KarateHiro on sun 15 mar 98
A good, sensible common sense goes a very, very long way.
A simple one lasts. A complex one does not. Anything bordering on the rocket
science is beyond the reach of an average potter. And we do not have to be
rocket scientists to be good potters. Someone said that about kiln building
(Orion/Baker was it?), but not all of us build our own, anyway. Many common
folks have been successful potters. I wish I could count me among them. But I
am too eccentric.
Let us keep things simple. No deep digging into the itty bitty details on
small matters related to kilns we may never use. (Marshall Talbott, I believe,
is good at such details. So don't pick any arguments. Could become way
complicated.) Nothing wrong making general statements or blanket assertions
like this, I think, since I still hate the rocket science. Hey, they could not
even open the hatch the other day, after having broken three wrenches. How
complicated can you get in the stratosphere, anyway?
A potter faces great risks, however. The risks are greater, as compared to
other crafter/artist professions. Why? A potter loves fire. And the bottom
line is: No fire, no pots. How simpler can you get? And, good potters love
good fire even more. Fire and explosion. Red hot to white fire. A big bang for
the buck. So many occasions for getting burned, including making posts on
glazes. Thick skins are required, I guess, for protection, including
accidental rub-ins for not believing in marvelous ITC.
Well, let us review the risks by category from high-fire potters/kilns down to
low-fire.
(1) ITC and High-Fire Kilns. Overfiring is a risk here, although porcelain and
cobalt could take above cone 16 and are still presentable. Most stains may
lose color in this range. Good potters love them. They have good forms. Good
clothing? Sure, so much the better, but not necessary. Such is the lure of
risks. Ha. Being fire freaks are no sin. Much worse sins and energy guzzling
misdemeanors have been practiced by various governments equipped with the
means of mass destruction (a net result of having dispensed with quantities of
energy on useless matters) financed by the tax money. What we do are literally
peanuts. Wood is a renewable resource, besides.
High fire kilns, by definition, are "periodic" gas guzzlers. Not energy
efficient. Not at all. The hot air goes up and disappears. But, good potters
and aspiring neophytes can afford the power hungry "monsters". Firing them
give such pleasures in life that like a drug addict, a potter keeps on
financing the habit at all costs. I doubt if ITC can play any significant role
here.
A home made clay kiln is sufficient to withstand above cone 12 without much
difficulty, since it's used only intermittently, and fireclay can be used in
its construction. Even old-fahioned simple soft clay anagama kilns could take
abuses. They do not crumble that easy. At cone 7 or 8, noborigama could last a
long time. So no point of using ITC unless it is used as an insurance and
financed by students. Oops. Depending on where you live, wood can be had for
almost nothing. Gas or diesel for trucks, plus free lunch or kiln space for
helpers. Old wooden crates abound, free to be picked up, also, if only the
helpers could take out all those nails and clean them up, ready to be thrown
into the kiln! Some students would willingly contribute the money and labor,
anyway. The younger the better.
My point is this. The energy savings or the kiln wall protection is of
secondary consideration here. A fire fanatic's way of cheaply freaking out.
And feeling great, since wood fire gives an aura of mystery and admiration.
What can ITC do to wood flames? They are long and generate high heat. By
changing the design of pillars at the firemouth, the wood can be made to burn
far more efficient and evenly throughout the kiln. No spraying of the stuff
could change such behaviors of wood flames.
Just think about the salt. Guess salt and ITC do not mix. Salt is bad for
blood pressure, anyway. The cost of the chemical would surely raise the
pressure a bit more. I have seen potters who love to glaze the interior wall
with salt, not the pot. ...
Cone 10 electric kilns? With reduction port thrown in? You don't know how long
it takes to bring a kiln up from cone 7 or 8 to 10 and beyond in a medium
large gas kiln. And you don't know the relationship between the size of kiln
and fuel consumption on a per pot basis. Small ones are not efficient at all.
Even a large wood kiln in North America is a midget, as compared to the huge
medieval or pre-Pacific conflict kilns in Japan (the fuel use dictated a move
to that direction). They did count the fuel consumed. They produced pots for
mass markets. After a while, it was easier to start new kilns where trees were
still standing, rather than the other way around. Or, even move your clay
studios. I say this to show that kilns consumed enormous amount of wood. Even
with judicious management. I must confess I have no idea what happened where
and why, actually. I haven't lived that long, but the old kiln sites verified
for the Tanba region suggest such moves.
Over here, electricity is still far more expensive than gas (despite recent
drop in oil prices). In Japan, the gap is greater, and since the Japanese
electric system is not up to our standards, cost of electricity is
prohibitive. If you doubt me, try drying your laundry in an electric dryer in
Japan. Borders on insane. And, despite Japan bashers, they are not insane. You
hardly see any large electric dryers over there in middle class families.
(Automated hot water toilet nozzles are everywhere, in contrast.) The use of
ITC may have some benefits, like protecting the kiln wall and not the pots
placed inside, but I doubt if the initial decision of not using the gas could
be justified by shelling out for the ITC. (What it would do to the kiln
element is unclear at this stage.) In Japan, the use of gas for high fire
electric kilns is partially dictated by the high cost of power and relatively
cheap gas (propane or liquified natural one) price, should one choose to fire
that high. Things are seldom like what they appear on surface.
Wood gives off long, long flames, and not as clean as natural or propane gas.
Not at all. Ash generated can be dirty on glazes, muddying them, or give you
quite interesting results. Interesting, that is, like exotic food is
interesting. You may like it or you may not like it. It does not matter. It's
different. Trust me on this. I know both wood fire and exotic food. Both in
theory and practice. Flames literally roar at full blast. How soothing! What a
sensation! And what pleasures! Potters would literally give up their lives for
such things. And I do not blame them.
Anyways. Don't talk to me if I like this stuff called "I Think Clear" (ITC)".
I am level-headed, that's why I like this high-fire stuff with good texture
(pottery forms) and rough range in colors (only high fire could give). I do
not wish to be a painter, with gorgeous colors in little ittsy-bittsy details,
that is why. Do you think I have a good common sense? Or, just lazy? And I
love to use new things that come along in my life. They keep me alive and
well.
(2) Medium-Fire Potters/Kilns. To be continued, since I have run out of gas,
i.e., space and energy. Shall continue later. :-) :-) Perhaps someone else
should take over. :-?:-)
Hiro Matsusaki
Orion/Baker on mon 16 mar 98
Hiro; I'm surprised that a wise man would say to a stranger, "you don't
know
this, you don't know that." You've never met me. You've never heard the
roar of my happy kiln. The fact is, I have worked hard to learn a great
deal about firing because it fascinates me as a potter and as a thinking
person. I am nearly fifty, and I have many years of experience. At this
time, I regularly fire three kilns -- an electric one, a large gas raku
kiln, and a large high-fire gas kiln. They fire evenly and predictably. I
know how to weld. I know how to blow glass.
But I have also had a lot of science education. A person can be both an
artist and a scientist. Clear thinking is an important part of life in our
family. I enjoy the help of my husband who is an excellent mechanical
engineer, and of my son who is a chemical engineer. I ask a lot of
questions, I read, I test. I make a point to understand what I say before
I say it. I don't tell stories or make things up about things I do not
know. I take honesty and honor very, very seriously. I would like to be a
better writer. I enjoy making pots very much more than having to deal with
a computer. Music is a very important part of my life. I also love to
cook (and I do a lot of japanese and chinese cooking). Perhaps you know me
better now.
You're absolutely right about the fact that most of the science that a
potter needs to know is not rocket science. It is simple, firing science.
Anyone of reasonable intelligence should quickly see truth in it, and
benefit by that greater knowledge.
If you are a wise man, you should understand how easily a fool can lead
other fools. Is it wrong to follow a fool if you believe he is a great
man? It may not be wrong, but it is still "following a fool." Many
foolish stories are taught as truths; in time, apprentices grow long beards
and continue to tell the same foolish stories. If a lot of people believe
the story, does that make it true?
Because I suspect you are a thinking person, wanting to find truth in the
world, I would think you prefer to know useful things instead of nonsense.
The science of heat and fire is not ugly or impossible to understand -- the
sense of it is very forthright and symmetrical. Heat moves to cold, very
"yin and yang," even at Cone 16.
And you suggest science makes things more complicated? I assure you, it is
only a tool. With better knowledge, could we not all build more beautiful
and useful fires?
I am accused of presenting information about science too simply -- usually
by people who don't understand how simple this information really is. And
yet other's say it's all too complicated; they don't seem to believe in
their comprehension abilities as much as I do. I have no choice but to
accept that you can't please everyone all the time. We probably share that
understanding.
I appreciate your sharing thoughts with me. I know you've spent a great
deal of time putting them into words.
All the best to you,
Ellen Baker
orion@telcomplus.net
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