| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| kiln safety | 11/20/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I bought I little kiln (outside about 13" hex shaped and about as tall). I am working in a wood ...
A: The safety of kilns is dependent on the location in your studio. Place the kiln near a window if you ...
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| Gare 911 Kiln Manual | 11/16/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I bought a old kiln. It's a Gare 911 (very small) with a Kilnsitter on it. Where do I go to get ...
A: I have exhausted my resources on locating a manual for you. The only other alternative is to contact ...
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| Research Questions | 11/16/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: i am required to pick a topic and do research but i need to do 3 interviews and i was woundering if ...
A: I would be happy to assist you in your research paper. Please do not email your questions to this ...
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| Thinning a Thick Glaze | 11/15/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I work at a preschool and we have our own kiln. The glaze we have has solidified considerably. I ...
A: Solidification of a glaze happens when the glaze looses much of it's water content. It can also ...
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| centering clay | 11/15/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: I have just begun throwing clay on the wheel. After one class session (two months) I developed ...
A: the height of the chair you sit at is important. I try to sit on a stool that is slightly higher ...
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| Clay Rings | 11/13/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I need to make rings 7" in diameter and 3/4" in width and 1/2" deep. I do not use a wheel to make a ...
A: Webb, Thank you for your recent question. Yes, you can make rings without a wheel. I will give ...
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| Oxides on Paper Porcelain with Texture | 11/13/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I have been experimenting with textures on paper porcelain. I've never worked with oxides before but ...
A: An coloring oxide is a raw material developed to produce a color on a clay surface. Normally, the ...
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| glazes | 11/11/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: My question is I am a college student and I use the clay and kiln that my school has. They only have ...
A: For that link..google 'Orton Ceramics' Bisquing is usually cone 06 to 04 or so. The Orton cone ...
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| glazes | 11/10/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: My question is I am a college student and I use the clay and kiln that my school has. They only have ...
A: Yes, there are glaze products that fall under the cone 4 maturing temperature. For your information, ...
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| firing temperature | 11/9/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: I am using a transparent stoneware glaze for the first time and wondered what temperatures I should ...
A: There is a wide range of temperatures depending on how the glaze is formulated. The clay and the ...
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| Kiln Firing and Cones | 11/9/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I am a beginner potter...last Christmas I got the gift of my own pottery wheel. Unfortunately, I ...
A: Unfortunately, you can't fire your pottery in a gas oven as the maximum temperature for a gas oven ...
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| Kiln Question - And Glaze Question | 11/7/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: I have a kiln that I use for glass firing, will ceramic firing work in the same kiln, or, will ...
A: should work fine...firing temps for clay are higher...so assuming your elements are in good ...
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| Centering Clay Process | 11/4/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: Another question occured to me as I was "surfing" the answers here. Is there a trick to centering ...
A: I do teach classes in throwing online, which do include video of step-by-step techniques that help ...
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| What to Charge for Pottery Work | 11/4/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: Ti I am a hobby potter who has finally gotten good enough not to be embarassed to give her creatoins ...
A: I didn't list the glaze or other materials you may use in decorating your pottery. Use the cost of ...
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| clay shrinkage between bisque/ glaze firings | 11/4/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: Wondering if there's a formula for figuring our the amt. of shrinkage between a bisque firing (o4) ...
A: Clay bodies vary in their shrinkage. 9 to 13% is normal from thrown to glaze fired. I have not had ...
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| Centering Clay Process | 11/3/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: Another question occured to me as I was "surfing" the answers here. Is there a trick to centering ...
A: There is really no "trick" to centering clay. Centering comes from practice and finding the position ...
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| Centering | 11/3/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: Another question occured to me as I was "surfing" the answers here. Is there a trick to centering ...
A: Get the clay into a ball put it on the wheel head and slowly rotate the wheel...slap the clay as it ...
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| What to Charge for Pottery Work | 11/3/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: Ti I am a hobby potter who has finally gotten good enough not to be embarassed to give her creatoins ...
A: Pricing ware depends on several factors. Quality, of course, is the first factor in determining ...
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| Prices | 11/3/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: Ric, I am a hobby potter who has finally gotten good enough not to be embarassed to give her ...
A: do some research...go to some craft galleries and poke around for similar works to yours...check out ...
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| Kiln Controller | 11/1/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I've been making low fire terra cotta tiles since 1990 using brush-on commercial underglazes and a ...
A: It sounds like the controller. Did you check the controller after you replaced the elements. Such a ...
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| Kiln Firing Schedule | 10/30/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I have an older Skutt kiln (model 181). It has 3 switches (low, med, high) and a kiln sitter. I am ...
A: A three switch kiln is very easy to fire. First, place the cone into the kiln sitter that you wish ...
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| Black edges around pottery | 10/25/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I am hoping you can help me with an explanation that might help a customer. They recently fired a ...
A: Yes, kindly send the photo to earthstokenfire@earthstokenfire.com and I will take a look at it. ...
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| Ming Dynasty Yellow Glaze | 10/25/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I was impressed by a Ming Dynasty Bowl that I saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art An image is ...
A: I also have visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art and seen the wonderful displays of the Ming ...
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| kiln / oven | 10/23/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: im interested in making a few personal fixtures and some chilli bowls and coffee mugs and vases. i ...
A: sorry can't help you. A kiln goes to 1860 F up to 2300F. an oven goes to 500F. read THE KILN BOOK ...
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| Black edges around pottery | 10/23/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I am hoping you can help me with an explanation that might help a customer. They recently fired a ...
A: Without knowning what type of glaze that was used, the name or ingredients in the glaze, what clay ...
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| low-fire kiln - safe materials question | 10/23/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: We have an art parent at elementary school who has produced a class clay project with no names on ...
A: use a cobalt ceramic pencil..and write the names...you can get one from a local ceramic supply ...
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| Red iron oxide | 10/22/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: I bisqued a bottle to ^06 then gave it a good and dark wash with red iron oxide, then glazed it ...
A: I do see evidence of oxide....but not enough...and did you rub it with a damp sponge to push it into ...
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| Volcanic glazes | 10/22/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I am interested in any information you could give in how to create a volcanic glaze. I am using an ...
A: I answered this question previously but will be happy to list the answer again. Please follow the ...
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| Red iron oxide | 10/22/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: I bisqued a bottle to ^06 then gave it a good and dark wash with red iron oxide, then glazed it ...
A: good question...it should not have disappeared completely....you say it was applied in a dark wash ...
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| crater glaze | 10/22/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I just read your response to Chris (10/19/2008). He wanted to make a cone 9 crater glaze similar to ...
A: I recopied the answer I gave to Chris on the crater glazes. The answers to all of your questions are ...
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| Glaze Lettering Mistake | 10/19/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I made a spelling mistake on a piece of pottery. It has already been fired w/a clear glaze. Is ...
A: Depending on where the spelling error is located, yes, you can fix it. If it is located on the ...
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| kiln ventilating | 10/17/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: I live in a retirement community that has just accepted a clay kiln as a gift. It will be placed in ...
A: You can buy an electric kiln forced air ventilation to attach to the bottom of the kiln. I believe ...
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| Toilet bowls made of porcelain/china | 10/15/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: Since toilet bowls are made of porcelain (or china, or whatever) could the inside of a toilet bowl ...
A: Yes, your toilet bowl is made of porcelain, but it is also glazed with a porcelain glaze. That is ...
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| Truly transparent matt glaze for porcelain | 10/14/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: Do you know of any truly transparent matte glazes or glaze recipe suitable for porcelain, firing ...
A: The glaze I sent you has been fired to 1230 degrees C or 2250 degrees F. Let me know if I can ...
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| Specific Gravity, Glaze and Water | 10/14/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I've started to get a lot of bald areas in glazed pots. Sometimes just smallish ones on the top ...
A: I have always used a tried and true method for determing the amount of water to add to a glaze body. ...
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| firing | 10/14/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I have been away from pottery for about two years. I hand build with stoneware and sculpture clays. ...
A: You can bisque fire your pieces to cone 05, which usually takes between 8 to 12 hours, depending on ...
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| Glaze tinking??? | 10/13/2009 | Ric Swenson |
Q: I made a new glaze. When I pulled my test piece out of the kiln, it was tinking...there is some ...
A: Crackle glazes are common. It is a slight defect called crazing usually caused by an imbalance of ...
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| Clear Glaze Turning Milky | 10/12/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: My mum and I run a paint your own pottery business. Recently, some of the items we have fired have ...
A: Clear glaze that turns milky is cause from either applying the glaze too thickly or not firing hot ...
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| Bald Areas in Glazed Items | 10/11/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I've started to get a lot of bald areas in glazed pots. Sometimes just smallish ones on the top ...
A: The problem with your glaze is most likely caused from oils or dirt on the pottery. Oils from hands ...
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| Pigment | 10/10/2009 | Ti Phillips |
Q: I'm a potter from Cambodia a country which has long history of ceramic but unfortunately we had too ...
A: Glazes are made from three key ingredients. Silica, which is basically sand that you can locate most ...
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