Nathan Gartz on thu 16 nov 06
Hello everyone! This is my first post and quite a crucial one at that. I
am currently the head of the ceramics department at the UW-Milwaukee Craft
Centre. I am looking at doing a saggar firing in a paper bag. I'm not sure
if anyone is familiar with this or not, so I will try to explain this as
best I can.
How it works is basically like a pit fire, but in a paper bag. After the
piece is bisque fired to about ^05, the piece is put in a brown paper bag
and then all the materials you would throw in your pit fire go right in the
bag with the pot. I have been testing different materials for a few years
now and I have come across a lot of amazing results. I like to load the bag
up with salt to get some fierce reds. After all the materials are added,
the top of the bag is sealed with a piece (or two) of masking tape. Then, I
would normally use Michigan slip to cover the entire piece. I dip the bag
in the bucket of Michigan slip to make sure the bottom is slipped well.
Then I dunk three or four sheets of newspaper in the slip and drape that
over the bag, doing so until the entire bag is covered well. Then I bring
that in the kiln and fire it up to ^05 again. That creates an atmosphere
for the materials to stay in and morph onto the piece.
I have a problem though. We used to use Michigan slip because it was given
to us for free, but now we have run out and need to find a replacement. I
am looking for some advice for either: #1: a really cheap slip that I can
buy dry, or #2: a formula to make my own slip. The slip has to be able to
go up to around ^06 and have little to no grog. Can anyone suggest
something for me? I have found this:
http://ohioceramic.com/John_sSlip.pdf
But I hate to buy pre-mixed and I hate to have to spend that kind of money.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks!
Nathan Gartz
Cold here in Wisconsin
Marcia Selsor on thu 16 nov 06
I would think that any local clay, presumably low fire and easily
accessible
in a local stream bed, shouls work for this purpose. try a few tests.
Cold front moved into south texas yesterday..lowered the humidity to
20% and the temperature to 50!
Studio walls are in for this stage of construction. Must sign off
clayart for a week-10 days for thanksgiving trip.
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
Lori Leary on thu 16 nov 06
Hi Nathan,
Welcome to the list! I learned this process a few years back from
Dannon Rhudy...I think she wrote an article about it also. Dannon, are
you monitoring the list right now?
Anyway, I used paper saggars for some of my work in grad school. I
always made slip out of whatever leftover stoneware I had around. In a
pinch, to make the slip I once used the packaged dry claybody that my
school used to make their stoneware.
Hope this helps, and good luck,
Lori L.
Nathan Gartz wrote:
> Hello everyone! This is my first post and quite a crucial one at that. I
> am currently the head of the ceramics department at the UW-Milwaukee Craft
> Centre. I am looking at doing a saggar firing in a paper bag. I'm not sure
> if anyone is familiar with this or not, so I will try to explain this as
> best I can.
>
> How it works is basically like a pit fire, but in a paper bag. After the
> piece is bisque fired to about ^05, the piece is put in a brown paper bag
> and then all the materials you would throw in your pit fire go right in the
> bag with the pot. I have been testing different materials for a few years
> now and I have come across a lot of amazing results. I like to load the bag
> up with salt to get some fierce reds. After all the materials are added,
> the top of the bag is sealed with a piece (or two) of masking tape. Then, I
> would normally use Michigan slip to cover the entire piece. I dip the bag
> in the bucket of Michigan slip to make sure the bottom is slipped well.
> Then I dunk three or four sheets of newspaper in the slip and drape that
> over the bag, doing so until the entire bag is covered well. Then I bring
> that in the kiln and fire it up to ^05 again. That creates an atmosphere
> for the materials to stay in and morph onto the piece.
>
> I have a problem though. We used to use Michigan slip because it was given
> to us for free, but now we have run out and need to find a replacement. I
> am looking for some advice for either: #1: a really cheap slip that I can
> buy dry, or #2: a formula to make my own slip. The slip has to be able to
> go up to around ^06 and have little to no grog. Can anyone suggest
> something for me? I have found this:
> http://ohioceramic.com/John_sSlip.pdf
>
> But I hate to buy pre-mixed and I hate to have to spend that kind of money.
> Let me know what you think.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Nathan Gartz
> Cold here in Wisconsin
Don Goodrich on thu 16 nov 06
Hi Nathan,
Neat idea for the adventurous and well-ventilated!
You shouldn't have any trouble finding free clay for
your ^05 bag and newspaper saggars. There must be some
construction sites in Milwaukee, even this late in
the season. I've never had any trouble mooching some
big chunks of clay from such sites. People sometimes
look at you strangely, but are only too happy to donate
some to a worthy cause. I live about 50 miles south of
Milwaukee, and every sample of native clay I've tested
has been good to at least cone 1.
Good luck,
Don Goodrich
Tom Sawyer on fri 17 nov 06
If one uses a paper bag saggar, does one need to put a pinhole in the bag to
allow air to escape?
Tom Sawyer
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Don Goodrich
Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 6:25 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Paper Bag Saggar
Hi Nathan,
Neat idea for the adventurous and well-ventilated!
You shouldn't have any trouble finding free clay for
your ^05 bag and newspaper saggars. There must be some
construction sites in Milwaukee, even this late in
the season. I've never had any trouble mooching some
big chunks of clay from such sites. People sometimes
look at you strangely, but are only too happy to donate
some to a worthy cause. I live about 50 miles south of
Milwaukee, and every sample of native clay I've tested
has been good to at least cone 1.
Good luck,
Don Goodrich
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Nathan Gartz on mon 20 nov 06
Tom, I've never poked a hole in my paper bag saggars. I'm guessing you are
worried about them blowing up in the kiln? Because it has never happened to me.
Also, when I used Michigan slip, I never had a problem with ruining kiln
shelves.
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