John Jensen on fri 13 jul 01
I fire the bulk of my non-glazed garden art pottery to cone 1. I started
firing it at cone 6 but over time I found I got a more consistent body
colour at cone 1. The body seems to be fairly tight at this lower
temperature, enough at least to easily survive freezing winter weather. One
advantage I've found, besides the saving in energy, is that my elements last
two or three times as long. I was replacing elements every year with maybe
300 firings a year, but lately I haven't had to change elements in a couple
of years. I developed a glaze just for firing at this temperature, as I have
started a new line of garden art which requires a bit of glazing.
I'm not sure the clay is tight enough for daily use in table ware, but I do
have a few mugs I've been testing out. It seems once I get the bugs worked
out it could be a nice temperature at which to work, and such things as
bright hand painted colours might stay bright. etc.
John Jensen, Mudbug Pottery, Annapolis, Md.
mudbug@toad.net www.Toadhouse.com
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