Firing

How to Make a Good Kiln Wash to Protect Your Kiln Shelves

Kiln wash is a material that you can paint onto your kiln shelves. It looks very similar to a glaze when being applied. It acts as a barrier to prevent unexpected glaze runs or drips from ruining your shelves. Kiln shelves are made of a hard material that is similar to…

Temperature vs Heatwork – Why We Use Witness Cones

Firing, Studio Tips

I receive a lot of glaze questions and the first question I generally ask in return is “What did the cones look like?” Knowing whether the kiln was over- or under-fired is important for diagnosing many glaze issues. Sometimes I’m told a kiln temperature in response. But…

What’s the role of witness cones in a kiln-sitter kiln?

Ceramic Glazes, Firing, Glaze Q&A Videos

Question: Any suggestions for using witness cones when your kiln has a kiln-sitter rather than a controller? I have a small, old school doll kiln and can't create a schedule. All I can control is on, off, length of time. Put witness cones where you can see them during...

What’s the difference between Orton self-supporting cones and large cones

Firing, Glaze Q&A Videos, Studio Tips

Large cones vs Self Supporting cones Question: Orton temperature equivalents - I thought self supporting and large cones were interchangeable, but the table shows slightly different temps for the same rate. How critical are those differences? The Orton Cone Chart can...

Why does my kiln fire unevenly?

Firing, Glaze Q&A Videos

Why does my kiln fire unevenly? Question: “Why do I get different results on my cone pack based on which shelf-- top, middle, or bottom-- the pack is located?” Our kilns tend to fire unevenly and I've also had the same experience. The new Cone Art kiln that I bought...

Does a lower bisque temp = more pores?

Ceramic Glazes, Firing, Glaze Q&A Videos

How temperature affects the porosity of our bisque We start with bone dry greenware, which is porous. So all the water - the physical water - has evaporated from the clay body before the bisque firing. Then we put it into the bisque, where all of those particles...

How to Calibrate Your Kiln Sitter for Accurate Firings

Firing, Studio Tips

If you’re anything like me, then your first kiln wasn’t or isn’t going to be the digital programmable kind. Many of us start out with a manual kiln that we got second hand. I have 4 different sized kilns in my home studio and none of them are digital or programmable.