mel jacobson on wed 21 mar 07
yes, i have a brick/standard minnesota flat top.
about 45 cubic feet/inside. stacks more like
55 cubic feet. three rows of 12/24 shelves.
who knows about the wood? it is a great deal
of hocus pocus/but i do it anyway.
i add small sticks of wood while the kiln cools.
the kiln is tight, so the smoke swirls around the pots.
i just push them in the burner ports. i love variegation.
i love mystery and things happening...so that is why
i add iron sand, grog and sand, rutile, iron to my clay.
porcelain is wonderful, for others...i can't stand it.
white glaze on white pots make me crazy. i love the
work of roy, martell, baumee but i want to keep it in their
hands. (that south african /battengorst had some great
porcelain in the clayart room...glad she does it, not me.)
(just kidding with her name...)
cooling time always depends on the kiln/thickness/insulation.
i don't know....can one cool a kiln toooo slow?
i don't think so.
i never open a kiln much before 30 hours.
of course i melt flashlights, burn paper just to
peek. my favorite light is a flashlight with an
18 volt battery...came with my new drill driver. bright as can be.
i look in my kiln with a flashlight at 1000F...just to see what is
going on. you know, the 5 second peek..brick out, look and
slam it back in place.
dannon has really looked at the cooling of iron reds.
she claims they change at 200F. so, slow is really important.
look at the work of ron and john...slow and slower.
they have changed my life...slow down.
bruce girrell had some of the most interesting tiles
i have ever seen at nceca. cooling tiles.
he pulls them from the kiln at different cooling temps.
700
500
400
300
200
the variation was astounding. both clay and glaze.
wonderful work bruce.
that is the sort of clay/glaze firing science that we need///and
more of it. and, his work was with ox firing. he had a
rutile blue bowl that made for universal drooooling.
`get a hanky under your chin wally, we are all slipping on the rug.`
a cone six firing is the same as any other gas firing.
you just shut it off earlier.
all the standard protocols apply. heat, reduce at 08,
leave it in reduction and heat the kiln. back off as
you get to cone 5. make sure cone six is over and touching
the shelf.
slow cool. fire your kiln 300 times and you will be an expert.
diana pancioli has many wonderful glazes for cone 6 redu.
but, she is a `supreme smarty pants`.
she got in bob anderson's face...big time. a long breakfast
and lots of talk. `don't make raku, make stoneware, get your
new kiln done, make things that will last forever, make hard
pots, not soft pots etc.etc.etc.`
he did a great job defending himself...logical, good discussion.
but, she did not believe him. i think he is working on his new
kiln shed right now (5 a.m.)....he sees her coming out of the dark with
a big louisville slugger..........................whack, `make stoneware`.
bob's big purple/red/platter in the clayart room convinced her....`if
he can make pots
like that one, why waste time with raku? just her opinion...
`but, we all see what kelly witnesses.` power and opinion.
good stuff. god, do i hate wishywashy.
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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