Chris Greenman on mon 5 jun 06
I have not posted to clayart in a while but have instead done a lot of
lurking. Anyway I have just recovered/returned from unloading "Fat Bastard"
the anagama kiln at the Univeristy of Montevallo. This was hands down the
best wood firing/anagama I have seen. Very even; few "cold" pieces lots of
nice ash build up and nice flashing. We tried to create a channel down the
center of the kiln to encourage heat flow on the lower parts of the kiln.
THis worked like a charm. Everyone came away a winner...that is always a
treat.
Anyway my questions are:
What is the best way to clean crusty pots or places where the pots kissed ?
I have been using a stone and finishing with emory cloth. Sometimes I am
leaving white spots which are to eye catching. What is the best method?
Aestheticly what is acceptable to people with regards to scarring in anagama
fired pieces?
Glad to see that clayart is again going forth and working well. Thanks to
Mel and all his hard work.I would like to see the ability to place images or
diagrams in posts. But hey It is still a great time to be alive and have all
of these resources.
TIA
Chris Greenman
cgreenman3@knology.net
shane mickey on tue 6 jun 06
chris,
"What is the best way to clean crusty pots or places where the pots kissed ?"
I find that for getting other pots off each other i start with the bench grinder, then move down to a diamond dremel bit, then to a very fine wetdry sandpaper. The scar is always noticable and can be stained in various ways to make it less obvious if desired.
"Aestheticly what is acceptable to people with regards to scarring in anagama fired pieces?"
let me first state that i am not a casual practioner of anagama, not an academic woodfirer. I am a full time, self employed, anagama potter. i do build kilns from time to time for extra income. that said. I have undertaken with all my galleries an educational process towards anagama pots. As we all know there is alot of warping, crust, scars, chips etc. when we unload 700 pots from an anagama. I have noticed that the really nice pots almost always have some kind of blemish, and i tired of selling those off as seconds for a fraction of what they are worth. anyway, i have been slowly warming my galleries up to the idea that a pot that was in the midst of a tumble stack and had another stick to it is part of the process and is totally acceptable. I realize i may be opening up flood gates of critics but it is working and people will buy these pots with no problems. i do have a line i draw, no chipped lips, feet or handles. I think you will find chris that alot of advice you get
from other anagama potters is based on them not having to make a living on their work, there are not alot of full time anagama potters out there that totaly rely on the sale of there wares (alot of potters are surprised to see anagama pots at the craft shows i do) and let me empasize anagama wares, not salted groundhog wares, not catanary fired wares, these are wonderful ways to woodfire, but i am talking about extended firings, lots of sidefiring/ tumblestacking, ash, crust, charcoal. good luck out there
shane mickey
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Paul Herman on wed 7 jun 06
Hi Chris,
Like Shane notes below, grinding and sandpaper will smooth them
nicely. Be careful with power grinding devices, as it's easy to slip
a little and gouge the pot really bad. Be VERY careful on the foot,
just grind enough to smooth the piece, and don't destroy all that
nice color underneath.
A lot depends on what you are trying to get out of your kiln. In ours
we aren't trying to get crusty effects, don't do tumble stacking, and
so we don't have to do much grinding. Well, we don't have to grind
much if things come out like we're trying for (hehe). They don't
always come out like we planned, which can be a good thing.
Occasionally I sell a special piece (for full price or more), with
scars or crust, to someone who "knows" wood firing, but scars are
rare. My own tastes are generally for smooth. Most of my pots are for
use in the kitchen, so rough surfaces aren't the best. A crusty
object can be wonderful to look at, but when you put your hands and
lips on it, smooth is good. So let me state, amagama firing does not
necessarily include tumble stacking, ash, crust, charcoal and grinding.
And Shane, for your peace of mind, I make a living from wood fired work.
Hot fires,
Paul Herman
Great Basin Pottery
Doyle, California US
http://greatbasinpottery.com
Lee Love on wed 7 jun 06
Chris,
I try to avoid "snot" in my kiln, but my unglazed Shigaraki
clay pots sometimes like extra attention. I learned from working on
my Sensei's pots from his noborigama. Pots in the firemouth chamber
had characteristics something like anagama pots. The pots in the
yohen chamber, right behind the firemouth, had less runny ash, but a
more velvety surface because they wer buried in charcoal at the end of
the firing..
The routine there went: first soak pots in water to remove
the wadded shells they were set on. Then Fukuyan would use a chisel
on the feet or shell mark places to knock of any bigger crud. If
there was any grinding to do, it was done with a small high speed
dremel, something like what the dentist used. After that, if the
pot was mat surfaced, sand papper was used on the surface. After
sand paper came buffing with a red 3M pad (used to use rice straw.)
Then, a smoother 3M green pad. The final buffing on the yohen work
was with a cotton cloth. The yohen work had a dull coat of oxide
on the surface from the heavy reduction related to the charcoal, and
the buffing took this off to reveal a satin finish.
I do something similar with my shigaraki clay work,
except I use a buffing pad on an electric drill and it takes much less
time.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://mashiko.org
My google Notebooks:
http://tinyurl.com/e5p3n
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
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