Cindy Strnad, Earthen Vessels Pottery on sat 30 oct 99
I tried to send this to the list, and accidentally sent it to Joyce instead,
anyhow, here's trying again.
>Hmm,
>
>I didn't reply because I figured those more knowledgeable would jump on
>this, and of course, Dannon did. Just a few words, since she was the only
>one--I get the idea you mean to fire glazes in the pit, since you're asking
>whether wax resist can be used. Pit fires don't get hot enough to melt real
>glazes.
>
>I'm a little sketchy on this, but the Pueblo peoples used some vegetable
>tints which I'm under the impression they applied before firing, and which
>survived the firing process. You can also use low-fire colored slips or
>terra sigillata (a very fine slip applied to bone-dry ware and then
polished
>or buffed to a sheen). I've used Mason stains to paint on the ware for some
>really cool, subtle effects, however they never bonded to the pottery. Had
>to be carefully waxed (use Future acrylic floor wax) to protect the colors.
>I wouldn't sell these as the art is so delicate, but I dearly love them for
>my own personal use.
>
>Traditionally, ware was fired raw, and this works sometimes, though you get
>a pretty high breakage rate. Alternatively, you can bisque fire to a low
>temperature (say ^010) to toughen up the ware and get the water out in a
>controlled atmosphere. Bisquing to such a low temperature is supposed to
>allow for more penetration of smoke into the walls of the pottery.
>
>I had to quit smoke firing before I got a chance to try this as I'm so busy
>selling ^6 stuff. Haven't had time, but I will do it eventually. Pit firing
>is a lot of fun, but for me, isn't hasn't proven to be as quick selling as
>the ^6 ware (glazed blue, of course, which you can't do in a pit). Also,
>people around here seem to like to buy something they can use. So . . . the
>pit firing is pretty much just for my own pleasure, and you know how often
>you get to do things for fun.
>
>Hope your experimenting goes well.
>
>Cindy Strnad
>Earthen Vessels Pottery
>Custer, SD
>
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