nickicherry Posted November 20, 2020 Report Share Posted November 20, 2020 Hello all! I've made a large, 25" tall leg that leans away from the foot. There's about 9" of overhang from the back of the foot to the top of the leg. I'm trying to figure out the safest way to fire it—my teacher (who has only seen photos of the work) suggested firing it on its side, but I'm worried that the weight of the entire piece distributed over the few points where it would touch the ground would cause it to break once it's bone dry. If I lay it on its right side I believe it will touch on the side of the foot, at the ankle, and at the widest part of the calf. When I've tried pushing it around to figure out its weight distribution it feels more heavily weighted to the left than it does from behind, so I've also thought about firing it standing up with one or two supports just under the more bulbous ankle and where the leg begins. There are supports in the arch of the foot and I also made the foot thicker that the top of the leg (it transitions from being 5/8" thick to 3/8"). This is made out of not super groggy clay (newbie mistake!) and is going to be fired at Cone 6. What would be the best way of firing this? This is one of the first objects I've made in clay, so I don't really understand how things can slump or warp in the kiln. I'm planning on firing it on a slab of the same clay body no matter what to prevent the bottom from dragging on the kiln shelf. I've attached some images of the the work. Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted November 20, 2020 Report Share Posted November 20, 2020 I've been using bits of soft brick to prop things, and so long as the glaze is thin it can be sanded quite well. I'd rest it against a brick, maybe a thin one between the wall and it so it's not against an element area. Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted November 20, 2020 Report Share Posted November 20, 2020 Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted November 20, 2020 Report Share Posted November 20, 2020 Do you plan on adding any glaze? If it doesn't have to go to cone 6 then I would fire it lower, it would lessen the chance of slumping and warping problems. I'ld make some supports out of the same claybody that the sculpture is made from and however you position it in the kiln fire it with the supports in place on the waster slab. They will shrink at the same rate as the sculpture. Welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 21, 2020 Report Share Posted November 21, 2020 Is it stable standing up? Any risk of it tipping? If it's stable, then fire it upright, no supports needed. If you don't plan on glazing it, then just fire it once, but not all the way to cone 6. Maybe just cone 3 or 4, enough to get it fairly hard but not close enough to full vitrification that slumping might be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickicherry Posted November 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2020 Thanks all for replies! I'm not planning on glazing it, so firing lower seems like a good option. I'm not sure if the studio I'm working at will fire student work at a different cone (I believe everything gets loaded together and fired at cone 6), so I'll have to check with them. 15 hours ago, neilestrick said: Is it stable standing up? Any risk of it tipping? I think it's really stable! Its weight is definitely not distributed evenly, but it's never felt like it was about to fall over. Would warping/slumping just affect the form or would it cause cracking? If it's just the form that change, I think it might add to the disfigured effect that the form already has. I'm mostly worried about large cracks or it breaking in the kiln. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 21, 2020 Report Share Posted November 21, 2020 If it's stable, fire it upright on a slab. Put alumina on the slab so they don't stick. Unless your studio fires everything slowly enough to be a safe firing speed for a sculpture like this, I would ask them to do a firing just for you. This should be fired a lot slower than typical pottery forms. Maybe offer to pay for the firing to cover the electricity and wear and tear on the kiln. Then fire it slowly to cone 3, with a good long preheat, like 8-12 hours. How open is the piece on the bottom? How long has it been drying? These types of forms can seem dry on the outside but still be very wet on the inside. How thick is it? Are the walls fairly even? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickicherry Posted November 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2020 Quote How open is the piece on the bottom? How long has it been drying? These types of forms can seem dry on the outside but still be very wet on the inside. How thick is it? Are the walls fairly even? It's closed on the bottom and open in the back via an ~8" long, 0.75" thick incision (attaching another photo). It hasn't been drying for very long so far, it's still leather hard. I just started drying it very slowly by covering it in a good amount of plastic. My studio gets pretty hot & dry with the radiators on in the winter, so I've been being pretty cautious about preventing things from drying too quickly. The walls are 5/8" thick throughout most of the piece, and taper out gradually to about 3/8" on the top. I'll have to ask the studio I'm firing at if they would let me fire my work by itself. They work with a lot of artists who make large ceramic works, so I at least feel confident that they know how to handle something of this size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee b Posted December 13, 2020 Report Share Posted December 13, 2020 Why not leave it at bisque? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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