Lily Krakowski on wed 18 dec 02
I wash bisque under a trickle of water, getting my fingers under galleries,
and a toothbrush into hollow knobs, just to make sure all bits of fine dust
that might have stuck there and now are bisque dust are gone. I do not allow
the pots to dry completely, but so they feel just a bit cooler than the room
temperature.
Lili Krakowski
P.O. Box #1
Constableville, N.Y.
(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389
Be of good courage....
Joseph Herbert on mon 5 jun 06
Hello,
Definitely give the bisque a good sponging before glazing. I started doing
it to prevent crawling while working in a particularly dusty shared space
and have not stopped. I also think that the moisture in the bisque slows
down glaze slurry absorption. My pots are fairly thick walled (I say that I
do that purposely) so the water from the cleaning doesn't saturate the
piece. It does make it a little easier to avoid the dreaded too-thick glaze
coating. In addition, the sponging requires a relatively close examination
of the pot surface and offers a chance to knock off some of those clay
crumbs that are now hard sharp nasty things. They might fall off in the
glaze bucket and that have the chance to ruin a future piece.
Lots of advantages and pretty cheap insurance against many glaze faults.
Joseph Herbert
Joseph Herbert
Technical Writer
Irving, Texas
Ellen Currans on tue 6 jun 06
I also wash my bisque. First, because I like to just make pots until I have
them all made and bisqued before I start to glaze and fire for an event.
(Switching back and forth between making and glazing is a time waster for me.)
So, obviously they are a bit dusty when I get to them. I sometimes soften the
edges of square plates and trays by a little sanding before bisquing and that
will still be there after bisquing.
Also, most of my slab work and some of my thrown work has impressed textures
on it, and I've found that dampened bisque and thinner glaze give a much
better glaze coat over textures. If you dip a very dry textured plate (say with a
corrugated texture) into an even slightly thick glaze, you will have lots of
little air bubbles popping in the textures as the glaze drys.
I'm guessing that the same thing happens when you glaze a dry, thick bowl
which has been trimmed around the bottom half (and not ribbed to make it smooth,
leaving small rough places from grog tears). Air is trapped and pops open
the glaze as it dries. Depending on the glaze, it may melt and heal the hole
or not.
Ellen Currans
Cedar Pond Pottery
Dundee, Oregon
catjarosz on tue 6 jun 06
I have not washed bisque since 1987. Learned differently at what was then
Haywood Tech. in Clyde NC...
I do have to sand my pots to clean up the slip train and some intricate
carvings so create dust that has to come off.. I do this outside and with
my hubbys HUGE aircompressor that runs power tools . I use the blower
nozzle. I do this as I load into the bisque kiln. The dust comes off
much easier this way. But I also blow off when bringing them back into
the studio as they stay in the kiln shed piling up living with spiders and
other living things.
That said I am soo interested in what Dave F had to say about wetting the
bisque and the reasons. Could this be the answer to all the problems many
of my friends have encountered with certain clay bodies and glaze combo's?
They went yrs and yrs with no pin holing and then POW HUGE LOSS's and
frantic searching for answers..
They tried the bisque slower or higher though most already bisque to 04.
slow down the cool off ... Nothing worked for the local clay bodies we could
buy in Asheville,NC. We trucked it in from Minnisota and then Florida
and now someone in Charlotte NC is carrying a clay body that doesnt pit.
I noticed the biggest offenders were the Chunns and the rutile blues... A
few other of the shiney variety cone 10 glazes..
It sure would be interesting if washing the pots first would STOP the
pitting.. I dont use those glazes and or the red claybodies so didnt have
many problems with pits though I cant say I havent had any.. just not
enough to get upset about.
What do you think Dave? What changed in the clay body or the Kaolin mines
that would suddenly throw pin holes into any pots not washed off first when
no problems existed prior?
Cat Jarosz in vivid color SPRING TIME in the mnts of NC... learning to be
awake daytime after 10 plus yrs of nite shift... the 3 am potter...
www.catjarosz.com
www.guildcrafts.com/cat/
V)''(V woof & >^..^< mew
(_o_)
\||/ chicks with beards rule!!
mel jacobson on fri 16 oct 09
a clean bucket of water and a sponge works best.
quick dunk, clean, let dry.
one of the best techniques i have used is clear
plastic covering my bisque. quick and easy, and
no dust settles on the ware. i almost never wash bisque.
but, there are times that it all goes outside and gets a damn
good wash with the garden hose.
i use the ultra thin drop cloth plastic, as one can
make a really nice big form fitting piece. stack your bisque, and cover
with plastic. i use a fresh piece that has not covered wet pots.
(about ten cents worth.)
i have found over the years that the best time to
glaze is a few hours after the ware comes from the kiln.
i fired two loads of bisque this week...about a hundred pots.
i will glaze them all today.
let them dry overnight, load the kiln tomorrow, fire on sunday.
i actually hate the feel and color of bisque fired pots...i want
them covered with glaze as fast as i can...hate looking at
those ugly pots.
the best pots can look is at that leather hard, just getting
dry stage...then your imagination takes over and you know
what a great firing you will be having very soon.
pink, crusty bisque is like scraping your nails on a blackboard.
ick.
mel
and, i never flocculllate, or de flooooclulate...i `fertilize and
energize` my clay.
energized clay just wants to make pots. and feeding your clay the
proper vitamins and minerals is just being a good parent. i never feed
my clay sugar or pee however. bad parenting skills.
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
Peter Jones on fri 16 oct 09
Mel brought up washing bisque fired ware. I usually damp sponge my
ware, but that's another story. I agree that bisque makes pots look
their worst, dry side of leather hard looks best, probably because
you can see the work at its crispest stage before glazing and firing
softens the lines.
As for bisque ware, I also find that it is incredibly harsh on my
hands. Because it is both rough and porous, it saps the moisture out
of my hands, leaving dry, cracked skin behind. During the long
winter months, my hands go to hell in a handbasket as a result.
Accordingly, I've started using a pair of garden gloves to handle the
wares while sanding and waxing. These are the gloves that are a very
open, elastic knit and are dipped in rubber (usually blue or yellow
in color) on the palms and fingers. They're usually about $5 a pair
and last for a long time. Because they are tight fitting, you can
"feel" the pot pretty nicely through them. Because they are
rubberized, you hands stay comparatively moist as there's nothing
sucking the moisture out of them. You can pop 'em in the washing
machine if they get dirty (your gloves, that is....). I also use
them for caving trips and rappeling down ropes into pits. They're
great all around! And my hands are kissing soft.....
Peter Jones
www.pjcaver.com
Dale Neese on fri 16 oct 09
On the other hand I don't wash all of my bisqueware. Some potters bisque
fire hotter and some lower. I have the viscosity of my glazes mixed to be
applied to my porous bisque stoneware, a rather soft bisque fired at cone
08. Mel is correct about glazing soon after the clay is bisque fired to kee=
p
dust from settling on the ware. Put some glaze clothes on a pink naked butt=
.
I inspect each bisque piece with my clean hands for any zit or sharp little
goober I my have missed before glazing. Rarely do I sand any pot except for
my cut outs, lanterns and garlic jars. Just a brief brush with a scrubby pa=
d
takes all the rough edges off. Then I compressor blow the dust off after
bisque firing, wipe completely with a damp towel to remove all the dust. On=
e
time that I do plunge bisqueware into water is when I use a glaze containin=
g
a good porportion of calcined clay. This matt glaze almost has no
plasticity-give to it and the dry bisque sucks all the moisture right out o=
f
the application and cracks the glaze surface. Sometimes falling off all by
itself. The damp surface of the ware dunked into water immediately before
dipping in the glaze delays quick drying avoiding those problems. I may hav=
e
to hold it longer until all the moisture is gone before sitting it down but
this method does help keep the glaze on. If your bisqueware is too damp wit=
h
water the glaze may not dry for a long time making handling awkward.
Mel feels like I do that you don't need to "fertilize" your throwing clay. =
I
avoid any additives and let the clay cure on it's own. It will be plastic
enough. I've been around persons who mix in large amounts of ball clay to
the reclaim clay to take up some of the moisture of the slip before pugging=
.
I think it's a bad idea to add anything to the clay body and just let the
natural aging process take over.
Come see us at the Texas Clay Festival October 24th-25th!
www.texasclayfestival.com
Dale Tex
"across the alley from the Alamo"
Helotes, Texas USA
www.daleneese.com
Russel Fouts on sun 18 oct 09
>> pink, crusty bisque is like scraping your nails on a blackboard. ick.<=
<
Move to earthenware, nice rich reds and oranges. Much nicer than pink.
Russel who's favorite stage is also leather hard.
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75
http://www.mypots.com
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