ZALT@AOL.COM on mon 14 aug 00
Thelma:
I had the fortunate luck to participate in a Paper kiln construction and
firing. I am sure there are many forms the paper kiln can take. Ours was
very simple.
First: start saving glossy magazines. You will need a lot for the job. A
good place to find this type of paper is in the local recycling bin if your
village has one. If not call all the participants and tell them to bring a
whole bunch of glossy mags. with them.
Next: You will need a large barrel full of slurry. Your can start saving up
the slurry when your group is throwing their pots. You will need
approximately 50 litres depending on the size of your kiln.
Then; Gather up your wood. We used cord wood cut the size for a fire place.
your will need sufficient amount to stack the high necessary to enclose your
work.
Finally find a metal grid used for reinforcing cement pads. This is a
construction item. If you find trouble getting this grid then resort to
angle iron sufficient in numbers to make a grid approximately 6" . These do
not have to be welded but they should reach from one side of the pit to the
other. Make a cross hatch pattern.
Find a place away from residences to build your kiln. There will be a lot of
smoke during the early hours of the firing.
Dig Two shallow pits about three feet across and about two feet deep. One
pit will be used to build the kiln and the other will be where you will start
the fire and let it burn until the fire becomes burning embers. The pit used
for the kiln should also have two stoke holes dug, one on each side of the
pit. This will allow you to shovel burning cinders into the pit after the
kiln is built.
Once the kiln pit is dug lay the grid or angle iron across the opening. Now
you can lay the first layer of cord wood on the grid forming a circle (no
wood in the centre) This circle that will become the first row of the kiln.
Continue to stack the wood in a circular fashion similar to laying bricks
until you are approximately 2 feet high. You can now start putting your work
into the kiln. We used greenware, That was formed from a grogged stoneware.
We stacked the work with the openings down.
As you add the wood you should be forming a cone shaped pile of wood. The
work will be surrounded by the wood. Continue adding the work as the wood
progresses up. When you have reached a height of about 5 to six feet you
should start to make the paper walls.
The best way to proceed here is to take a sheet of glossy paper and pass it
through the slurry and lay it over the wood form. We started at the top and
layered the clay covered paper downward. When we finished the first layer we
started the second and so on until we had achieved approximately 12 layers.
We then cut a 6 by 6 inch hole in the top in the form of a flap so that it
could be closed during the early part of the firing.
We then decorated our furnace with slips of many colours.
At the same time we were building our kiln we started a fire in the second
pit. This fire was keep burning until we finished our art work.
When we were ready to light the kiln, we simply shovelled the burning embers
under the grid using the two stoke holes dug when we first made the pit.
Keep adding the hot embers. If you know the prevailing winds It would be a
good idea to dig the stoke holes to allow the wind to supply the air
necessary to burn.
It will take approximately 24 hours for your kiln to fire. After 2 hours you
should open the top vent half way. Approximately 5 to 6 hours after setting
the embers and ensuring that there is a continuous supply of embers during
this time, open the top draft hole to the max. You will notice that there
is a lot of smoke. In reality you are making charcoal. However once the
wood catches on fire and a good draft is present the fire will be a real
humdinger. Flame will spout from the vent hole. It is a site to see. The
paper will not burn as it is coated with clay slurry.
We fired to cone 5 and then stopped the firing because of rain. There was
some really nice flashing on the pots.
If you have any other questions e-mail me at Zalt@aol.com
Terrance Frank Lazaroff
St Hubert, Quebec, Canada
Zalt's Web Page
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