Myrna Figueiredo on thu 6 jul 06
Has anyone had experience pit firing stoneware that has been fired first
to cone 5 instead of just bisqued?
Are the effects different? Are the smoke patterns accepted by the clay as
well?
I want to glaze the interior of the bowl to seal it and then pit fire the
piece. high fire, low fire, whatever works and does it make a difference?
thank you so much,
myrna
brasileiras.net
Snail Scott on fri 7 jul 06
At 10:03 PM 7/6/2006 -0400, Myrna F wrote:
>Has anyone had experience pit firing stoneware that has been fired first
>to cone 5 instead of just bisqued?
It tends not to accept smoke, and can
sometimes crack from irregular heating.
If you want to glaze and then pit-fire
the same piece, I'd stick with earthenware.
-Snail
Lynne Antone on fri 7 jul 06
Myrna,
Yes, cone 5 pots don't do well at all in pit fires, in my experience. They just don't absorb the chemicals in the fuming that is going on. We have also found that to be true with our aluminum foil saggars, the higher the bisque, the poorer color we get.
Years ago at Barb Kates' place in Yelm, WA we did a large pit firing and some people had bisqued their pots with glaze on the inside at lower temps, cone 06 or lower, as I recall. Then they were put in the pit and it was amazing the colors they came out with.
All the glazes had changed color and some had things stuck to the glazed surfaces from the pit, too. I think the intent was to make them somewhat functional. Never use pit fired work for food (see Vince, I am paying attention). If you want to make a pit fired piece so it will hold water, like a vase for flowers, you can check the Clayart Archives for products to seal them. I haven't found a sealer yet that I am totally confident with.
Lynne Antone
Getting too absorbed in genealogy these days. Must get out to the studio today and, I think, make some goblets. I haven't made any for a while and Tony seemed to love making them in the past ; ). Have a show next weekend and am pretty ready for it, so time to play a little.
--
Beaver Creek Arts
Olympia WA
USA
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Myrna Figueiredo
> Has anyone had experience pit firing stoneware that has been fired first
> to cone 5 instead of just bisqued?
> Are the effects different? Are the smoke patterns accepted by the clay as
> well?
> I want to glaze the interior of the bowl to seal it and then pit fire the
> piece. high fire, low fire, whatever works and does it make a difference?
Lauren Bellero on fri 7 jul 06
hi myrna,
myrna wrote:
> Has anyone had experience pit firing stoneware that has been fired first
> to cone 5 instead of just bisqued?
> Are the effects different? Are the smoke patterns accepted by the clay as
> well?
my opinion/experience: though i've never bisqued to cone 5 and pit fired
i would surmise that, yes, the effects are different and IMHO much less
dramatic/colorful, and just plain blah (unless you are going for black
to white colors with all the greys in between. of course these can be
quite beautiful, but usually the blacks aren't even dark enough to make
a wonderful contrast...). clay at a high bisque is not porous
enough to accept good color.
i found a huge difference in just going from a cone 06 bisque to
a cone 010 (even without the terra sig). but as i here from other
pit firers, everybody does it a little different and there
are many different ways to be successful.
all the best,
lauren
--
Lauren Bellero, Mudslingers Pottery
http://mudslingerspottery.net
Red Bank, NJ
Fadra Hepner on mon 10 jul 06
I have been reading the posts on pit firing and want to make sure that I've=
got it straight:=20=20
First, let me preface this by saying that I acquired a doozie of a kiln las=
t year from ebay and don't have the money to fix it. I desperately want to=
keep working and making things to sell so I can replenish my "clay money" =
stash. (Very tight budget around here) After some research, I got excited=
at the prospect of pit firing, realizing that it is a VERY low cost invest=
ment and you can start out in barrels!
So from what I read, you can pit fire just about any claybody but the highe=
r it is meant to fire and the more grog it has (obviously) the better it wi=
ll withstand thermal shock...With this in mind, and loving Laguna's cone 5 =
B-mix, I decided to use this as my overall clay of choice as I could still =
fire a few functional pieces now and again elsewhere....
Here's the question: You are speaking ONLY of firing first TO cone 5, corr=
ect? I plan on bisquing to 012 as I am using Vince's super refined terra s=
ig recipie and all I have read says 012 is the safest bet to keep your shin=
e. (Amazing stuff by the way!! Thanks, Vince!) So, Even though I am using=
cone 5 clay, it should still work, right?=20=20
I may be able to exchange it before I make too many pots to be pit fired if=
it won't work well...
thanks for any input and a great clay community! (Isn't it amazing how few =
snobs are involved in clay? It must have something to do with getting dirty=
...)
Fadra
Mom and teacher in MO
--=20
_______________________________________________
Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pa=
ges
http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.as=
p?SRC=3Dlycos10
Snail Scott on mon 10 jul 06
At 02:34 PM 7/10/2006 -0800, Fadra wrote:
>...I plan on bisquing to 012 as I am using Vince's super refined terra sig
recipie and all I have read says 012 is the safest bet to keep your
shine...So, Even though I am using cone 5 clay, it should still work, right?
That's right. Just because it vitrifies at ^5
doesn't mean you have to fire it to that temperature.
Naturally, it will be more fragile and porous than
it would if vitrified, but I assume you aren't
shooting for functional foodware anyway, right?
B-Mix is pretty fine-grained and tight, but if
it's only bisqued to ^012, it will probably do
fine. If there are problems, you can try a grittier
and more open clay next time, or try wedging some
kyanite or mica into the B-mix.
-Snail
Rebecca Webster on tue 11 jul 06
Hi,
I use the same terra sig recipe and find that if I bisque to ^04 it keeps the shine. I have been firing this way for a while and haven't run into any problems. As long as the sig is properly coated on the pot, it should have a beautiful smooth surface even at ^04-^02. I usually buff up the sig with a leather chamois for added shine after I apply it. Why not fire as high as you can to give a stronger pot?
Becky Webster
From: Snail Scott <snail@MINDSPRING.COM>
Reply-To: Clayart <CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG>
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: pit fire question
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:37:21 -0500
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>At 02:34 PM 7/10/2006 -0800, Fadra wrote:
> >...I plan on bisquing to 012 as I am using Vince's super refined terra sig
>recipie and all I have read says 012 is the safest bet to keep your
>shine...So, Even though I am using cone 5 clay, it should still work, right?
>
>
>That's right. Just because it vitrifies at ^5
>doesn't mean you have to fire it to that temperature.
>Naturally, it will be more fragile and porous than
>it would if
vitrified, but I assume you aren't
>shooting for functional foodware anyway, right?
>
>B-Mix is pretty fine-grained and tight, but if
>it's only bisqued to ^012, it will probably do
>fine. If there are problems, you can try a grittier
>and more open clay next time, or try wedging some
>kyanite or mica into the B-mix.
>
> -Snail
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from
http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Bonnie Staffel on tue 11 jul 06
First of all, your bisque should only be fired in the range of 010 to =
012,
although I have also fired to 06 with my clay as it is very open at that =
low
temperature. The clay that you choose should be one that will take the
shock of fire and flame in the pit. If you use Vince's terra sig, then =
it
probably would be good to follow the Cone 012 instructions. Forget the =
Cone
5. This is not an option. As for pit firing being inexpensive, that =
would
be the case only if you have a good supply of free firewood as well as
scraps. Otherwise, when you purchase a cord of wood, it is no longer a =
very
cheap fuel. Again it is also dependent on the size of your pit. A six =
foot
wide X 3 feet deep pit will take a lot of wood and other combustibles. =
Some
use straw and sawdust as a starter and then adding the heavier wood on =
top..
Your pit fire post to Clayart raised some questions as to whether you =
have
ever had any experience in others pits. I would suggest that you do =
this to
get your feet wet (hot) so to speak, first. =20
Good luck,
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Beginning Processes
Charter Member Potters Council
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