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Where there's smoke, there's fun. Get the low-down on low-firing.
Put your pots in the pits -- discover Low-firing and Burnishing.
Put your pots in the pits -- discover Low-firing and Burnishing.
Ceramics Monthly Master Class
Welcome to Ceramics Monthly's Master Class. These articles contain advanced technical and critical content from the pages of Ceramics Monthly magazine. Topics can range from glaze formulation and chemistry to kiln construction and firing techniques to aesthetic criticism, and all come from the top experts in the field. We hope this archive will be helpful and valuable to you, both in the studio as well as the classroom. To get great, new content like this delivered right to your door, subscribe to Ceramics Monthly today. Do you have a topic idea for a Master Class article? Send a letter to the editor.
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March 1, 2010
I use one tool everyday, on every pot or sculpture, whether I made it or not. This pervasive tool is critical analysis, and I use it to assess the pot I am currently throwing, the work I made yesterday and the work I made years ago.
December 9, 2009
Phases are specific forms of materials. The most familiar phases are solid, liquid and vapor. Any phase of a material is identical in composition and structure in all parts of that phase. For instance, a glass of water is the liquid phase of H2O, top to bottom; if it weren't, we'd call it something else, like ice if it were solid (structural change), or lemonade if it had lemon and sugar dissolved in it (compositional change).
December 9, 2009
Hugh Jenkins’ Volcano Kiln: Recuperating Waste Heat for Efficient Firing
As a studio artist, it is often hard to spend large sums of money, even if doing so would pay off in the long run, so glass artist Hugh Jenkins set out to determine just how well he could do with a home-built heat recuperator.
December 8, 2009
Of all the well-known Japanese ceramic artists of the past four hundred years, men like Raku ware's Chojiro, the Kyoto designers and decorators Ninsei Nonomura and Kenzan Ogata, and the innovative and technically brilliant Kozan Makuzu, by far the most famous and influential has been the twentieth century folk craft (mingei) movement potter Shoji Hamada (1894-1978).
December 7, 2009
The kachelofen is making a comeback in Europe and gaining popularity in North America because of its environmental friendliness and because of the rise in home energy prices. One fire, or three wood logs, delivers eight to fifteen hours of radiant heat.
December 7, 2009
Significant cost savings can be realized by potters without access to a landfill through a variety of strategies and fuel choices. These can be divided into categories and discussed in terms of benefits and difficulties. Solid fuels are difficult, liquid fuels are moderate, and gases are easier.
November 17, 2009
Initially, I placed a 30-gallon plastic barrel outside one such diner that had agreed to save the used oil for me. My plan was to swap out the barrel every five weeks (the owner predicted it would take that long to fill the barrel) and replace it with an empty 30-gallon barrel. I learned two facts immediately: First, I couldn't lift the full barrel of oil onto the back of my pick-up truck. Secondly, used, hot oil will melt plastic barrels.
November 17, 2009
Beautiful, soft, muted-color brushstrokes and washes of water-soluble metal salts decorate Gary Holt's translucent porcelain bowls and plates. The simplicity and quiet presence of his works belie the years that Holt spent experimenting and perfecting his technique. Using water-soluble metals salts (WSMS) demands excellent technical skills and careful attention to details.
November 17, 2009
Leaving Bariumville: Replacing Barium Carbonate in Cone 10 Glazes
Barium carbonate has long been used as an ingredient in high-fire glazes, sometimes conferring unique properties upon glazes. One of the alkaline earth carbonates, it has also been used as rat poison (large doses can be toxic to humans as well). Glazes containing it ought to be checked for barium leaching if they are intended to hold food or drink, or reserved for surfaces that do not come into contact with food. It is not my intent to present the research on barium toxicity here, but to present a course of action for replacing it in glazes.
November 16, 2009
One of the more fascinating, sometimes frustrating parts of ceramics is learning to balance the innumerable factors that affect the outcome of a firing. Glaze ingredients, the clay body used, firing cycles, atmospheres, kiln-stacking techniques and geography (to name a few variables) can all affect firing results.
November 5, 2009
How many times have you copied a glaze formula, only to find that it didn't work as expected? It is not unheard of for glazes with the same formula to produce different results. While this may seem like a dead end, it does not have to be.
October 21, 2009
Combining Histories: Make, Scan, Mill, Print, Adjust, Repeat
For the past few years we have utilized several forms of rapid prototyping to explore new methods of creating form. At The Ohio State University ceramics program, we have a large Techno Isel CNC (computer numerically controlled) router and a Konica Minolta Vivid 910 3D scanner, a Z-Corp 510 3D printer and a soon-to-be-operational Epilog laser cutter. In an environment where research and development are crucial activities, we willingly embrace these new technologies in search of a balance between traditional craft and industrial practice.
September 28, 2009
The Many Layers of Kiln Wash: How to Find the Best Kiln Wash for Your Firing Temperature and Methods
In this post, John Britt explains that giving a bit more consideration to kiln wash might help potters avoid some of the common kiln wash headaches - like scraping cracked kiln wash off shelves or lamenting an otherwise perfect piece that was ruined by a flake of kiln wash. Plus he shares some kiln wash recipes for various firing techniques.
May 20, 2009
To achieve complete combustion, the exact proportions of fuel and oxygen are required with nothing remaining. In a gas kiln firing this is often difficult to attain because of the many variables in fuel and oxygen (which is derived from the air) and the equipment used to mix the two.
May 13, 2009
Mid-Range Reduction Firing: It’s Not Just Cooler, It’s Cool!
As John Britt points out in today's post, firing to cone 6 reduction is cheaper, faster, and the results can be almost indistinguishable from high fire.
May 4, 2009
An Experienced Wood Firer Shares Kiln Plans for a Small Instructional Wood Kiln
In this post, experienced wood firing potter John Thies tells us about an instructional wood kiln he designed and shares his kiln plans. Plus, one of John's students shares her experience using the kiln.
February 18, 2009
The old adage that time equals money is especially true in any labor-intensive activity. Making pottery is certainly an endeavor that requires direct labor to produce pottery for sale. Handmade pottery by definition requires physical attention from the potter during many stages of the operation.
February 1, 2009
As a field, we are particularly good at time travel, but really only in one direction. We can, and should, start to look forward-further and more often than we do. Many potters define their work by how it differs from industrially made work. For example, the industrial pot is seen as flawless, boring, identical, sterile, cheap, safe and lacking a personal connection to the user. This critical definition goes back to William Morris' 19th-century attack on industrialization and his subsequent championing of craft.
February 1, 2009
Three dimensional printing can be used to create ceramic-art objects, out of three different types of slip bodies, and can be finished using standard ceramic equipment and processes.
December 20, 2008
An Australian–born potter living in Japan discusses his collaborations with chefs to create ware specifically designed for the presentation and enjoyment of food.
