Brad Carter on fri 15 apr 05
Dear clay pals,
I have been thinking for quite some time about what type of kiln to buy or
make. I want to produce 5-6 foot tall sculpture, but would also like to
produce smaller glazed functional ware. I have been evaluating propane gas vs.
electric. The biggest drawback of a gas kiln is that it would need to be
cubic--since I am not a production potter, it would just take me forever to fill
it for a firing. On the other hand, a stackable pull-apart kiln such as a
DaVinci would allow me the flexibility of firing tall for sculpture or, when I
wanted to do smaller firings of glazed ware, I could reduce the size of the kiln
by removing rings. The biggest drawbacks of electric--as I see it--are the
price of the kiln (I could build a gas kiln for much less $), higher cost of
electricity vs. gas for firing and not being able to achieve reduction firing
effects. However, I love oilspot glazes and would be very happy if I could
produce the results like those achieved by John Britt, Mel and Joe or Koji
Kamada or others who are figuring out the secrets of these old Chinese iron
glazing techniques.
And that brings me to my question for all of you: Can anyone suggest a
"stackable" electric kiln that can reach cone 11+?? Or is cone 11+ really needed
to produce oil spot/hare's fur glazing effects? John Britt,in his article
"Oil Spot Glazes" gives firing tempretures of cone 10/11 for his oil spot
recipes. Mel and Joe give a page of recipes in their article in CM--all cone 11
plus.
If these glazes can be produced at cone 10 or below, then I will be a happy
camper. All advice greatly appreciated.
Brad Carter
Grass Valley, CA
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