Sharon Clayton on fri 16 jan 98
Well, I expect many of you know what it was like to start up your studio and
can offer suggestions.
A friend is starting a home studio. She has a wheel, some glaze materials,
buckets, shelves, sieve, & scale. What's next? Where do you start? How
does one decide what cone to work to / which clays / glazes? One thing she
has probably decided (and maybe some of you would like to reflect on this
issue)is that she would like to keep the same base glaze for all glazes. Is
that feasible? It seems that most people use cone 6. For what reasons? (Oh
yeah, electric kiln.) The local studio we belong to uses ^6, so we have
access to their glazes when we want. This will be a small studio for hobby
purposes. We do realize that testing is one of the first steps but what to
test...? Anyway, I'm sure you all get what type of info we would like to
receive and we would like to thank all of you in advance.
Sharon Clayton
London, Ontario.
mailto:sharonc@rogers.wave.ca
PS You can check out the website I designed for my local Potters Guild at
http://coraltech.com/londonpotters If you do have the opportunity to check
it out, please let me know what you think. Any suggestions of things we
should add / delete would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks
GURUSHAKTI on sat 17 jan 98
Dear Sharon:
Those are lots of questions!
<< A friend is starting a home studio. She has a wheel, some glaze materials,
buckets, shelves, sieve, & scale. What's next? Where do you start? How
does one decide what cone to work to / which clays / glazes? >>
She has to decide what pots/glazes she likes, find out if they were oxidized
or reduced and then check if her physical situation will allow her to have
the equipment needed to fire the way she wants.
With gas kilns you have the option to fire in oxidation or reduction, giving
you greater felxibility with your glazes. Electric firing limits your glazes,
and possibly your temperature, depending on the kiln your purchase. Some
electric kilns are only good to cone 8, others cone 10. If going electric I
would opt for the cone 10 kiln even if I was intending to start with cone 6
glazes. At least you have the option to change to cone 10 at a later date. TOn
the plus side, the electric kiln offers ease of firing with automatic
controllers. If you're firing cone 6 you have a savings in time and cost of
electricity. On the down side, oxidation glazes are limited. You're not going
to get great shinos and celadons, etc. It's just a matter of preference,
really. I had an electric kiln when I first started in clay about 25 years ago
and couldn't wait to move to the country so I could get a gas kiln. I just
loved the depth and richness of the gas fired work. It just depends on the
look she's after.
She just needs to look at a lot of work and decide which pots she prefers and
then make her decision based on that as well as the options she has as far as
zoning, etc. where she lives.
<reflect on this issue)is that she would like to keep the same base glaze for
all glazes. Is
that feasible?>>
If she only want one base glaze, I would suggest, she use a cone 6 clear and
then use a variety of slips/engobes uderneath for more interest. She can also
color the clear glaze with stains or oxides, giving her a wider palette from
which to choose.
A friend once had his kiln room burn down and had to temporarily get an
electric kiln to get the work out. He used his old salt slips and put a wood
ash clear type matt over and the work was great. In fact, at that time, he
stated that he was going to stick to the electric firing, he liked the results
so much. In fact, I still have some of his cups and they look terrific. So
there's no reason to for oxidation glazes to be dull, particularly if you're
willing to explore your materials.
<< We do realize that testing is one of the first steps but what to
test...? >>
Make up a batch of slips and glazes and test them on a few claybodies. That
would be the first thing to do. Test the various oxides over and under each
glaze to see the color responses. Test them on little doggies dish tiles,
rather than flat so you can see if the glaze flows. I usually make a doggie
dish shape and then texture the middle with the little serrated tool so I can
see how the glaze breaks. I put a porcelain slip on the right side of the
front of the test tile and this gives me an idea of what the color might look
like on a white body.
Check Tony Hansens, IMC web page. He has a recipe there for a cone 6 clear.
Also check the clayart glaze archives for other cone 6 recipes. Check with
some local potters who are firing at cone 6 and ask them if they would fire
some of your tests. Maybe your local center would do that for you.
In terms of equipment you need one or more work tables, a nice deep sink with
some sort of filter to keep clay going into your pipes/and/or septic system.
Again, check the clayart archives for lots of good tips on how to set up an
inexpensive system under the sink, using a five gallon bucket that allow the
heavier clay/material containing waste water to settle and then an opening
near the top of the bucket allows the cleaner water to go into the out pipe.
Good lighting is a must. You can live without it, but a good glaze mixer is a
big time saver as well as a back saver. You can often pick up free 5 gallon
buckets at the local fast food places. You might also want to get a couple of
wide, low plastic buckets for dipping plates, wide casseroles, etc. I get some
at the local grange. They have some nice big heavy duty rubber ones that are
made for animal feed. The cheap plastic ones eventually crack. A pair of
glaze dipping tongs can come in handy as well.
It sounds as though she has the basic equipment and just needs to narrow down
her preferences with clay and firing.
Good luck!
June
Lili Krakowski on sat 17 jan 98
I fear this sounds arrogant, and I apologize. But in May 1995 Ceramics
Monthly published a piece I wrote, called "The $1200 Studio", and I
think it answers some of your questions. As to glazes: There seem to be
dozens and dozens of perfectly swell c.6 glazes that involve Gerstely
Borate, clay, flint. Add nepheline syenite, whiting (though I prefer
wollstonite) dolomite (though I prefer talc) zinc , an opacifier, and
bentonite, and you can glaze-test from here to doomsday. If you do not
like GB, Frit 3124 is the backbone of almost as many glazes. What you
need to realize is that people who really love glaze (I do) will have a
studiofull of materials. At your stage of the game you should limit yourself
to AS FEW AS POSSIBLE SO YOU CAN GET THE PRICE BREAKS OF BUYING IN BIGGER
LOTS. And get yourself a copy of Harry Fraser's "Ceramic Faults and Their
Remedies" which will save you a lot of grief. (In fact A LOT of the "I'm
having trouble with a glaze..." problems aired on Clay Art would benefit
from reading Fraser.)
On Fri, 16 Jan 1998, Sharon Clayton wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Well, I expect many of you know what it was like to start up your studio and
> can offer suggestions.
> A friend is starting a home studio. She has a wheel, some glaze materials,
> buckets, shelves, sieve, & scale. What's next? Where do you start? How
> does one decide what cone to work to / which clays / glazes? One thing she
> has probably decided (and maybe some of you would like to reflect on this
> issue)is that she would like to keep the same base glaze for all glazes. Is
> that feasible? It seems that most people use cone 6. For what reasons? (Oh
> yeah, electric kiln.) The local studio we belong to uses ^6, so we have
> access to their glazes when we want. This will be a small studio for hobby
> purposes. We do realize that testing is one of the first steps but what to
> test...? Anyway, I'm sure you all get what type of info we would like to
> receive and we would like to thank all of you in advance.
>
> Sharon Clayton
> London, Ontario.
> mailto:sharonc@rogers.wave.ca
>
> PS You can check out the website I designed for my local Potters Guild at
> http://coraltech.com/londonpotters If you do have the opportunity to check
> it out, please let me know what you think. Any suggestions of things we
> should add / delete would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks
>
Lili Krakowski
DONPREY on sat 17 jan 98
Sharon,
Assuming people have the time, you are going to get a lot of suggested
approaches to this issue....obviously, we haven't standardized this procedure.
Anyway, here is my first, off the top of my head thought: Although there are
certain basics a studio needs (wheel, wedging table and work table, shelves,
etc.), when it gets down to your particular studio and how it fits you, I
think it has to be driven by the type of work you intend to produce. You
decide what to make, then look for any tools or aids to help you get there.
Don't let the tools or studio layout dictate what you make.
As for having one base glaze, that's a great way to start. Cone 6 is popular
because there are lots of clay bodies and glaze recipes available. And you
get very serviceable functional ware.
Don Prey in Oregon
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