Arial MT on tue 18 nov 97
Hi,
The way I got around zoning when I built my 45 cuft sprung arch downdraft
kiln in the suburbs years ago was
1)BUILD ON A CONCRETE SLAB THAT COULD BE USED FOR A PATIO BY THE NEXT OWNER
2)USE BLOWER BURNERS AND A CHIMNEY THE HEIGHT CLOSELY SIMILAR TH THE KILN
ITSELF
3)Have the kiln dry set no mortars
3)HAVE THE angle iron frame bolted together not welded
4)create a visual barrier and have a fence around the area with all setbacks
from structures and property lines strictly observed
5)ASK THE PROPANE COMPANY what is the permissable way to conceal the tank for
esthetic purposes- they usually need free access for safety and filling
6)DO NOT DO ANYTHING THAT CREATES EXTRA TRAFFFIC, NOISE, POLUTION (i.e.
salting or raku) NOR OFFEND THE NEIGHBORS IN ANY POSSIBLE WAY EVER -NOR YOUR
CHILDREN NOR PETS
7)fire when the least possible attention will be drawn to the existant kiln
and as some
have even suggested disguise it as a bar b que even to the extent of sitting
a real bar b que inside and using it occasionally as such
I had my own "Mrs Cravitz" IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD BUT FOLLOWING THE ABOVE
MENTIONED GUIDELINES IT WAS CONSITERED "temporary and potentially portable
thus not a permanent structure" I ALWAYS WON OUT WHEN SHE HAD HER LITTLE FITS
sorry about the caps i'm just no typist
Margaret in S.C.(now out in the country but it is becoming the suburbs now
again with urban sprall.)
going to a record cold tonight 22degrees and i now remember i hace clay where
it may freeze.Will it be usable or need something done to it?
Ron or Sue Corl on tue 18 nov 97
Hi Margaret,
Wouldn't it be great if there was a coalition or better yet a Siberian
Death Squad to fend off urban sprawl! The farms are being eaten alive by
"developers". Of course they only have the best intentions :( MONEY!
> Margaret in S.C.(now out in the country but it is becoming the suburbs now
> again with urban sprall.)
I read somewhere (old CM?) that when clay freezes, that it can help it
to become more plastic. That doesn't make sense to me but what do the
chemists think? How 'bought some real life anicdotes about freezing
clay?
> going to a record cold tonight 22degrees and i now remember i hace clay where
> it may freeze.Will it be usable or need something done to it?
Thanks,
Ron
Big Baby Head Studio
Judith Enright on wed 19 nov 97
Regarding frozen clay -- I'm not sure about the physical properties of
what happens, but I suspect it has something to do with the thawing
process breaking down certain molecules in the clay, thus creating
aplasticity. I store all of my clay in the garage where it gets
pretty cold (although not freezing) during the winter. Come spring, I
find I have some mighty fine clay to work with!
-- Judith Enright @ Black Leopard Clayware
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: gas kilns & zoning &frozen clay
Author: Ron or Sue Corl at Internet
Date: 11/18/97 3:00 PM
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hi Margaret,
Wouldn't it be great if there was a coalition or better yet a Siberian
Death Squad to fend off urban sprawl! The farms are being eaten alive by
"developers". Of course they only have the best intentions :( MONEY!
> Margaret in S.C.(now out in the country but it is becoming the suburbs now
> again with urban sprall.)
I read somewhere (old CM?) that when clay freezes, that it can help it
to become more plastic. That doesn't make sense to me but what do the
chemists think? How 'bought some real life anicdotes about freezing
clay?
> going to a record cold tonight 22degrees and i now remember i hace clay where
> it may freeze.Will it be usable or need something done to it?
Thanks,
Ron
Big Baby Head Studio
cobbeldi on wed 19 nov 97
Margaret, thanks for the info. Everyone has been so helpful in replying to
my query on gas kilns and zoning. In response to your question about clay
freezing--I have stored clay in an unheated shed with no insulation quite
succesfully in the winter with one exception, when the temperature got down
to 15 degrees F., then the outer boxes began to freeze. The result was
that I had to thoroughly wedge the clay before I used it. The clay in the
center of the mass never froze. If the temperature of the shed comes back
to an above freezing temp. in the daylight hours, the clay can stand one
night of sub-freezing temperatures. I guess it takes quite a bit of
chilling to actually freeze all that mass. If you have a way to keep the
clay warmer, then by all means do it. I've even wrapped insulation around
the boxes and that seemed to help. I now store my clay in a heated
building.
Debra
Kathi LeSueur on wed 19 nov 97
Where I live, Ann Arbor, MI the zoning is really lax about kilns. There are
so many potters here that the city building department doesn't pay attention.
Ask them what they want and they'll say, "You guys know more about kilns than
we do." I live right in the city on a small residential lot with neighbors
just a few yards away.
So, my concern has always been the neighbors. I do several things. One is to
share my product with the neighborhood. Every August after our big show here
my partner and I go through everything and set aside pots we've been carrying
around for awhile and obviously no one wants to buy. We put them all on a
front lawn with a sign that says "free--help yourself". It's amazing to watch
them. They share. It's rare that someone takes more than a few things. But
I've now had several people tell me that if any one new complains about us
they'll have the whole street to contend with.
I also have a shut off easily accessible to my neighbors. They all know where
it is and how to shut down the kiln if there was an accident. I've had kilns
on my property for 20 years now. No one thinks anything of it anymore unless
they have guests visiting. Then they drag them down to meet the neighborhood
potters.
If anyone is having serious problems with their zoning people maybe ask them
to investigate how Ann Arbor deals with it. I've never heard of any problems
with kilns here.
Kathi
Stephen Mills on thu 20 nov 97
Back in the mists of time (!!!) we were taught to prepare our clay at
least 12 months before use by first of all exposing it to frost in order
to break it down, before soaking it in water to make slip, which then
ran out into drying pans, where it stayed 'till it was ready to
wedge/pug, then stored for 6 months (minimum) to "sour" after which it
was ready to use..........................................(phew!)
Actually frozen clay is fine, just re-wedge it, rest it for a bit, then
use and enjoy.
Steve
the Bath mudslinger
UK
In message , Ron or Sue Corl writes
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi Margaret,
>
>Wouldn't it be great if there was a coalition or better yet a Siberian
>Death Squad to fend off urban sprawl! The farms are being eaten alive by
>"developers". Of course they only have the best intentions :( MONEY!
>
>> Margaret in S.C.(now out in the country but it is becoming the suburbs now
>> again with urban sprall.)
>
>I read somewhere (old CM?) that when clay freezes, that it can help it
>to become more plastic. That doesn't make sense to me but what do the
>chemists think? How 'bought some real life anicdotes about freezing
>clay?
>
>> going to a record cold tonight 22degrees and i now remember i hace clay where
>> it may freeze.Will it be usable or need something done to it?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Ron
>Big Baby Head Studio
>
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
home tel: (44) (0)1225 311699
work tel: (44) (0)1225 337046
Sandra Dwiggins on fri 21 nov 97
Frozen clay is perfectly fine. I've stored many boxes of clay in the back
of my station wagon throughout the winter because it helped traction
and I didn't want to carry it up my hill unless I needed it. Just defrost, and
wedge the hell out of it. I was rather interested in the structure of the
blobs of clay after the defrost, mine looked like flat platelets....
Sandy
Ric Swenson on sat 22 nov 97
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Frozen clay is perfectly fine. I've stored many boxes of clay in the back
>of my station wagon throughout the winter because it helped traction
>and I didn't want to carry it up my hill unless I needed it. Just
>defrost, and
>wedge the hell out of it. I was rather interested in the structure of the
>blobs of clay after the defrost, mine looked like flat platelets....
>Sandy
-----------------
Okay,
Frozen clay is not always "perfectly" fine....I remember a workshop I was
giving in Bethel , Alaska 20 odd years ago...the clay flew in a small plane
and so did I...it arrived before I did from far away Anchorage.......and
the clay all froze as 'solid as a brick'....
The next day, when I had to demonstrate....I had to MASSAGE the clay 'back
to life' before I could use it to make ANYTHING. eg.." Nervous potter
from big city demonstrates for native Eskimo kids how to wedge and knead
clay...really vigorously...so as not to be imbarrassed...")
The rest of the weekend was equally entertaining....the balance of the clay
was frozen...thawed quickly and was 'wet on the outside and drier toward
the center of the pugs'....( Westwood....but could have been anyone's clay
body.......errr ......today would be.....Laguna Clay ) A LOT of wedging
and kneading took place that weekend. We had great fun.... It was COLD ( -
45 degrees) and to top it off, the two seater planes didn't fly out until
the ice fog lifted three days later !! That is when we had real fun with
clay..it finally THAWED...! and we had all day to knead it back to life...
I loved it.....because of the kids and the adults at the Native Hospital
that came to the workshop for "big people".
....great memories.......but frozen clay still makes me shiver a bit...
Frozen clay?
nah...
Uf Daa!
........Ric
#####################################
From: Ric Swenson, ( home ) : P.O. Box 494,
North Bennington, VT 05257 - 0494 U.S.A
home telephone ( 802 ) 447 - 4744
( work ) : Bennington College, Route 67 - A
Bennington, Vermont 05201 - 6001
( 802 ) 440 - 4621 ( fax 440 - 4582 )
email: rswenson@bennington.edu
#####################################
" If you want to teach a bear to dance,
..... you should be prepared to dance.....
..... until the bear gets tired. "
"Idealism increases in direct proportion
to one's distance from the problem"
......John Galsworthy
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