Michelle Henderson on thu 29 jul 99
hi,
i'm building a 2by 2 ft convoluted piece and so far i thought that building
in sections was the best option to get it in and out of the electric kiln
without placing too much stress on any one part. what about using the kiln
shelves as a support platform and lifting the whole out , and/or using steel
to complement the interior structure? has anyone done this successfully?
thanks,alison
Sheron Roberts on fri 30 jul 99
------------------
The last large sculpture I did was a figure of a reclining boy. I had =
measured
the kiln shelves so I new how much space I had to work with. However, when =
I
got to the legs to maintain proportions I had to go about 3 inches over the
width of the shelf. I have a Skutt 1027KM. I was extremely nervous about
handling this piece, you know, with legs and arms and fingers that could =
easily
be broken. I did use a very good hand building clay called Craggy Crunch =
and I
had, working with coils, tooled the piece together rather well. Anyway, =
with
the help of a friend we stood him on his head, bracing around his head with =
kiln
posts. We set up a half shelf using the tallest post to lean his body =
against,
again using post around his ankles to keep him from sliding to the left or =
right
(his feet were up in the air). This worked great. The only thing was, =
there
was no way to glaze him, didn't want a bare spot on his head. The clay =
fired to
a lovely creamy white after firing to cone 8. At that point I didn't see =
any
need for glaze anyway.
The only thing about using a kiln shelf for a support platform would be the
weight problem. I have tried this with a different sculpture. The shelf =
and
sculpture was too heavy for me to lower into a top loading kiln. If you have=
a
front loading kiln that might work. I have learned to be more careful with =
my
measurements and to concentrate on making my sculptures as sturdy as =
possible.
When I get around to building the gas kiln I have plans for, then I can =
loosen
up a little, I suppose. And I have incorporated steel into a sculpture =
after
the ceramic pieces were fired. This design is determined of course in the
planning stages of the piece.
Sheron Roberts wilting away in NC
gemini53=40weblnk.net
Marcia Selsor on fri 30 jul 99
I have used kiln shelves and lowered whole pieces into the kiln. Put a
lot of grog under the piece and on top of the shelf/shelves to help with
wiggle room during the firing. I wouldn't use steel.
Marcia in Montana
Michelle Henderson wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> hi,
> i'm building a 2by 2 ft convoluted piece and so far i thought that building
> in sections was the best option to get it in and out of the electric kiln
> without placing too much stress on any one part. what about using the kiln
> shelves as a support platform and lifting the whole out , and/or using steel
> to complement the interior structure? has anyone done this successfully?
> thanks,alison
--
Marcia Selsor
selsor@imt.net
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/spain99.html
http://www.silverhawk.com/ex99/selsor/welcome.html
Libby Douglas on fri 30 jul 99
After some experimentation, I've had a couple of successes using steel as an
armature for larger clay sculptures. It can be really tricky...technically
it doesn't "melt" until you reach 2400 F or so, but even slight pressure on
a thin (1/4" or less) steel rod will make it bend well before that. Also,
during the drying process, keep in mind that the steel will not shrink at
all. If you're not wrapping it well w/newspaper, it will crack before it
ever gets green. It still might crack in the bisque due to added shrinkage
there.
I've found that building on the kiln shelves and then removing the element
sections of the kiln (the Skutt I use for bisque firing comes apart in three
sections), placing the shelf containing the work on very low posts on the
bottom of the kiln and then reassembling the kiln around the sculpture works
well for me.
I'm interesting in other responses to your question. I'd love to know how
others have resolved this problem (I'm sure there are hundreds).
At 04:57 PM 7/29/99 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>hi,
>i'm building a 2by 2 ft convoluted piece and so far i thought that building
>in sections was the best option to get it in and out of the electric kiln
>without placing too much stress on any one part. what about using the kiln
>shelves as a support platform and lifting the whole out , and/or using steel
>to complement the interior structure? has anyone done this successfully?
>thanks,alison
>
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"To live is not to live for one's self alone
....let us help one another." -Menander
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Love
Libby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nan Smith on sun 1 aug 99
Dear Michelle:
I have used what I call firing jigs or props for firing large scale works.
All have been made out of clay or ceramic materials. Often I use soft brick
to start the support (if something is tall) and finish up buiding in the
kiln with wet clay. In this fashion the customized support is tailor made
and can shrink along with the clay during firing.
Nan Smith
University of Florida
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 16:57:39 EDT
From: Michelle Henderson
Subject: firing large sculpture
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
hi,
i'm building a 2by 2 ft convoluted piece and so far i thought that building
in sections was the best option to get it in and out of the electric kiln
without placing too much stress on any one part. what about using the kiln
shelves as a support platform and lifting the whole out , and/or using steel
to complement the interior structure? has anyone done this successfully?
thanks,alison
Nan Smith, Professor
Area Coordinator Ceramics Program
School of Art and Art History
302 FAC
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida 32611
E:mail nan@ufl.edu
Office: (352)392-0201, Extension #218
FAX: (352) 392-8453
Website: http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~nan/
CNW on mon 2 aug 99
I have known people that have built sculpture on a chunk of plywood and
simply put the whole thing in the kiln and the plywood just burns out. I
would only do this if the kiln was outside or you had a vent.
Celia in NC
cwike@conninc.com
Christopher J. Anton on mon 2 aug 99
I have done the "place on shelf then lower" method; I have also worked with
an electric kiln which did NOT have the sections (layers) fastened down. We
took the kiln down to just a floor, placed the sculpture on it, then
replaced the rings. we then built up the top with firebricks and fiber
since the piece was about 12 inches too tall for the kiln. Worked great!
- Chris
----- Original Message -----
From: Michelle Henderson
To:
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 1999 3:57 PM
Subject: firing large sculpture
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> hi,
> i'm building a 2by 2 ft convoluted piece and so far i thought that
building
> in sections was the best option to get it in and out of the electric kiln
> without placing too much stress on any one part. what about using the kiln
> shelves as a support platform and lifting the whole out , and/or using
steel
> to complement the interior structure? has anyone done this successfully?
> thanks,alison
>
Arnold Howard on mon 2 aug 99
Sheron, your projects sounds dramatic.
What firing schedule did you use?
Arnold Howard
--- Sheron Roberts wrote:
> ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> ------------------
>
> The last large sculpture I did was a figure of a
> reclining boy. I had measured
> the kiln shelves so I new how much space I had to
> work with. However, when I
> got to the legs to maintain proportions I had to go
> about 3 inches over the
> width of the shelf. I have a Skutt 1027KM. I was
> extremely nervous about
> handling this piece, you know, with legs and arms
> and fingers that could easily
> be broken. I did use a very good hand building
> clay called Craggy Crunch and I
> had, working with coils, tooled the piece together
> rather well. Anyway, with
> the help of a friend we stood him on his head,
> bracing around his head with kiln
> posts. We set up a half shelf using the tallest
> post to lean his body against,
> again using post around his ankles to keep him from
> sliding to the left or right
> (his feet were up in the air). This worked great.
> The only thing was, there
> was no way to glaze him, didn't want a bare spot on
> his head. The clay fired to
> a lovely creamy white after firing to cone 8. At
> that point I didn't see any
> need for glaze anyway.
> The only thing about using a kiln shelf for a
> support platform would be the
> weight problem. I have tried this with a different
> sculpture. The shelf and
> sculpture was too heavy for me to lower into a top
> loading kiln. If you have a
> front loading kiln that might work. I have learned
> to be more careful with my
> measurements and to concentrate on making my
> sculptures as sturdy as possible.
> When I get around to building the gas kiln I have
> plans for, then I can loosen
> up a little, I suppose. And I have incorporated
> steel into a sculpture after
> the ceramic pieces were fired. This design is
> determined of course in the
> planning stages of the piece.
> Sheron Roberts wilting away in NC
> gemini53@weblnk.net
>
_____________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Free instant messaging and more at http://messenger.yahoo.com
Sheron Roberts on wed 4 aug 99
------------------
Arnold,
On the unglazed sculpture I fired to cone 06 to begin with, as I do for all
bisque firings. I have a KilnMaster electronic controller. I just set the
controller to fire in cone mode and select the slow fire setting. These =
firings
usually take around 11 and 1/2 hours to complete. Because of the odd way =
the
sculpture was loaded and the fact that I have never fired anything in a =
single
firing, I let the kiln cool to 80 degrees. Then without disturbing the
sculpture I fired again to cone 8, the clay's firing range is cone 7 to cone=
10.
I saw no need in carrying it all the way to cone 10. Again, this was at the
slow setting. On glazed pieces, I fire to cone's 8 or 10, these firings run
about 14 hours. As I stated before, anything using steel or metals are put
together after the firing of the ceramic pieces.
Lately, I have been experimenting with soak times for glazed pieces. I =
pretty
much leave it up to the kiln controller for now. I do intend to try the =
ramp
hold settings eventually. We are trying to get together materials to build=
a
gas kiln, which I hope to begin when the weather cools down.
Sheron Roberts in NC eagerly watching the Weather Channel for the promised =
cool
front.
Whiteville, NC
gemini53=40weblnk.net
Mike Gordon on wed 4 aug 99
Hi,
I've been firing large sculptures ( figuritive ) of mine and my students
for yrs. They are usually one piece.3-4' in height. I construct them on
a piece of regular corrugated card board. When its kiln time I slide the
piece - on the card board, into the kiln using some sand from the
playground.Once in the kiln I take a matt knife and cut around the base
and fire. I haven't had any sticking problems this way, Mike
--==Diane Mann==-- on fri 6 aug 99
I am curious as to why you don't fire all the way up to temperature to start
with using a ramp/hold setting rather than bisque firing if you are not
adding glazes or engobes. Is there an advantage to firing it bisque?
I usually fire mine in one firing but only c/5 and haven't had any
catastrophes. I program it to go verry slow. Not arguing with your
methods, just curious if I am missing something.
Diane Mann
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU]On Behalf
> Of Sheron Roberts
> Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 10:23 AM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
> Subject: Re: firing large sculpture
>
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> ------------------
> Arnold,
> On the unglazed sculpture I fired to cone 06 to begin with, as I
> do for all
> bisque firings. I have a KilnMaster electronic controller. I
> just set the
> controller to fire in cone mode and select the slow fire setting.
> These firings
> usually take around 11 and 1/2 hours to complete. Because of the
> odd way the
> sculpture was loaded and the fact that I have never fired
> anything in a single
> firing, I let the kiln cool to 80 degrees. Then without disturbing the
> sculpture I fired again to cone 8, the clay's firing range is
> cone 7 to cone 10.
> I saw no need in carrying it all the way to cone 10. Again, this
> was at the
> slow setting. On glazed pieces, I fire to cone's 8 or 10, these
> firings run
> about 14 hours. As I stated before, anything using steel or metals are put
> together after the firing of the ceramic pieces.
> Lately, I have been experimenting with soak times for glazed
> pieces. I pretty
> much leave it up to the kiln controller for now. I do intend to
> try the ramp
> hold settings eventually. We are trying to get together
> materials to build a
> gas kiln, which I hope to begin when the weather cools down.
> Sheron Roberts in NC eagerly watching the Weather Channel for the
> promised cool
> front.
> Whiteville, NC
> gemini53@weblnk.net
>
Michelle Henderson on mon 9 aug 99
I'm wondering why you are firing it twice? If you're not adding glaze,oxides
or surface treatment between firings, why the bisque then the final firing?
I have a 33 inch tall sculpture made in two press molds with paper clay & I'm
planning to fire it once to cone 8. Any words of wisdom will be appreciated.
Joy in Tucson planning a Chicago trip soon..>>>>>>>>
Joy....
We started this thread about large sculptures, and we ended up firing
as you described..after much consideration, it seemed the most practical way
of going about it...we candled, since some of the pieces were not completely
dried, then ramp/hold fired up to cone 6 very slowly-- All the pieces save
one (out of many!) came out perfect. We ended up making the sculpture in
pieces, to be later woven together with copper..it was so convoluted that it
wouldve been nearly impossible to move in the green stage without serious
damage. Thanks to all Clayart posters for your input...
Michelle--melting in muggy Natchez, Mississippi
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