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Hi all, I'm planning on building a hobby kiln for my partner, and am in the process of choosing refractory materials and kanthal wire for the heating element. Was hoping I could get some advice from anybody who knows about these things. I want the kiln to be light weight and very efficient. I'd like to use ceramic fibre board as an inner layer of insulation (rated to 1400 C / 2550 F), and calcium silicate board as a secondary layer (rated to 1000 C / 1830 F). The ceramic fibre board is very expensive compared to the calcium silicate board, but i can't only use the calcium silicate board as it's only rated to 1000 C / 1830 F. So my idea is to cement the two boards together, with the calcium silicate board on the outside, so that it won't exceed 1000 C / 1830 F. I'm wondering how thick the ceramic fibre board needs to be such that the calcium silicate doesn't reach that temperature. We'll be firing the kiln to about 1280 C / 2340 F. My other question is about kanthal wire for the heating elements. I'm wondering what gauge of wire I need. The kiln will be about 40 litres / 1.3 cubic feet. I want it to get up to 1280 C / 2340 F. Based on similar designs that I've seen online, it looks like I'd need it run at about 3600 watts. I'm wondering what gauge kanthal wire I should use for a well-insulated kiln that meets these specs. If anyone has any idea about either of these questions I'd really appreciate your thoughts! P.S. I'm aware of the health risks of working with fibreboard, and will be using the proper PPE and precautions.

Eleanor Anderson - July 26-30, 2019 - SKETCHING YOUR WAY INTO CLAY - $614.00 $614.00 Workshop Description: In this workshop, you will learn how to take pottery to the next level by focusing on surface design. We will learn how to carve, etch and stencil patterns, images and textures onto your pottery. Participants will learn Sgraffito, Mishima (Japanese Underglaze/ Slip Inlay) Stamping, monoprinting as well as water etching. We will do daily drawing exercises to come up with solutions for original and personal surfaces. This workshop is designed for students who have some experience with clay. Students are encouraged to prioritize process and risk taking, and will take home bisque wear designed to be fired at cone 6 oxidation. REGISTER HERE ALL LEVELS some clay experience handy Session runs January 26 - 30, 2019 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily, open studio hours on select days. Fee includes tuition + materials fee + studio fee. Students may be asked to bring some additional items. Materials include 25 lbs. of clay and 2 firings. Additional clay will be available for purchase. Artist Bio: Eleanor Anderson graduated from Colorado College, where she studied printmaking and fibers. She works across a broad range of media including ceramics, textiles, prints and collage. She has been a resident at the Textile Arts Center is Brooklyn, NY and the 9th Semester Fellow in Design at Colorado College. Most recently she finished a two year Core Fellowship at Penland School of Crafts in Penland, North Carolina. She sends work into the world with the optimistic intentions of enlivening and enriching objects and spaces for the user or the viewer. www.eleanoranderson.com www.eleanoranderson.com

Hello! New to the ceramic world and I am very interested in delving into Porcelain (cone 6) clay. I'm interested in designing very contemporary and minimal jewelry, however I understand that porcelain shrinks significantly during the firing process. My question is: how would I go about firing Specifically rings? are there certain metal rods that I could use in the kiln, similar to a bead rack that can keep the ring smooth and even during the process and POSSIBLY true to the size once finished? I've seen many of these beautiful rings online and I'm very unsure how to fire them. Also, is it possible to use PMC shrinkage stoppers like they use in metal clay ring design? PLEASE help as I'm very stumped on approaching this.. it would be very much appreciated! lost, Megan

Someone at the ceramic supply store I've been going to recently mentioned to me that it's possible to do a sort of underpainting with cobalt carbonate mixed with water. (I think...she may have said a different binder, but I'm pretty sure it was water.) I've tried researching it a little and can't seem to find anything on the internet about it or how to do it. Can you paint unfired clay with the cobalt-water mixture before you bisque it? Do you paint it on bisqueware and fire separately before glazing over top? Do you paint it on bisqueware and apply the glaze directly over the top? Would love to know if anyone has tried this and how you did it! Thanks

Hi, We have been doing the jigger for the first time and the pieces whatever we are making have a cracks in a same pattern in a same location, and we are using Terracotta clay to make the pieces and here I m attaching the cross sectional pieces of the molds., and in the molds I have few doubts and I would like to get clarified so that I can reduce the cracking doors one by one., Does the thick and thin portions of the molds absorbs water differently so that the pieces are cracking ? As you can see the picture of the pieces the cracks are happening in the place where the side wall is connecting with the curved edges, and the cracks are happening only with our terracotta clay and we have tried quite a lot of receipes to avoid cracks but nothing is helping out and the cracks are happening in the inside of the pieces and the outside wall is just fine. Also we have tried jiggering few pieces with our stoneware clay and we havent have any cracks in the stoneware. Does the uneven wall thickness is the reason to get the cracks ? Wi only the Terracotta is cracking and not the stoneware ? Wi the inner wall is cracking and it didnt extend to the outer wall ? Does it anything to do with the plasticity and the composition of the clay? As far as the design is concerned, we make sure theres no undercuts in the design and even the wall is not striaght and it has an angle of 10% for easy releasing., we used to have few issues with our clay body which I was working with Tom (Glazenerd) to solve the issue, but apart from that I would like to know what are the other possible reasons for the cracking.

FRANZ Rising Star Project is a scholarship project held by the top porcelain brand in Taiwan – FRANZ Collection Inc. https://www.franzcollection.com.tw/en The aim of the project is to ease students’ financial burden, due to the high expenses for making their artworks and pursuing their porcelain design dreams. 100 artworks would be chosen and we would reimburse USD$ 1,000 each for their outstanding performance and hard work, as our token of appreciation. Qualifications: 1. The applicant must be a current student studying in 2018 or a new 2018 graduate. 2. The artwork itself must contain more than 50% of porcelain/ceramic. Call for Entry: 6/1 - 8/31 Discover more about FRANZ Rising Star Project : https://bit.ly/2O5WvWd Facebook: @RisingStarProject Contact: info@franzproject.com

These are not ceramic artworks so I didn't want to post more than one without asking if anyone was interested in looking. This is crystal from a studio located in Nian, China carved from a Brazilian flawless 5 ton quartz crystal. The master studied the stone for 2 years and carving and polishing another 5 years by a team of a dozen carvers working under the direction of the master. These works are never seen by the public and are only owned by private collectors, although some government museums may have some of his work in their collections

Howdy Y'all I have the opportunity to potentially build a wood fired kiln here in Colorado. The space is figured out and there are kiln shelves to be used. Now all I need to do is figure out to where to get firebrick for free or very cheap and design a kiln! easy peasy..... I was wondering if anyone could point me towards good places to search for used firebrick. I know firebrick is used in many industrial applications to line furnaces etc but I am unsure exactly what type of businesses would use these. Does anyone have experience sourcing free firebrick? My second question is if anyone is familiar with any good computer software that can be used to design kilns? Mainly I would like it to just play around with simple designs so it doesn't need to be terribly complex. If anyone knows of a program like this I would love to hear about it! Thanks! -Adam

It’s early in 2016 and while new years’ resolutions to try something new is fresh in everyone’s mind, I thought I’d post some trends I’ve noticed taking off in 2015 that I think will continue through 2016 or may already be reaching their 'consumer-consumption-limit'. I really just wrote this for myself and started pinning and researching but then figured others might want to read this to. Noting of course that, as a disclaimer, I do not have a glass ball I have included one image for each 'trend' but you can find more on this Pinterest board. I know that some potters don’t follow trends but even you might find 'pinspiration' in the info below with the associated 'opportunity' thought. TREND: 'THINGS INSIDE POTS' In a fast-paced world, people (your customers) seem to need reminders of how to slow down and inject a little humour in their day. There has been an increase in putting things inside pots - like tea infusers shaped like people and any animal you can think of. There has also been increased 'improved function' versions of pots - like those with additional 'appendages' e.g. tea bag holders. Opportunity thought: How can you improve the usability of your existing product designs to solve a common customer issue? Octopus in mug - Click for source TREND: TEA ANYONE? When the whole family gets 'tea themed' products for Xmas, you know tea is a trend! For 2015 I got a special 'turn-it-upside-down-and-see-no-leak' teapot for cold tea with a custom selection of wild flavoured organic teas from a family member (and everyone got something tea-themed). People have extended on the previous year’s (and ongoing) ‘organic’ trend and rediscovering the natural remedies of teas and new combinations. Opportunity thought: how can you work with local suppliers and specialists of local goods to package your products with theirs to create symbiotic marketing and sales opportunities? People Resting Teabags - Click for Source TREND: CUSTOMISATION TURNS DIY OR EXCLUSIVE As anyone selling on Etsy knows selling customised products is big and isn't a new trend, however, the trend now leans towards two areas, at the opposite ends of scale: Packaging customisation in DIY products Taking customisation to 'exclusive' levels The first area is exemplified by products that you can make yourself – duh – but taking it to a whole new level in terms of the variety of products and services you can DIY. There are some great links and articles in the Pinterest board for this. The exclusive trend is an interesting one in terms of how might be applied to ceramics and pottery – unique and handmade pieces are obviously already quite exclusive in that there is usually limited production. However companies like Lee Jeans and Netflix took exclusivity to whole new levels in 2015 – in September 2015 Netflix created a gadget called “The Switch†“that automatically switches on the TV, launches Netflix, silences the phones, dims the lights and can even order takeoutâ€. They did not sell it though – they gave everyone the instructions on how to make it themselves! The exclusivity in this respect came from the skills required to make the object (software and hardware programming). Opportunity thought: Think about how you can ‘up the ante’ on providing DIY products or exclusive services to a targeted demographic. Personal Photo Temporary Tattoos - click for source TREND: 3D PRINTING ADOPTION ACCELERATES The 3D printing trend will continue to accelerate and become cheaper for anyone to produce with the technology starting to reach greater audience mass. In the technology world whenever a new technology is released, it tends to go through a typical adoption cycle (called the diffusion of innovations) – as an example, think of how much a desktop or laptop computer cost in the early 90’s (early adopter) compared to today (saturated market). Figure 1 –Diffusion of Innovations (source: Wikipedia, 2016) Note also that the timeline for technology adoption differs from country to country. Through 2015 3D printing sat in the first phase of the early adopters area however, with the dawn of 2016, as a society we are quickly moving towards the early majority adoption phase. I predict it will still be about 2-3 years though before we start seeing the transition into fully fledged mass production as big print and hardware companies (with the appropriate funds behind them to do the mass production research) ramp up new product teams and technologies. I think in 5 years' time you'll see 3d printers going for $1k-5k instead of $5k-30k they are now, with many more features, bigger sizes and much better reliability - it is a typical tech cycle. However in saying that, there are now companies who are printing clothes, 3d selfies (yes, really) and establishing startup 3D printing shops (for those of you ‘mature’ enough, think equivalent to Kodak photo processing shops prior to digital cameras). Opportunity thought: if you are interested in 3D production, do a 3D printing course - 3D CAD Modelling software skills are essential to using this hardware. Just remember before investing in 3d printing machines that the first iteration of any technology tends to be error prone and/or limited in features and expensive compared to what they will be down the road. TREND: HAND-DRAWN AND HANDMADE STYLE (in style, if not in reality) and ANIMALS This popular trend of the past couple of years doesn’t look like giving up anytime soon. However now the theme has morphed into mass manufacturing with the hand drawn element becoming a key element – often combining with other trends, especially tea, typography and animals. Related to the hand-drawn theme, animals are a central design figure in homeware product design. Gorgeous prints and handdrawn animals are popping up around the house, from pillows to dinner and drinkware to bedding. The use of animals ranges from intricate and detailed hand drawn realism, through to stylistic and conceptual. Opportunity thought: start a new trend! This one might have seen it’s days played out within the year with mass manufacturing splashing it everywhere. Handdrawn animals everywhere - click for source Would love to hear everyone else's comments and thoughts on 2016 trends - Happy 2016!

I have recently set up my new studio, but new to the world of selling my work. I have a small etsy shop, and have sold about 20 things....Trying to get more organized and professional with my branding, logo, presentation. I am not a potter, just tiles. I am developing a stamp to imprint on the back of my tiles (2-3" whole logo) and would also like to develop a small stamp (1/2- 3/4") for smaller tiles and something that might be visible on the front of some things. Is there a more official name for these little logo stamps? Ceramic marks? My question is this: How do I know if my logo is similar to others ceramic artists' stamps. Is there an archive somewhere, or do I need to go through copy write possess to find out? My proposed stamp is attached, as well as my logo for my shop "Cattail Tile" The stamp just takes the 2 T's ,and dots from the larger logo. It is not terribly unique or creative symbol, but I like it, and I figure it has to be simple to be recognizable so small. I tried a site that visually searches images for anything out there on the web, and it said my image was too simple to search. Ideas? Should I not worry about it and just do it? Does this symbol look familiar to anyone (other than it looking like the Pi symbol with 3 square dots) ?

My son and his fiance are getting married in January and will have a Star Wars themed wedding. My future DIL wants a traditional 3 tier cake but with a twist using Star Wars somehow. She pointed out plenty of cakes where people have used a Death Star on top of the cake which is not to my taste design wise (unbalanced, color scheme, etc). I thought I might attempt to make a cake stand instead which makes it look like it's rising out of the table. Attached is a very crude copy/paste of what I'm thinking. A wedding cake of this size can weigh 30-40 lbs once decorated so want to make sure I'm thinking of good weight distribution as well as design balance. The death star would basically be half a round sphere, flattened on the top to attach to bottom of the cake platter. The bottom layer of the cake will be 14" diameter so the cake platter will be a minimum of 16" and maybe 18" if they decide to decorate down onto the platter itself. The base of the sphere will be 2" less than whatever diameter platter we end up with. That gives me the most weight distribution. One thing I'm worried about is making it too tall and raising the center of gravity even more ... it might end up being less than half a sphere in height to counteract this. The interior of the sphere would be hollow unless you guys think I need to build in cross bracing. Any and all thoughts welcome! BTW I'm starting now so that if it doesn't work out we can go to plan B!

I'm using a technique where I apply contact paper stencils to create designs on my bisque before dipping into my cone 4-6 glaze. I've had really awesome results with this. My only issue has been that when I go to peel them off, no matter how quickly I try, chunks of glaze pull off around the edges leaving me less sharp lines. I've been using a damp sponge to wipe the glaze off of the paper and dampen the edges, but I still end up doing a lot of time consuming detail work with a paint brush. I'm toying with the idea of wiping the glaze off of the decal then leaving it in place to burn off in the firing (well ventilated, of course) I don't mind if the tiny bit of ash leaves some pattern on the unglazed bisque, but don't want it messing up glazed pieces in the kiln. Has anyone tired this or had similar experience?

I recently made some side handled teapots. I was especially inspired by Hagi kyusu I've seen. I really like the form. Example here: http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/hagi/pic/hagishibuyadeishiteapot1.jpg The ones I've made, however, drip like CRAZY. I thought I was pretty faithful to the original forms, though I'm willing to admit my spouts are slightly lower. Do I need to refine the spout's lip further? Angle the spout more upwards? Is the shape of the body wrong? Is there something I'm missing or is this style of teapot just inherently drippy? I've heard people complain about traditional Japanese teapots dripping terribly. Bizen hobin especially. Here are two of mine, fresh from failed pour tests:

Mark Shapiro Workshop – Teapots: Brew / Pour / More WS01 – Saturday & Sunday, 10-4pm, January 17 & 18, 2015 Fee: $200 member/$225 non-member For the potter, teapots are entrancing objects to make. They have a long and rich history that evokes social rituals and intercultural connections. They have long been collected and displayed, and ceramic teapots remain the first choice for brewing tea. They are still commonly used, though other ceramic forms have been replaced by other kinds of vessels. Technically teapots present the challenge of designing and integrating multiple parts—spout, lid, handle, foot, knob—in addition to the usual questions of clay, surface, and firing. As such, the teapot is a classic potter’s performance, in which the drama of ceramic inspiration and mastery unfolds. A functional teapot must successfully brew and pour tea, but what else can a teapot do? In this 2-day workshop participants will look at the parts that make the whole, focusing on ergonomics, proportion, and the harmony of elements. What makes a great teapot, one that you want to use again and again? This workshop will attempt to unfold some of those qualities by learning from outstanding examples and thinking about how to capture such excellence in our own teapots and related wares. Mark Shapiro makes wood-fired pots in Western Massachusetts. He is a frequent workshop leader, lecturer, curator, panelist, and writer, and is mentor to a half-dozen apprentices who have trained at his Stonepool Pottery. His work was featured in the 4th World Ceramics Biennial in Icheon, Korea, and is in many public collections. His interviews of Karen Karnes, Michael Simon, Paulus Berensohn, and Sergei Isupov, are in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art and he edited A Chosen Path: the Ceramic Art of Karen Karnes (UNC Press). He is on the advisory board of Ceramics Monthly, and is a contributing editor to Studio Potter Magazine. WS01 – Saturday & Sunday, 10-4pm, January 17 & 18, 2015 Fee: $200 members; $225 non-members Contact Matthew Hyleck at matt.hyleck@baltimoreclayworks.org for more information. Baltimore Clayworks 5707 Smith Avenue Baltimore, MD 21209

At a local event two women asked me if I had garlic plates. I asked for a description. I came home and looked them up, of course, and decided to try some. I made four last night, but without seeing one for real, I won't make more. Of course they wanted to see some at my next event in two weeks! THAT won't happen, but I'll get a type perfected within the next couple of months and be ready for the autumn season. The idea is that the center of the plate is rough or has a texture such that a clove of garlic can be rubbed/grated/pulverized and then olive oil poured over it for dipping with bread hunks. I'm not particularly good at making plates, so I'm considering this a good reason to get some practice. When I made the few last night, I made concentric ridges in the center. They were too rough, so I damp-sponged them to soften the edges and when I did that, I smeared some of the clay down into the grooves. After thinking about it for a bit, I decided that maybe the ridges or texture should be done at the time of trimming when the plate is in its leather stage and any little nubs of clay could be brushed out or allowed to dry and then flicked out. Some of the pictures I see online are of just unglazed areas for the grating and others are of almost fingernail sized waves that look pushed up in a circular design. Those look as though they'd hurt fingers and make for coarser grating, but again, without seeing one in 3D I can't get much of an idea; only imagination. So ... have you made garlic plates? If you have, do you mind sharing how you make the grating part and how big you make the plates. Are they well received at shows or in shops? No one else in my region is making them that I know of, so maybe I have an opportunity here for something new!

Maybe you already know this statement of Eva Zeisel, maybe not. I just discovered the video and I was blown away! So much to learn from a humble but Grand Lady of Ceramics. The video is 18 minutes long but I recommend to take the time to listen to every minute she speaks. It's worth it! Imagine: she was 94 when she gave that statement on TED. She died at the age of 105, 2 years ago.... Although the translations and the title of the video are in German: don't leave the site. Eva speaks English throughout the talk. Enjoy. http://www.ted.com/talks/eva_zeisel_on_the_playful_search_for_beauty.html

Hello, I am still having big problems with the kiln I own. Long story short, it has been broken now for about 2-3 months. First off one of the relays fried itself. So I replace that. Then it fired twice, one bisque and a cone 9-10 glaze. After that it broke again with the controller spitting out an Error F1. No manuals or manufacturers known for either the kiln or programer. Looked again at the wiring and the wire attached to the top relay has fried, half of the coating had burnt off and it was getting very hot. This is probably what broke the relay in the first place but I didn't notice. It is on the wire where the electricity exits the elements. The top circuit has 6 elements wired in parallel pairs. Replaced the wire and it was still getting very hot. This time where the elements come out the kiln it was starting to glow and spark which I had never noticed before. So it is not the relay or the wire that is causing the problem it must be the elements right? The problem is I know little about electronics and the guy who I share the studio with knows even less. He had an electrician come over to look at the kiln. Problem was I wasn't there and he doesn't really know what the electrician has done. I am sure he is good at his job but I have no idea what he has done with the wiring. I mean it looks like he has changed the bottom into a series circuit and the top, well I have no idea how it is meant to work. Here is my attempt at working out how he has wired the top elements, to me this makes no sense but please correct me if I am wrong. They are two drawing of the same circuit. I spent most of yesterday trying to work out and design a circuit that will work. The elements look ok to me but maybe they are causing the problem. I just don't know. I know one guy who fixes kilns and replaces elements but he is very slow at getting round to doing anything I took some amp and resistance readings from the kiln to try and work out what the overall resistance is. The kiln consists of two relays, the bottom one has four elements wired in parallel pairs and the top 6. 10 elements in total. Is this the right way to have it wired up? The power comes in bottom left and right and out the middle pins. So I started with what the ideal circuit should be. I have 240v supply at 32amp, which means my overall resistance should be 7.5ohm. Overall the top elements have resistance of 11.6 and the bottom elements a resistance of 10 (one top element has 17ohm and one bottom elements has 10ohm). This makes the overall resistance of the circuit 5.4ohm as the elements are wired up in parallel. Ok so that is the resistance for the circuit but just taking in elements resistance values so probably not that correct. If I use the amp reading that I am getting going to and from the relays I end up with a value of 7.07ohm for the overall resistance which is a lot closer to my ideal value. After all of that I am not really any closer. The top relay has an amp reading of 18.5 and the bottom relay 15.5. I think I worked out that if my ideal resistance was 7.5 then I should have an amp reading of 18.75 for the top and 12.5 for the bottom. I am a bit confused on reading back my working out now haha. I have just noticed that 18.5+15.5 = 34 but I am sure we have a 32amp breaker which doesn't make any sense either. So none of the values seem that wrong although I may have completely done the maths wrong, I mean the bottom seems to have too many amps but it is not the bottom that is broken. Those elements seem to be working fine. The top where the electricity exits the elements to go to the relay is where the problem is happening. Anyway if you have read this far, thank you I don't know if anybody can help but could you at least tell me if the parallel pairs is the correct way for elements to be wired up? Can anybody spot where the fault may lie? I don't want to replace the elements if that is not going to help either! I have just been slowly replacing and breaking more things.

I'm looking for work at a Pottery in the UK...any suggestions please? Here's a link to my pottery page on Face Book for an idea on my pottery skills: https://www.facebook.com/CraftyIdeasPottery Thanks! Anamica.

I just finished reading this book. I thought others might enjoy it. It is an articulate synthesis of the theory of aesthetics.Though the author uses architecture for concrete examples, it is equally applicable to any form of art, including ceramics. It greatly clarified my thinking about design