Jump to content

Bisque Fire Question


Recommended Posts

So, I was firing some pottery studio work just to bisque, and when we load the kiln, I usually place the work in, the slip of paper on the piece with the artists information on it, and take a picture to remember whos was whos, then remove the paper and go on with loading.

Well, someone bothered me while I was loading and I somehow managed to forget the papers on the pieces.  This has happened previously, years ago at another studio, and I remember nothing happening, but this time, the paper left this residue, and marks.  (Some pieces has colored slips as well). I will attach pictures...  I obviously will not be doing this anymore, as distractions caused this problem.  I am always meticulous and careful when loading so this has devastated me.  

I was wondering if anyone had insight on how I can possibly fix these, or what kind of workaround I can try.

 

 

IMG_0405.jpg

IMG_0406 (2).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/26/2024 at 6:51 AM, Babs said:

I am wondering what kind of paper would leave such a mark and whether it would burn out at glaze firing.

+1

Is the stain just carbon or something else? Can you give details of the "paper" ?

You might consider making some  small test bowls and bisque them with paper inside. Then trying things like ...
- Glaze-fire one (still unglazed) just to confirm that the stain can be burned out at high temperatures.
- Re-bisque one and see if the stain goes away.  If it does glaze and glaze-fire.
- Glaze one and glaze-fire (unless the stained area prevents even glaze application).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, wow, that’s some kind of paper. Was it colored ? If it was ordinary paper I would expect these marks to disappear in the glaze firing. The main thing I can imagine is in bisque pieces are often stacked and paper in between could leave a mark, the atmosphere it creates could discolor underglazes. If the stars were aligned and everything was just right, that is. Leaving a slip of plain paper in a pot shouldn’t do this. I’m not sure I would change the practice of marking work with a slip of paper, seems like a good idea to me. This is unusual. 

Looks like some kind of copper residue, my guess. 

Perhaps a little localized sanding then re-coating the affected areas with underglaze?

Ruined work is a part of ceramics, but there is a special anguish when you mess up someone else’s work. If you do clay long enough it’s going to happen. Untold thousands of people have fired bisque kilns to cone 6. Once. Millions have blown up greenware. Cheer up, I don’t think anyone would see this one coming.


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey everyone!  Sorry I did not reply right away, I was out for the weekend!  

@Babs @Min @Kelly in AK @PeterH @Rae Reich

So, the paper that was used is just your average everyday printer paper.  However, it did have printing on it.  So, it was done with a laser printer with toner ink, black, and also, everyone that wrote their information used a ballpoint pen ( @Min think the BIC blue generic pens)

We are thinking it might be whatever is in the toner printer, as one of the artists mentioned those usually have some types of metals in there.

Luckily everyone was very understanding of what had happened, but they were all very curious as to what is going to happen with the pieces in the next firing.  I had one person dip the bowls that were affected (the blue and pink under-glazed bowls) into a clear glaze, so I will report back on how those come out once they are fired. The others are deciding if they are going to try and refire them and see if it just burns off or glaze them with something else and see if it just goes away.

@PeterHThey are also all having me do test pieces with more printer paper and ink to see if we can recreate it again.  One of the artists is intrigued by what kind of look he can get if it is something that can be repeatedly used.

One thing I have to say is I am very glad everyone was understanding.  Not a mistake I will ever be making again!

I will be doing another Bisque fire this evening so I will be posting pictures of what I find here within the next few days!  Thank you all so much for the questions, it is definitely a very interesting situation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Michael W said:

One of the artists is intrigued by what kind of look he can get if it is something that can be repeatedly used.

Perhaps very tangentially related. In that its an on-glaze "contaminant" that can produce interesting effects. Serving as a substitute for the leaves used in Chinese pottery.

... with some clarifications of my position in the following posts.

PS A way to hold down things like leaves or paper onto a pot while firing.

 

Edited by PeterH
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/29/2024 at 5:01 PM, Michael W said:

They are also all having me do test pieces with more printer paper and ink to see if we can recreate it again.  One of the artists is intrigued by what kind of look he can get if it is something that can be repeatedly used.

You might want to add a few pieces printed in yellow, cyan and magenta. Chances are at least one of them won't leave a mark.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.