mel jacobson on tue 9 may 06
reading cones is a very personal task.
it all depends on what you want your pots
to look like.
tim frederich worked for orton for years.
we would love discussing cone dropping.
around the kiln at hay creek,( 12 potters watching
a kiln fire. (god that seems dumb, but we love to do it.)
we have a touchstone.
when the tip of the cone touches the top of the
shelf, it is over and done. i read that as cone 10.
cone 11 would be a quarter over.
but some folks have a fit and think that it is too hot.
so, at the farm..often we draw with chalk on the kiln
a picture of where the cone must be to have the kiln done.
if that is the case, whoa the potter that over fires.
2x4 right in the crotch.
some potters love a bit dryer glaze...so, then turn off the
kiln when cone 10 is at 2 o'clock. you get to know your glazes,
your kiln...and when the cone reads the temp that `you` want the kiln
is done.
it would be dumb to fire a kiln to some/book written instruction
that says...`cone ten is blah blah blah.`
cone ten is what you want it to be.
keep a note book with notes on how you like to fire certain
glazes. like:
iron red, light reduction, cone ten flat. very slow cool.
and if you fire nine different glaze families every time you fire...
well, expect half of them to be fired wrong.
every glaze family needs special attention. cone ten or cone six, or
cone 011 varies depending on how you fire.
that is why i always yap about learning technique.
if you read it from a book, do it that way, and then complain
about your results...you are a fool.
i have sold very nice/in fact wonderful raku tea bowls to
folks with instructions like:
god damn it, this is a teabowl, not a chip dip container.
be careful.
then years later they come back with a plant growing
in the pot, and the raku teabowl has rotted right out the bottom.
`damnit mel, this is really a rotten flower pot.`
scream into the night.
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://my.pclink.com/~melpots3
Edouard Bastarache Inc. on tue 9 may 06
Mel,
" and if you fire nine different glaze families
every time you fire...
well, expect half of them to be fired wrong."
I certainly fire more than 9 glaze families and
"no problemo".
Good, sound technology, testing all time and
writing down
everything make it simple.
Some of my american potter-friends are amazed that
I use
only 1 firing technique for so many different
glazes instead
of having many firing techniques, it works.
Research, research, research,
Later,
Edouard Bastarache
Membre de La French Connection
Member of The French Connection
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
www.sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/Welcome.html
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/potier/
http://oldringer.blogspot.com/
http://albertpeintures.blogspot.com/
| |
|
