ceramics 266 Dark Brown Clay with a turquoise/seafoam glaze on the interior while leaving the exterior bare. Attached is an idea of what I would like to do. I have never used a dark clay before, so I don't have experience to work off of and can't make test tiles until it is safe to use the studio again. Would coating the inside of the clay with a white underglaze cause the blue glaze to stand out more? Does anyone have a good glaze suggestion that stands out and reacts well to this clay? Or does anyone have other suggestions for completing this project whether it be clay type, glaze, helpful tips, etc.? Thanks for all the help!!

Hello helpful potters! I need help with an 04 bisque firing schedule. I'm having problems with pinholing in the 266 Standard Ceramic cone 4-6 dark brown clay that I'm using. About 50% of the time I'm getting a few pinholes, generally on the bottom but also on the sides. When I slow glaze, my cone 5 witnesses goes all the way down and the 6s are at about 2:00. The glaze I'm using is Potters Choice for cone 5/6, 3 coats as suggested by Amaco Brent, and this problem is happening pretty much just on the 266 and not the lighter color clays I use. I know pinholing can be a symptom of a variety of things, but I'm ready to try a slower bisque schedule in case they're being caused by gases or other impurities that haven't completely burned out during the bisque. Maybe it should go faster to 1100 and then slower for the next 1000 degrees? Or have a hold in there somewhere? I've tried to work out a schedule myself but it always ends up being about 18 hours long. Here's the cone 04 preset firing schedule I'm using in my LL kiln: 80 per hour to 250 (2 hrs) 200 per hour to 1100 (4 hours) 100 per hour to 1100 (1 hour) 180 per hour to 1676 (3 hours) 80 per hour to 1926 I also add a 10 minute hold at the end. When I use this cycle it tells me the end temp will be 1945 instead of 1926, ( 1926 is what it says on this firing schedule. It does end up at around 1945. I unplug the vent when it's done firing. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated, as would any suggestions about other things I may be doing, or not doing, that could be causing the pinholing. oh also I don't stack my bisque in the kiln. Would stilting the pieces give better air flow or deform them? Thanks! Irene