TC on tue 12 aug 97
In 1988 or '89 I took a one-week course at Penland (with Paulus Berenson) and
also observed a class taught by Chris Gustin. His was a "regular" clay class,
i.e. they fired their work (while we used a camera as a "kiln"). Being a class
of such short duration necessitated some inventive procedures: Gustin just
loaded soaking wet stuff in the kiln and essentially "steam-fired" the work.
If anyone who participated in those firings reads this, they could perhaps
give more specific instructions. At NCECA in Kansas City, students there
told us of the newest rage then (same year?) which was wet-firing. Principle
is that, though wet, the work is evenly brought to temperature. I have loaded
student work that wasn't completely dry,too, at times of great rush. You just
have to take your time getting to red heat and leave the ports and lid open.
I've piloted for a minimum of overnight and took the switches up one notch
every hour or 2. Results were always satisfactory.
Tricia in Michigan
WardBurner@aol.com on wed 13 aug 97
Back when I did "speedy" pottery I'd run some pretty fast tests. Throw a
piece, load it into the kiln wet , bisque fire it, remove and glaze, then
Raku, cool & clean. . About the fastest I could do this whole process was 7
hours. Yes, 7 hours from wedging to placing it on the shelf for sale. Clay is
a very forgiving material if you know when to treat it rough and when to be
gentle.
Marc Ward
Ward Burner Systems
PO Box 333
Dandridge, TN 37725
USA
423.397.2914 voice
423.397.1253 fax
wardburner@aol.com
Fay & Ralph Loewenthal on thu 14 aug 97
Tricia in Michigan wrote:
At NCECA in Kansas City, students there
told us of the newest rage then (same year?) which was wet-firing. Principle
is that, though wet, the work is evenly brought to temperature.
I quote from Ceramic Formulas: the Complete
Compendium by John W. Conrad in his introduction to
Raku Glazes: "In the wet fire technique, the object is
hand made or wheel thrown using a highly porous and
coarse clay. While still wet the object is covered with an
engobe-type glaze. This wet object is placed in a 1700F
kiln. The resulting steam creates a protective envelope
around the object and prevents it from exploding". My
edition is from 1976, I hope it is still relevant.
I tried this method while hosting a Raku workshop for
our local potters' association, and much to my surprise it
worked. There were little pop offs, but everything
survived very nicely. It is just difficult to put a wet wheel
thrown pot in without deforming it. I guess one would
have to throw with very little water and use hard clay.
Just a little interesting snippit from Ralph in PE SA
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