Robyn Rosen on thu 30 oct 03
Hi! My name is Robyn and I'm a jewelry designer who has played around with
polymer clays in the past. I recently ordered a kiln and thought it would
be fun to try my hand at making porcelain beads. I picked up some
porcelain clay, along with samples of mason stains and glazes. Now I just
need a little instruction on how to get started. Are there any books I can
buy or can anyone give me some advice on working with the clay, firing and
glazing, etc. Are there any online tutorials out there? Any help would be
greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much!
Robyn
leanashe@ureach.co
Vince Pitelka on fri 31 oct 03
Robyn -
There is a serious lack of good books on colored clay work, but there is
one: "Color in Clay" which provides some good information. I teach a
colored clay workshop periodically, but I do not have any scheduled right
now. This is an exciting area, but there is not a lot of information
available. You are welcome to email me with any questions you have. You
are on the right track, with a kiln, some porcelain clay, and some Mason
stains. Keep in mind that you only need 3-10% stain in your clay to get
good saturated colors at midrange or high-fire temperatures. You will have
to do some experimenting to figure out your color range.
One of the most important considerations with colored porcelain beads is
that you do not have to glaze them. Just get a rock tumbler (eBay - look
for Lortone and Thumler rock tumblers). Make your beads, fire them unglazed
to maturing temperature, and then tumble them with polishing media to get
the degree of shine you want. That makes far more sense than glazing them,
and then dealing with how to support them in the glaze firing.
Good luck -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Snail Scott on tue 4 nov 03
At 07:11 PM 11/4/03 -0500, you wrote:
>I have never worked with
>porcelain clay before, and I noticed that it's
>much softer than polymer clay. Is there a trick
>to conditioning or drying it to make it more
>manageable?
It's not necessarily softer. It just happens
that your particular batch is. It'll stiffen up.
Just a little air time will do it, or squish it
onto a plaster bat to hasten it. It'll dry and
harden up quicker than you expect, so don't let
it dry too far. It's harder to re-wet, and if
it's too stiff it's hard to work with. Unlike
polymer clay, more handling makes it harder, not
softer.
>...After the beads are formed, how
>long would I need to dry them before firing?
'Til they don't feel cool to the touch anymore.
>...Also, how long would I have to fire them for?
Until the kiln reaches the cone number that your
porcelain is rated for. If it's a ^10 porcelain,
fire to ^10, etc. It'll take as long as it takes,
depending on your kiln. Use witness cones (large
cones), not just sitter cones or a controller.
The box of witness cones will have a little
diagram of how to use them. But...
I'd suggest getting a general ceramics book, to
read up on these basic issues and put everything
in context. It doesn't have to be a recent or
fancy book - the basics haven't changed (though
the pictures are nicer in the new books). Even a
book that doesn't discuss colored porcelain beads
specifically will cover important fundamentals
that you should probably know to go further.
-Snail
Leanashe on tue 4 nov 03
Vince,
First I want to thank you and everyone
else who responded to my question.
I have some more questions that I hope
can be answered. I have never worked with
porcelain clay before, and I noticed that it's
much softer than polymer clay. Is there a trick
to conditioning or drying it to make it more
manageable? After the beads are formed, how
long would I need to dry them before firing?
Also, how long would I have to fire them for?
I know that once my kiln is here and I get started
I'll have many more questions, so thanks in advance!
Robyn
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---- On , Vince Pitelka (vpitelka@DTCCOM.NET) wrote:
> Robyn -
> There is a serious lack of good books on colored clay work,
but there is
> one: "Color in Clay" which provides some good information. I
teach a
> colored clay workshop periodically, but I do not have any
scheduled right
> now. This is an exciting area, but there is not a lot of
information
> available. You are welcome to email me with any questions you
have. You
> are on the right track, with a kiln, some porcelain clay, and
some Mason
> stains. Keep in mind that you only need 3-10% stain in your
clay to get
> good saturated colors at midrange or high-fire temperatures.
You will have
> to do some experimenting to figure out your color range.
>
> One of the most important considerations with colored
porcelain beads is
> that you do not have to glaze them. Just get a rock tumbler
(eBay - look
> for Lortone and Thumler rock tumblers). Make your beads, fire
them unglazed
> to maturing temperature, and then tumble them with polishing
media to get
> the degree of shine you want. That makes far more sense than
glazing them,
> and then dealing with how to support them in the glaze
firing.
> Good luck -
> - Vince
>
> Vince Pitelka
> Appalachian Center for Craft
> Tennessee Technological University
> 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
> Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
> 615/597-5376
> Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
> 615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
> http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
>
>
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Vince Pitelka on tue 4 nov 03
> First I want to thank you and everyone
> else who responded to my question.
> I have some more questions that I hope
> can be answered. I have never worked with
> porcelain clay before, and I noticed that it's
> much softer than polymer clay. Is there a trick
> to conditioning or drying it to make it more
> manageable? After the beads are formed, how
> long would I need to dry them before firing?
> Also, how long would I have to fire them for?
Robyn -
Working with porcelain or stoneware is a completely different animal than
working with polymer clay, and you cannot expect it to feel or behave even
remotely similar. It is a completely different technology. You simply have
to get used to working with the much softer material, and you need to learn
all the tricks of working porcelain. You cannot stiffen it up, because
workability and joinery
will suffer terribly. And you do not fire dependent on length of time, you
fire to get to the correct maturing temperature.
I certainly appreciate your excitement and enthusiasm about this, but you
need to get a copy of a good general ceramic text like "Hands in Clay" by
Charlotte Speight and John Toki, "Ceramics" by Glen Nelson and Richard
Burkett, "The Art and Craft of Clay" by Susan Peterson, or my book "Clay: A
Studio Handbook." Any one of them will give you a good grounding in the
workability of clay and the basics of drying and firing your work. You will
find the answers to most of your questions in one of those books. We are
always willing to answer questions, but you will have so many, and you will
enjoy immersing yourself in one of those books.
Good luck Robyn -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
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