Emily Reynolds on sun 24 dec 00
Hi all,
At Penland a couple of years ago I was in a 2 week clay workshop. A drying
cabinet was one of the essential tools. If I remember correctly, it was wood,
double doors, about 6 ft. wide, 20" deep, 7' h., equipped with shelves of slatted
wood, drying lamps, a fan and most importantly, a dehumidifier with a hose draining
off the water. Others of you may have access to more specifics, but it was
astoundingly effective. Let me tell you why I think so:
During the Public Art session, this was a mosaic workshop. Tiles notably are
prone to warping. No problems. During only 2 weeks, we mixed 3000 lbs. of clay,
designed a 32'x4" mural and made the tiles, bisqued and glaze fired a total of 75
(yes! we counted.) kilnloads, and installed a permanent outdoor wall along the
garden path. There was a lot of rain (including while we were installing, which
wasn't fun.) But this project could never have been completed under these weather
conditions and time constraints without a drying cabinet.
It was an exhausting clay boot-camp experience, but we survived to tell the
tale and have some most satisfying hard proof of our efforts. Hope you will all get
to Penland sometime to see it and soak up the Penland experiences.
I've gone off the list for a while, so if you have questions, please send them
to me at my email. I am really enjoying all the dialog, but find it is too
compelling and spend too much time. Thanks to you all for the information,
comraderie, support and humor. On to a happy and productive New Year, everyone.
Emily
Karen Shapiro wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I have a simpler method if you don't have the
> time/inclination to do the proofbox. A friend of mine
> suggested that I put 100 watt bulbs inside a shelf
> already in my kiln room, wrap it (the entire shelf,
> back and front) with that inexpensive polypropylene
> sheeting (6 mil works best) and ...voila, a
> functioning drying box.
> I did this and it has really saved me in the cold
> weather.
> I love the proofbox idea with fan and everything --
> hopefully I'll be able to rig one up eventually, but
> for now, the covered shelf is doing the job nicely.
>
> Karen in Gualala
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products.
> http://shopping.yahoo.com/
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Mark Heimann on sun 24 dec 00
Greetings!
I rigged a drying zone by surrounding some shelving with 6-mil visqueen
(heavy opaque plastic) and putting a no-frills Sears dehumidifier inside.
The machine pulls out the water into a container or into a hose for
drainage. It's remarkable how much H20 there is in freshly made pots, and I
can also recycle it into my throwing water for the next batch - a
neverending circle, a regular zen thing, boy howdy.
Granted, humidity may be part of the successful drying equation, but in the
Oregon rainforest some stuff Never dries out without some gentle assistance.
As a result of this process, I now lose far fewer pots in the bisque cycle,
too. Bonus!
Happy holidays to all,
Mark H, lurking again
on Lost Mountain, Oregon
[www.oregonpotters.org/heimann.htm]
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On
Behalf Of Emily Reynolds
Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2000 6:15 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Penland Drying Cabinet
Hi all,
At Penland a couple of years ago I was in a 2 week clay workshop. A
drying
cabinet was one of the essential tools. If I remember correctly, it was
wood,
double doors, about 6 ft. wide, 20" deep, 7' h., equipped with shelves of
slatted
wood, drying lamps, a fan and most importantly, a dehumidifier with a hose
draining
off the water. Others of you may have access to more specifics, but it was
astoundingly effective. Let me tell you why I think so:
During the Public Art session, this was a mosaic workshop. Tiles
notably are
prone to warping. No problems. During only 2 weeks, we mixed 3000 lbs. of
clay,
designed a 32'x4" mural and made the tiles, bisqued and glaze fired a total
of 75
(yes! we counted.) kilnloads, and installed a permanent outdoor wall along
the
garden path. There was a lot of rain (including while we were installing,
which
wasn't fun.) But this project could never have been completed under these
weather
conditions and time constraints without a drying cabinet.
It was an exhausting clay boot-camp experience, but we survived to tell
the
tale and have some most satisfying hard proof of our efforts. Hope you will
all get
to Penland sometime to see it and soak up the Penland experiences.
I've gone off the list for a while, so if you have questions, please
send them
to me at my email. I am really enjoying all the dialog, but find it is too
compelling and spend too much time. Thanks to you all for the information,
comraderie, support and humor. On to a happy and productive New Year,
everyone.
Emily
Karen Shapiro wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I have a simpler method if you don't have the
> time/inclination to do the proofbox. A friend of mine
> suggested that I put 100 watt bulbs inside a shelf
> already in my kiln room, wrap it (the entire shelf,
> back and front) with that inexpensive polypropylene
> sheeting (6 mil works best) and ...voila, a
> functioning drying box.
> I did this and it has really saved me in the cold
> weather.
> I love the proofbox idea with fan and everything --
> hopefully I'll be able to rig one up eventually, but
> for now, the covered shelf is doing the job nicely.
>
> Karen in Gualala
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products.
> http://shopping.yahoo.com/
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Rod, Marian, and Holly Morris on mon 25 dec 00
No drafts = no warping or cracking, this I know, but where does temperature
lie in the equation? My problems with drying relate to the cool ambient temp
of my studio in the cusp seasons. Is warmth necessary when you have that
humidifier going?
Marian in Michigan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Heimann"
To:
Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2000 1:48 PM
Subject: Re: Penland Drying Cabinet
> Greetings!
> I rigged a drying zone by surrounding some shelving with 6-mil visqueen
> (heavy opaque plastic) and putting a no-frills Sears dehumidifier inside.
> The machine pulls out the water into a container or into a hose for
> drainage. It's remarkable how much H20 there is in freshly made pots, and
I
> can also recycle it into my throwing water for the next batch - a
> neverending circle, a regular zen thing, boy howdy.
> Granted, humidity may be part of the successful drying equation, but in
the
> Oregon rainforest some stuff Never dries out without some gentle
assistance.
> As a result of this process, I now lose far fewer pots in the bisque
cycle,
> too. Bonus!
> Happy holidays to all,
> Mark H, lurking again
> on Lost Mountain, Oregon
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