Saturday, August 05, 2006

The Kiln Ritual

Because I don't yet have my own kiln, it is necessary to use someone else's. This is not only inconvenient, but time consuming as well. I have to pack pieces in boxes, load them in my car, unload them from my car, unload them from the boxes and then load into the kiln. After firing, they must be re-packed in boxes, loaded in the car, unloaded from the car and finally unloaded from the boxes.

What am I complaining about? My friend is very generous in allowing me to use her kiln...for free. I went through the above ritual today for about 180 clay pieces modeled to resemble seashells and skeletons to make into magnets and pushpins for my Etsy shop.

Glazing is the next step and I look forward to this phase most of all. I love to experiment with glazes, layering one on top of another to create new color combinations. Following glazing, I will once again engage in the kiln ritual.

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8 comments:

Rosemary said...

Educate me a little about a modern kiln. Is it electric or gas fired? Is it indoor or outdoor? How big would a home size one be? I should think it would cost a good bit of fuel to run it, particularly nowadays.

BV=1vote

Linda Watson said...

Hi dirty butter, my friend has an electric kiln that's about 6 cu.ft. (inside) and she keeps it in the garage. She did have to have some wiring done to accommodate it and claims it isn't expensive to run.

Gas fired kilns are for production firing and not practical for home use. My understanding is small gas-fired kilns are expensive to run.

As far as size for home use, it depends on the typical size of your work. If you like to build tall or wide, these are considerations that need to be factored into your choice of kiln.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your interest.

Linda

Unknown said...

Interesting site. You know you could build a simple kiln using a charcoal cookstove and a hairdryer. Firing with charcoal is a lot of fun plus you get a wide arrange of color in your work.
Ben
www.projecth2o.org/bzhuo

EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima said...

No work of art is without effort.
For no great effort, no great art.

Well done and God bless.

Linda Watson said...

Thanks for your lovely words Orikinla. And thanks for visiting my blog.

Best,
Linda

WagerWitch said...

I wanted to tell you about this coffee shop here on Kodiak.

They sell coffees, teas, bagels, etc. - and then they keep paints, ceramics, paintbrushes, waterbowls, stencils, plastic palettes, etc.

They call it "The Painting Place"

They sell premade ceramic (Plaster?)figurines, light switchplates, coffee cups, knick knacks, cookie jars, tea pots, piggy banks, plates, sugar pots, etc. Just imagine it - they sometimes have it.

The coffee drinkers can opt to sit in the shop and pay for the figurine and can paint it there in the coffee shop with their paints - etc...

They are a little expensive - but considering you don't have to pay for paints or the kilning, etc - or even clean up --- you just go back a week or two later and get your finished product.

I just thought you'd like to know about that - maybe give you some ideas.

Well - take care of yourself - I drop by here and there to see what kind of creativity you're up to this time.


WagerWitch http://wagerwitch.blogspot.com
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WagerWitch said...

Any more kilning? Care to take pics of the stuff you're doing and posting them?

I always enjoy looking at other creativity streaks. Gets me more motivated.

Take it easy!


WagerWitch
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Anonymous said...

OUR HOUSE IS NOT YET WIRED FOR 220V FOR OUR KILN. IF YOU HAVE A 220V OUTLET (ELECTRIC DRYER) IN YOUR GARAGE, YOU COULD UTILIZE OUR KILN UNTIL WE GET OUR GARAGE UNCLUTTERED FROM OUR MOVE ..... AND AT THE RATE WE ARE GETTING THINGS DONE, IT WILL BE A WHILE. YOU CAN CALL ME AT (818) 901 - 1222. WE ARE IN VAN NUYS. RICHARD & MARILYN

 
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