elizabeth priddy on sun 21 nov 99
Before you fire up your flame torches....
I received this from someone whose privacy I am
going to respect because they were so civil and
decent about this difference of approach:
"Elizabeth,
I agree with you 100%, but, I think it would
be more effective if you...softened your
approach. Remember, this list has folks from
every conceivable level of expertise. Some just
don't realize how dangerous a hobby/craft/
business this can be....This is a situation
where a bit of honey with the medicine is more
effective,...I'm really happy you are so
passionate about it, sure beats indifference."
Especially as we move in to winter and People
who fire and breathe in the same room become
tempted to close the windows they usually leave
open for ventilation because it is cold, and
before those same people want to "just get this
trimming done, the kiln is still on
low"...before any of this happens, consider
this:
Gases coming in contact with certain chemicals
can actually change the chemical such that when
you go to use it as you normally have, you get
an unexpected result. It could be as simple as
something being converted to an oxide and not
producing the same color, or it could be a
reaction that releases a fume that is a nasty
acid. You don't know, if you didn't know this
was possible, you are especially in need of this
tender admonition to please care as much for
yourself and your health as the government does
about a lab rat.
I am keenly aware of how hard it can be to get
started in clay. I had no equipment of my own
for the first 4 years. I had no kiln for the
first 6. The reason I held off on the kiln was
because I knew I had no where to put it safely.
I fired with friends, the craft center at my
college, in a raku kiln in the great ventilation
system called outdoors... I found alternatives
to having a noxious fume nightmare in the same
place I breathe. There are times that your kiln
will outgas chemicals that can knock you
unconscious BEFORE your nose tells you to get
out. And then you lay there breathing it ALL
in until you hopefully wake up or someone finds
you. The mythic "kiln accident" is more likely
to kill you this way than by blowing you up.
My teachers taught me to be careful about kilns
and gases, not paranoid, just careful to the
degree that is appropriate. I do not just refer
to gas kilns, any kiln of any kind produces
gases that are not good to breathe. And even
something that probably won't kill you, might
leave you with damaged lungs and severe
respiratory or neurological problems over time.
The chemicals you put in are not necessarily
the same chemicals that come out as gas.
Extreme heat does things to recombine the
chemicals in such unusual ways that you cannot
predict it unless you are a chemist. (And even
or especially they know that eutectics is
voodoo. Most non-eutectic chemistry is not
exciting, but not voodoo either. If chemistry
is exciting, you are probably not doing it
"right", ;^})
Which brings me to the other point. It is OK to
buy glazes. If you have a fine recipe that you
know works, you can hire someone to mix 10
pounds of it for you. If it is their job, they
will most likely do it right. This is
especially true of people who manufacture and
sell their glazes for you to use. They sell
reliable product that is made in appropriate
conditions. No, you do not have complete
control of what you have and use, but quite
frankly, an amateur chemist mixing batches of
2000 gram chemicals doesn't have control of what
they are doing either. That is not an insult.
You can use reliable commercial glazes while
you learn by doing tests and experiments. And
when you eventually come up with the inimitable
better blue or shino or whatever, you can send
the formula to a manufacturer and have them mix
you large batches of it. Or you could then get
large quantities of chemicals and mix it
yourself, if you enjoy doing that type of thing.
If you are still mixing other people's formulas,
you are not in control of what you are doing,
that is an illusion. And many people can
explain why it is not necessarily a better
economic decision. The first autonomous
chemistry experiences you have should not be
mixing things that you are then going to set on
fire ( especially in a room where you are
breathing).
The natural question is "but then how am I
supposed to learn"...Watch and learn by doing a
mini apprenticeship under someone you know who
has been doing this for a long time. Watch and
ask questions, ask about safety, ask why and
when they wear gloves and masks, ask why they
keep that one chemical in a glass jar instead
of plastic. This will take some of your time.
I am not saying that you need to consume and be
able to regurgitate a periodic table before you
mix a glaze, but there is another level of
knowledge that is purely an issue of lab safety.
And even if the artist in you doesn't want to
think of it this way, the chemical glaze area
you work in is a small lab, with the same
dangers of any chemistry lab.
There are people who have bags of chemicals
open in the same room as the kiln; I know you
are there. At the very least, invest in some
of those large plastic under the bed boxes that
will stack on each other neatly on or under a
table and put all of your chemicals in
containers in these boxes to sheild them (at
all, if inadequately) from the gases that might
be coming out of your kiln. This doesn't
address the problem of diverse chemicals being
closed up in a box together, so you probably
want ventilation holes in the containers. Or
better yet, keep the lids on loosely in another
room from the kiln and only get them out when
you are actually using them. You might even keep
the ones that go together frequently in recipes
in the same boxes to make it convenient when you
want to mix up a batch. You might have a
smaller box of just the colorants. Organize
and protect your chemicals from the kiln gases
and yourself from your chemicals.
Glaze mixing is chemistry which is science, not
art. Firing is physics and chemistry of which
both are science, not art. The whole experience
of making and glazing and firing is greater than
the sum of its parts. Its parts are not
necessarily art, you are. Protect and respect
yourself. Yes, firing can be a magical dance
of creation. Taking appropriate safety measures
does not detract from that dance, it makes it
last longer...
Have a safe and happy winter and life.
---
Elizabeth Priddy, wumpe argilla
hoping that if any safety outline I have stated
above is inaccurate or incorrect, that you will
be so kind as to politely correct the issue and
help us all be healthy, free, and safe...
email: epriddy@usa.net
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
Clay: 12,000 yrs and still fresh!
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Ray Aldridge on mon 22 nov 99
At 04:40 PM 11/21/99 EST, someone wrote this to Elizabeth....
>place I breathe. There are times that your kiln
>will outgas chemicals that can knock you
>unconscious BEFORE your nose tells you to get
>out.
What? When did this ever happen to anyone in a non-industrial setting? I
suppose it's theoretically possible for a fuel burner to put out enough CO
to be dangerous. I guess potters with hermetically sealed kiln rooms and
stackless updrafts should definitely beware. Or get a CO alarm.
I don't mean to be making fun of Elizabeth's well-meaning correspondent,
and kilns do indeed produce a lot of nasty stuff, but safety is too
important to goof around with. The most valuable asset of those who preach
safety to the rest of us is credibility, and credibility is badly damaged
by exaggerated scare stories. I'm reminded of the early years of the drug
war, when the government's resident expert on marijuana testified in open
court that, when he tried the stuff, he turned into a bat. Reportedly, no
one laughed.
Of course, I could be wrong, and potters regularly pass out in the kiln
room-- but my guess is that if they do, it's because they drank a wee bit
more of that Ole Stumpblower than was wise.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
Percy Toms on mon 22 nov 99
In a message dated 11/21/99 1:41:12 PM, epriddy@my-Deja.com writes:
>There are times that your kiln
>will outgas chemicals that can knock you
>unconscious BEFORE your nose tells you to get
>out. And then you lay there breathing it ALL
>in until you hopefully wake up or someone finds
>you. The mythic "kiln accident" is more likely
>to kill you this way than by blowing you up.
Elizabeth,
Not so mythic, sadly...
This really happened to a young potter, in England. If the report and my
memory are correct she collapsed in an ill-ventilated kiln room while doing
the second of two, back-to-back, firings of a gas kiln, at night and alone.
Cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.
The damper was found in a closed or part-closed position, as might have been
expected at the end of the first firing. It was assumed that in her fatigue
(it was known she was working hard to a deadline) she somehow did not get to
open it for the second firing that was already underway.
This tragedy was reported some years ago in what was already a back issue of
Ceramic Review (UK) when I read it, and I regret I can't give a more exact
reference.
Ned
elizabeth priddy on tue 23 nov 99
I don't know anyone personally who died.
I did not say that I did.
I don't weild uncle john stories to make points.
I know several people who developed NASTY head
aches and throat irritations due to brethable
gas. And I am not talking about people living
in brick and concrete houses with kiln vents...
Remember a "reasonable man" will not spout
garbage and call it gospel. Perhaps a reread
is in order with an ear for what I said only.
---
Elizabeth Priddy
email: epriddy@usa.net
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
Clay: 12,000 yrs and still fresh!
On Mon, 22 Nov 1999 10:47:46 Ray Aldridge wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>At 04:40 PM 11/21/99 EST, someone wrote this to Elizabeth....
>
>>place I breathe. There are times that your kiln
>>will outgas chemicals that can knock you
>>unconscious BEFORE your nose tells you to get
>>out.
>
>What? When did this ever happen to anyone in a non-industrial setting? I
>suppose it's theoretically possible for a fuel burner to put out enough CO
>to be dangerous. I guess potters with hermetically sealed kiln rooms and
>stackless updrafts should definitely beware. Or get a CO alarm.
>
>I don't mean to be making fun of Elizabeth's well-meaning correspondent,
>and kilns do indeed produce a lot of nasty stuff, but safety is too
>important to goof around with. The most valuable asset of those who preach
>safety to the rest of us is credibility, and credibility is badly damaged
>by exaggerated scare stories. I'm reminded of the early years of the drug
>war, when the government's resident expert on marijuana testified in open
>court that, when he tried the stuff, he turned into a bat. Reportedly, no
>one laughed.
>
>Of course, I could be wrong, and potters regularly pass out in the kiln
>room-- but my guess is that if they do, it's because they drank a wee bit
>more of that Ole Stumpblower than was wise.
>
>Ray
>
>
>Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
>http://www.goodpots.com
>
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