Mary2212 Posted December 16, 2020 Report Share Posted December 16, 2020 Hello, I am completely new to ceramics and pottery. I have been making and selling air dry clay tags and decorations for a few years and have been able to save to buy a home kiln. But no idea where to begin. I was booked for a course but Corona Virus has meant it cancelled twice and there are now no courses available next year due to them being uncertain if they will go ahead. I was wondering if a kiln which max fires 1300 Celsius is okay to use for ceramic tags and would I be able to fire stoneware or would I need to use earthenware. I also wanted to know what best glazes are to be used to 'paint' pictures and letters on them. Thank you I appreciate this all may sound really stupid to experienced people and I know your art is something to be learned over a long time I just want to practice and have saved for a while to do so. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted December 16, 2020 Report Share Posted December 16, 2020 Hi Mary! 1300C (2372F), likely that's a "cone 10" kiln, hence should be able to reach mid fire, cone 5/6, reliably. You might start out with a mid fire clay/stoneware - a smooth one, that's easy to paint on, and either "buff" or white, for the iron (and other stuff) in red and brown clay can offer challenges... For your designs, you could start with underglazes, which should brush better than glazes, and stay put as well, perhaps Speedball, which I've found reasonably priced and easy to use (it's what the local JC Ceramic lab buys - my first experience). May I suggest you smooth the clay where your designs will be, then bisque fire (depending on the clay you choose, perhaps to cone 06 or so) before painting on the underglaze, and finish with a coat of clear glaze before the glaze fire, being careful to keep glaze away from your kiln shelves. Between now and your first firing, enjoy responses to your thread, look for related threads, watch some You Tube vids, perhaps read some books and magazines, and have fun! I'm not a particularly good hand with a brush, hence my simple underglaze decoration - if any - is often applied with the help of a stencil. I cut plain office paper with a razor tool, wet it, stick it to the bisque, then brush the underglaze, and pull away the stencil. Sometimes a bit of underglaze seeps under the paper - no matter, when the underglaze has dried, the seep is easily cut and scraped away. A paper stencil can survive several uses, if allowed to dry a bit, for when thoroughly soaked, the paper melts. I also use masking tape... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted December 16, 2020 Report Share Posted December 16, 2020 1300C is cone 10 so a kiln with this rating would be fine for any clay that fires to that but elements will last longer when not fired to maximum temperature. Stoneware can be midrange (approx cone 6) or highfire (approx cone 10). There are also midrange and highfire porcelain bodies. Any clay is at its strongest when fired to maturity. Cone 6 and 10 clays are going to be more durable than lowfire clays, cone 6 is going to be easier on the kiln and cost less to fire (electrify) than 10. If you go with cone 6 then use a clay that has that as the top firing temperature, not a wide firing range claybody. Underglazes are brilliant for doing what you are describing. The premixed liquid form of them is very user friendly, and can be covered with a transparent glaze. It sounds like you might be in the UK? There are underglaze powders available there too, I’ld avoid those when just starting out, adds another layer of complication you probably don’t need. Welcome to the forum! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary2212 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2020 OH! I dont know how to reply to you individually but can I just say thank you so so much for your friendly responses, I am so grateful I didnt even expect anyone to reply! So thank you x 1000 xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary2212 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2020 I am in the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted December 17, 2020 Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 13 hours ago, Mary2212 said: clay tags Hi-just curious-what are clay tags??? Like luggage tags? BTW-it is never stupid-sounding to ask questions or seek information & guidance. Everyone started from zero and went from there. It's terrific that you have your own kiln--an interesting journey awaits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary2212 Posted December 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 Hi LeeU! The tags are like little hangers, some people use them on gift wrappy or to tie around their vases/just have hanging in the house and obviously more recently Christmas ones for the tree!! Thanks so much for your kindness xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted December 17, 2020 Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 I make a lot of Christmas ornaments this time of the year. Since they are not being used for food and beverage purposes, some of the ornaments only get a bisque firing, the first firing. I wonder if your tags would be fine with that as well. Again, that would save on electricity and wear and tear on the kiln. You could use underglaze on your greenware and then bisque fire. Just a thought. Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary2212 Posted December 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 Oh thank you Roberta that's a really helpful idea indeed! Can you still use a clear glaze to make them shiney? Thanks so much for your help xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary2212 Posted December 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 Wondering if a kiln which only fires to cone 6 is suitable for this type of work, I have opportunity to purchase a used kiln but only fires to 6 xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted December 17, 2020 Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 If you’re working with low fire earthenware, the cone 6 kiln will be sufficient. If you want it to regularly be able to reach cone 6, you need a kiln that’s rated for cone 9-10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary2212 Posted December 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 Thanks Callie I'm just wondering if earthenware is fine as I'm only going to making ceramic tags / small circle pieces with pictures on. So can I just use earthenware for this ? Xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted December 17, 2020 Report Share Posted December 17, 2020 If you are sure that in no time in the future you will want to fire higher than earthenware/lowfire then the cone 6 kiln would be fine. If the tags etc don't need to be non-porous then earthenware should be fine. It will save you a lot of electricity costs not firing to cone 6 and also the elements won't have to be changed nearly so frequently. But, you won't be able to fire midrange in a cone 6 kiln very often without rapidly wearing the elements out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary2212 Posted December 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 Hi everyone.. I got my kiln! I went for a cone 10 kiln.. it's Preloved but has an electric controller. Now I'm wondering how on earth do I use it, what is soak!? And if I want to fire to cone 6 do I have to fire it slowly or does that happen automatically?!? Is there any key terms I can type in on Google?! I can't seem to find anything! Xxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted December 22, 2020 Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 Look for the kiln manual, you should be able to find it online if you search by it's name. Also, do a search for the name of the kiln controller if it isn't included with the kiln manual info. If you don't have any luck then post a picture of the controller and kiln here, include as much info about it as you can. With kiln controllers there are usually options for doing a fast or slow firing, some controllers have the option of fast, med, slow and also different preprogrammed schedules for bisque or glaze (among other options). A soak (or hold) is entered manually, you program the schedule the kiln fires at, the soak is simply getting the kiln to stay at a certain temperature for X amount of time. I would suggest getting some pyrometric cones, they measure the effect of time and heat and mimic the effect of those on the clay and glaze. If you get a cone 6 clay then pick up some cone 5,6 and 7 cones. It seems common in the UK not to use these and go only by the kiln temperature but the problem with this is that info only measures temperature and not the effect time has had. (leaving something in the oven for an hour is going to be more cooked than leaving it in for 10 minutes) Congrats on your new kiln. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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