July/Aug 2009

Also in This Issue . . .Fusing and Slumping GlassSmoke Firing in an Electric Kiln Hanging It Up

Fish Tales

http://www.amaco.com/

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 1

2 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 3

table of contents

departments6} In the Mix

Color Testingby Robin Hopper

8} Tools of the TradeTaking Controlby David Gamble

10} Supply RoomGlass Actby Maria Moran

12} Tips from the ProsSquare Dancingby Dick Lehman

41} Instructors File High School Anagamaby Clay Cunningham

44} Off the Shelf Smoke Firingby Sumi von Dassow

features17} A Touch of Glass

by Anderson Turner

Fuse and slump glass

in your ceramic kiln.

Veteran glass worker

Henry Halem shows

you how.

22} Fish Talesby Lisa Merida-Paytes

A taxidermist’s

daughter elevates the

mounted fish to a new

level. Cook up your

own fish tale!

29} Oh, Yes You Canby Russel Fouts

Take down the NO

SMOKING signs and

start smoke firing in

your electric kiln.

35} Hang It Upby Annie Chrietzberg

Use Christine Boyd’s

method to store your

work on the wall in-

stead of hiding it away

in a cupboard.

48} Ad HocImpress your friends, improve your life and fill your brain with informa-tion about firing.

On the Cover

Lisa Merida-Paytes spins a tale about her catch of the day.

See story on page 22.

4 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

fired upInto the Fire

Providing “ceramic techniques” is our guiding mission and we’re constantly looking for those techniques we think you’ll find both challenging

and creative. Since pottery making is in our title, who would have thought we’d be talking about glass? But we are. In this issue, we strayed from the one true ceramic path just a little by including our very first non-clay-related articles (see “A Touch of Glass” (p. 17) and “Glass Act” (p. 10)).

We thought you might find articles on working with glass interesting since many of you already own the most important item you need—an elec-tric kiln with an electronic controller. And glass slumping also requires the use of bisque pieces to serve as molds. To explain all this, retired glass guru Henry Halem, a potter turned glass worker, teaches the basics for fusing and slumping.

If you’ve never tried working in this alternative fired art, Maria Moran and Brad Walker provide a brief overview of glass types and compatibility in “Supply Room” intended as a door opener to a whole new creative activity you can enjoy with your kiln. You’ll also find some recommended books and online sites of interest. Let us know what you think about glass and if you’d like to see any other fired arts covered.

In line with using your kiln for creative techniques, Russel Fouts returns to explain how you can do smoke firing in your electric kiln without harm-ing the elements. As you may recall, Russel wrote about various resists used in saggar firing (“Pièce de Résistance,” PMI Jul/Aug 2006 and reprinted in Surface Decoration: Finishing Techniques). Being able to experiment with smoke firing in your electric kiln makes working with resists hard to resist.

One of the things that really surprised us this month was in the results to our online survey on firing. Nearly 40% of you said you’d like to fire with gas/propane, try some salt/soda firings or raku within in the next two years. And even more surprising was the nearly 35% of you who wanted to try your hand at wood firing.

Firing work can be both exciting and daunting. While the process renders a once pliable material stone-like, some artists show us that the kiln can be an active tool you can return to over and over again. Re-do the smoke pat-tern on a piece, re-slump glass to a different shape, raku a sculpture again to get the right surface effect. Kilns simply add value.

Bill JonesEditor

“Clayware has no value until it has been fired. The kiln is therefore the potter’s most important piece of equipment.”

—Michael Cardew

Volume 12 • Number 4

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6 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

in the mixColor Testingby Robin Hopper

There are many methods of color mixing to develop colored glazes, or to observe the reactions of colorants with glazes.

The simplest I have found for the purposes of quickly testing colorants in small batches of glaze is to use small test tiles. For testing a single glaze in this method seven tiles per colo-rant test are used.

Mix 100 grams of base glaze with water in 1. a bowl to a normal brushing consistency or glaze thickness.Weigh out 10 grams of colorant (oxide, car-2. bonate, or stain) and place it on a clean, glossy surface (tile or paper). Flatten the color into a square or rectangular shape, using the side of a palette knife. Divide the material in half, then into quarters. Divide one quarter into two, and then one of these portions into two, so that it looks like the illustration at right. All divisions can be done visually.Use test tiles of bisque-fired clay, with com-3. monly used slips, if desired, to observe a wide range of effects.Brush the base glaze on the control tile (tile 0).4. Add pile #1 of the colorant to the base glaze, 5. mix thoroughly, and apply to tile #1.Add pile #2 of the colorant to the mix, stir 6. thoroughly, and apply to tile #2.Add pile #3 to the mix, stir well, and apply to 7. tile #3.Add pile #4 to the mix, stir well, and apply to 8. tile #4.

This is a color progression “pie”. Add a pile to the base glaze batch, make a test, then add the next pile in sequence.

Set-up with a colorant divided and ready for testing. This system provides information on six variations.

The glaze shown here is colored with six progressive additions of color. Although you may not want to achieve a vari-ety of separately colored glazes, color progressions give a good view of how different colorants will behave in a glaze when applied in different intensities. For instance, if you were to apply a loaded brush of copper/water solution over a white glaze, you could expect the range of color shown in the line of tiles above.

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 7

Add pile #5 to the mix, stir well, 9. and apply to tile #5.Add pile #6 to the mix, stir well, 10. and apply to tile #6.Fire the tiles to the required tem-11. perature and record your results and observations.

ResultsThe approximate degree of satura-tion of colorant in the glaze will be:Control tile = base glaze only

Tile #1 = base glaze plus 0.625% color (pile #1)Tile #2 = base glaze plus 1.25% color (piles 1 & 2)Tile #3 = base glaze plus 2.5% color (piles 1 thru 3)Tile #4 = base glaze plus 5.0% color (piles 1 thru 4)Tile #5 = base glaze plus 7.5% color (piles 1 thru 5)Tile #6 = base glaze plus 10.0% color (piles 1 thru 6)

Although not scientifically ac-curate, this test method provides a good guide to the probable final color and can be the basis for fur-ther experimentation of a more spe-cific nature. For some colors, such as copper reds, 10% colorant will be far too much to produce reds, and the saturation will invariably turn to metallic black. However, there are often instances where un-usual and interesting color variants develop only when there is a high saturation of color. For some other colorants, including some com-mercial stains, even 10% may not be enough to give the desired color strength, and as much as 20% may be needed.

For lighter or darker colors, the colorant volume may be halved or doubled, you can use this system, but instead of 10 grams of color to 100 grams of base glaze, use either 5 or 20 grams of color to 100 grams of glaze. All of the glaze guidelines are written in a “parts by weight” system. The materials are therefore in ratio to each other and it makes no difference how much glaze is being made. As long as the ratio

is kept correct when the glazes are made up into a batch, the units of weight can be ounces, grams, pounds, or tons.

Having the tests done with colo-rants up to 10% gives a great record of potential color range. Exploring glazes in this way will develop a huge palette for the artist.

What you decide to add to the base glaze is up to you. You can blend two colorants for the development of pastel colors or mix the colorant with

an opacifier. Use a separate palette for each material and test various combi-nations, e.g., add pile # 1 from the first ingredient then add the sequence of piles from the second ingredient. Con-tinue with these types of progressions and you’ll find that testing is not quite as time consuming as you thought. n

This article is excerpted from Robin Hopper’s book The Ceramic Spec-trum. For more information on this and other Robin Hopper books, visit www.CeramicArtsDaily.org/bookstore.

8 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

tools of the tradeTaking Controlby David Gamble

Computers make a lot of tasks in today’s world much simpler, and using one to

fire a kiln is no exception. What can a computer controller do for you? Most importantly, it can save you time and energy and allow you to get consistent firings. You can choose a pre-programmed firing mode that al-lows you to determine how fast you want to fire, how long you want the kiln to preheat, which cone you want to fire to and how long you want to hold the kiln at its final temperature. Or you can elect to program every phase of the firing yourself for your specific needs.

Pre-programmed firing modes vary with different controllers and are in-fluenced by the size of the ware load and the voltage. Larger loads and a lower range of required voltage both slow the firing. The controllers can be programmed to slow down at the right times for the bisque and incorporate a soak/hold at the end of the firing to allow glazes to smooth out.

Then there are the customized programs you can create with specialized ramps and hold times—firing up or down—allowing you to fire something as complicated as zinc or iron crystals and even glass. Con-trollers can retain up to 12 custom programs, with the exact number varying between models.

Many controllers also have a delay program that starts a firing at a designated time (even if that’s 2 AM), ensuring that you can be there

to watch it shut off at the end of the firing, but that you don’t have to be there in the middle of the night to turn it on or up.

When buying a new kiln, a com-puter controller is certainly worth

the added expense. But if you want to keep your current kiln and it doesn’t have a controller, then a wall-mounted controller unit could be the update you need.

How It WorksFirst, a kiln is plugged into the wall-mounted controller and the control-ler is plugged into the power source. This allows the controller to regu-late the flow of electricity that goes on to power the kiln. The electricity flow is regulated based on tempera-ture readings from a thermocouple, which comes with the unit and needs to be installed through the kiln brick wall so that it extends into the firing chamber. (Note: Some kilns have a small round hole in the metal casing of the kiln just for this purpose. The exposed brick can be easily drilled through to install the

thermocouple.) Note: For all kilns, be sure that the hole you cre-ate does not interfere with the elements.

The thermocouple is secured in place with a flange so that the wire end extends about an inch into the firing

chamber. The temperature reading is sent back to the controller, which compares it to the desired program and either increases or decreases the power to the elements.

If your kiln has a Kiln Sitter, you will need to override it and the timer for the controller to work. Place a small cone in the sitter that is two cones higher than your target temperature and make sure the timer

While most new kilns come with an automatic kiln controller, a wall-mounted kiln controller can be added to an existing kiln. You can use the firing programs that come with it or develop custom programs to suit your needs.

Check the electrical specifications for your kiln before you order anything. Note the amps, volts, watts and phase of your kiln as well as the plug/outlet configuration, which can vary widely, shown in the examples above.

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 9

has enough hours on it to complete your programmed firing. (I’ve been victim to not placing enough hours on the timer and having it shut the power off before the controller’s programmed firing is complete.) Finally, set all the kiln switches on high before starting the firing, and the controller will do all of the actual switching from low to high. But note that wall-mounted controllers turn all the switches on and off at the same time, there is no zone control.

RecommendationsFirst of all, for a controller to work properly, the kiln you install it on needs to be functioning properly. If it isn’t, you should replace the ele-ments, check connections and relays and make sure the Kiln Sitter you’re going to override is set and properly calibrated. Problems with any of these components may cause the kiln to shut off before the controller finishes its fir-ing program.

Next, does your kiln plug into the wall or is it direct wired? If your kiln has a plug that can be pulled out from the wall socket, adding a controller is very simple. Write down the voltage and phase type (found on the kiln’s name plate) and look at the style of plug you have. Give this information to your local ceramic supplier and they can order a wall-mounted controller for your specific type of kiln.

If your kiln is direct wired, the conversion process is a bit more complicated and you may need to hire an electrician to wire the kiln into the controller and the controller into the power source.

Wall-mounted controllers cost about $800 to $1000. Amaco, Olympic, Orton, Paragon and Skutt have wall-mounted controllers available, and other kiln manufacturers are currently developing their own or will recom-mend an acceptable supplier with models compatible with their kilns.

Another alternative is to remove the Kiln Sitter and purchase a new con-trol box with an electronic control-ler. However, this is relatively pricey

and requires rewiring the kiln, which takes considerable time and more mechanical expertise. For direct-wired kilns, there is the additional cost of an electrician.

For ease of firing and greater control, the wall-mounted control-ler unit could be just the update you need for your kiln. All you need to do is balance the age of your kiln and how well it’s functioning plus the cost and installation of a con-

troller against purchasing a new kiln with the controller option. And you could sell your old kiln, use it as a backup or perhaps strip out all the elements and convert it to a gas-fired raku/soda kiln adding to your firing options. n

David Gamble is a frequent contributor to PMI. He holds masters degrees from Edin-boro and Indiana State Universities in art education and fine arts and currently serves as an education consultant for Skutt.

10 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

supply roomGlass Actby Maria Moran

Just as there are scores of different types of clay bodies with different characteristics, glass is no different. Before attempting your hand at a glass project, there

you’ll need to know a few basics about glass and glass products. Glass expert Brad Walker provides some advice.

What kind of glass should you use? You can use any glass for fusing and slumping, but some glass works better than others. Even ordinary window glass can be used, although most people prefer colored glass similar to that used in stained glass work. It’s likely that you’ll want to combine more than one sheet of glass in your projects. If so, then you’ll need to make sure the glass you select is “compatible.”

What’s compatibility?Compatibility is a way of saying that the different pieces of glass you use will expand and contract at similar rates. Using incompatible glass weakens your project and may cause cracking or even shattering of the piece when it cools. There are many different production methods and recipes for making glass. As a result, there are almost as many different types of glass as there are glass artists who want to use them. Types of glass range from basic win-dow glass (called float glass) and brightly colored stained glass (also called art glass) to many types of glass in numerous sub-types and categories. There are also many types of glass coatings, such as iridescent and dichroic, which have unique properties when applied to glass. All of these different glass types are candidates for fusing, slump-ing, and other kiln-forming processes. Some can be used off the shelf, but others require testing to make sure they’ll work in your kiln.

To better understand compatibility, let’s consider what happens when glass is heated. Like clay, glass expands when it gets hot and contracts when it cools. This change in density occurs at the molecular level and can be mea-sured in a laboratory. This rate, known as the coefficient of expansion (COE), is usually expressed as a whole number rather than as a long decimal figure. For example, Bullseye, a glass manufacturer, makes a glass with a COE of 90, and you’ll often hear glass artists refer to it as “COE90 glass”. Spectrum, another common glass, has a COE of around 96, while Corning’s Pyrex has a 32 COE. Standard window glass has a COE around 84-87, while

Effetre (Moretti) glass, commonly used for lampworking, has a 104 COE. These differences in expansion and con-traction may not sound like much, but they’re significant and can be the demise of a beautiful piece of artwork.

How It WorksTwo glasses with considerably different COEs are said to be incompatible. They cannot be fused together and should be kept in separate areas of the studio to prevent their accidentally becoming intermingled. This is especially critical because you can’t always tell incompatible glasses just by sight. All may look fine to the naked eye, but view-ing the glass with a polarized film (stressometer) shows the underlying stress which may produce cracks in the future.

You can sometimes get away with using two different glasses where the COE numbers vary by only one or two (say, a 90 with a 91), but not always. There are really only two ways to know for sure if your glass is compatible:

Use glass that has already been “Tested Compatible” by 1. the manufacturer.Conduct compatibility testing on your own. To do this, 2. take a base glass with a known COE and fuse small squares of the glass to be tested to it, then examine the fused strip by sandwiching it between two strips of polarized film.

Supplies needed for glass fusing and slumping: (1) felt-tip pen, (2) glass cutting oil, (3) glass cutter, (4) grozing pliers, (5) breaking pliers, (6) circle cutter, (7) glass (many shapes and sizes), (8) bisque molds, (9) fiber molds, (10) fiber sheets, (11) pencil, (12) metal ruler, (13) heat-proof gloves, (14) kiln wash, (15) stressometer (or strain viewer). From Bettina Eberle’s Creative Glass, AC Black Publishing.

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 11

Note: Whichever method you choose one point remains—keep different COEs separated and well labeled in your studio.

What’s AvailableGlass comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, and here are some of the more common ones:

Sheet glass—relatively flat, up to 30 l

inches wide. Sheet glass is typically 1/8-in. (3mm) thick but thinner and thicker varieties are availableFrit—small, irregularly shaped l

glass pieces, available in sizes that range from around 1/2 in. (6mm) in width to powdersStringer—long, thin threads of glass, l

about 1mm in diameter and up to around 18 in. (45cm) in length. Thicker stringers and related shapes (called “noodles”) are also available from some manufacturersRods—round cylinders of glass l

about 4–5mm in diameter and up to around 18 inches in length

Shards and confetti—slices of glass l

that are slightly thicker than a sheet of paperCullet, billets, patties, and dalle— l

various sizes and shapes of glass “chunks” used primarily for casting

SourcesThere are many sources for purchas-ing glass. Wholesale options, such as Ed Hoy’s International, exist for businesses. Hobbyists can order supplies directly from some manu-

The same glass between polarized film and viewed on a light table. The halos around the Spectrum squares indicate stress due to lack of com-patibility. The Bullseye square in the middle has no halo and is Bullseye compatible with the base glass.

Base clear glass with three fused squares from two suppliers: the dark blue are 96COE Spectrum, while the middle square and the base glass are both 90COE Bullseye. To the naked eye, the glass appears to have suc-cessfully fused.

facturers or from a local art glass retail store. Some ceramic supply companies also offer a full line of glass supplies. n

This tutorial is a condensed version of copyrighted material from Brad Walker’s book, Contemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping, and Related Kiln-forming Techniques. For more information on glass and glass techniques, visit Brad’s site at www.WarmGlass.com.

Maria Moran is the business development specialist for Ed Hoy’s International, www.EdHoy.com.

12 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

tips from the prosSquare Dancingby Dick Lehman

Several decades ago, I attended an NCECA conference in San Antonio. I was only a few years

into my life as a full-time potter and was especially keen to see a demon-stration by John Glick, the ‘godfa-ther of American studio ceramics’ and one of my heroes. As the “Roger Bannister” of potters, he broke the four-minute mile for studio potters, showing that it was possible to be a self-sustaining studio potter while pursuing a life’s dream. Now I finally had the opportunity to see him work first-hand!

Although I only remember a few aspects of John’s presentation, I do specifically remember that John used a wooden template to cre-ate a beaded foot on some large flat bowls. After he established the foot, he cut and overlapped the rim of the bowl, a design recognized as vintage Glick (www.plumtreepottery.com). Then—and this is the im-portant part—he used that wooden template to “draw” a series of backward “C’s” into the foot of the pot as the pot slowly turned. The result was a kind of lobed foot that mimicked the wave action of the bowl’s rim.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I’m in my studio working on some new low baking dish forms. I dredged up that long-ago workshop memory and decided to try Glick’s footing method using my own wooden template, hoping to discover something about the process that I could use—something of integrity that was tied to my own aesthetic and not just a mim-icking of his design.

Here, of course, is where the genius of individual temperament and neurological wiring take over. My natural inclination toward “lysdexia” (dyslexia) kicked in, and instead of carving backward C’s into the foot with the wooden rib, I began unconsciously carving big looping forward-facing C’s! So instead of a lotus-like lobing of the foot, my pot suddenly became a beautiful six-sided baking dish. I could hardly be-lieve the fortuitous consequence of my dyslexia!

Square altered bowl, 12 in. (30 cm) in width, stoneware, fired to cone 10 re-duction, 2009.

Begin by throwing a low, wide, straight-sided cylinder.

Profile of the wooden rib used to create the beaded foot and square off the pot.

1

2

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 13

From this discovery, I quickly moved to making three-sided, squared, rectangular, five-sided and oval forms. I made taller jars and vases, large serving bowls and bottles, and before long, a handled, dancing diamond-shaped baking dish, the body of which is made from one piece of clay.

Throwing the FormTo create a diamond-shaped baking dish, begin by throwing a low, straight-sided cylinder (figure 1). I used about four pounds of clay for the piece shown in this demonstration. Next, with the wheel spinning, create a beaded foot by pressing a notched wooden rib (figure 2) against the outside of the cylinder at a 45° angle (figure 3). I usually choose to add some design lines to the rim so that the later alteration becomes more pronounced due to the repeated lines and shadows (figure 4).

For the rib, you can make your own by using a file to create a contour of your own design in the edge of a plain wooden rib. The rib shown in the photos is one that I made from three thin sheets of osage orange glued together with the grain of the wood alternating at 90° angles. After cutting out the contour of the rib, I sanded the edges smooth. (Note: Maple, beech or any fruit wood (apple, pear, cherry) are suitable woods to use for making pottery tools.)

Altering the FormTo begin squaring the form, designate the four corners. I often put marks on the bat or place little balls of clay on the wheel head to mark these corners. Next, with the wheel rotating very slowly, begin gently pushing the wooden template into the four sides between the marks, releasing pressure when you get to the corners (figure 5). The shape does not change abruptly so the pot may re-volve ten or twelve times until you achieve a fairly square profile (figure 6). You may notice that where the wall has been pushed inward, little “wrinkles” will form on the inside corners where the inside wall meets the bottom of the pot. This is not a problem and a gentle sponging will smooth those wrinkles.

To accentuate the sense of square-ness, gently pull the corners outward with one finger (figure 7). If you simply want a square pot, you could stop at this point. I usu-ally continue by articulating the foot— pushing it even farther with the wooden rib, creating a kind of “dancing square” shape (figure 8). Then I manipulate the rim to mimic the foot’s articulation and line (figure 9).

Finishing TouchesFor a dish to be used in the oven, I attach handles while the pot is still wet on the wheel (figure 10). These handles can be pulled from a lump of clay, made from rolled coils or slabs, or extruded. The finished form (fig-

With the wheel spinning, create the beaded foot by pressing the rib against the outside of the form at a 45° angle.

Add design lines to the rim. These will be accentuated later by the alterations to the shape.

Designate the four corner areas, then begin squaring the form by pressing the rib into the four sides. Release pres-sure as you approach the corners.

Change the shape of the pot gradually, over the course of 10 to12 revolutions of the wheel.

3

4

5

6

14 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

ure 11) reveals the shape of this dancing-square pot, and a detail image of the articulation I added to the exterior of the foot (figure 12). This method works equally well for making rectangular and oval forms. Taller forms can be altered by the same method to create, for example, square vases. n

Dick Lehman is a full-time potter living in Goshen, Indiana. To see more of his work, visit his website at www.dicklehman.com.

Detail of an undulating squared-off baker made directly on the wheel.

Using one finger, pull the corners gently outward to ac-centuate the square shape.

Articulate the foot by pressing in at intervals to create a “dancing square” shape.

Manipulate the rim to mimic the articulation and lines of the beaded foot.

Pull, extrude or roll out two small lug handles and attach them while the pot is still on the wheel.

Overhead view showing the undulating shape of the pot. Detail showing the articulation and indentations made to the outside of the pot during the squaring process.

7

9 10

8

11 12

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 15

16 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 17

A Touch of GlassGlass Fusing and Slumping

by Anderson Turner

ou may not realize it, but most commercial electric kilns can be programmed to fire glass as well as pottery. If you walk into almost any contemporary craft gallery, you’ll see examples

of slumped or fused glass, and maybe become a bit curi-ous about the process involved. I was and so I visited Henry Halem, a former potter and veteran glass worker, to find out how the whole process worked. Basically, if you own or have access to a kiln with an electronic controller, there are a few basic techniques you can easily explore, including cut-ting, fusing and slumping glass.

Getting StartedBefore you fuse or slump your glass, you’ll need to learn how to cut it to the proper size and shape. There’s a Zen to cutting glass, and according to Halem, the glass knows your insecurity. With practice, though, you’ll gain confidence and you’ll also better understand your tools and materials.

For straight cuts, place the straightedge on the glass and place your hand on it firmly. (Note: Many kinds of glass have a ‘rough’ side and a ‘smooth’ side based on the manu-facturing method. Always cut on the smooth side of glass.) Next, hold the glass cutter firmly, and making sure not to press too hard or too light, pull the cutter toward you from the top edge to the bottom edge of the glass, keeping the pressure consistent throughout the cut (figure 1). Different

types of glass require different amounts of pressure, which you’ll learn from experience after you’ve cut various types of glass a number of times.

After scoring the glass, take the breaking pliers, grip the glass below the cut you just made (figure 2) and snap or separate the glass along the break line by flexing the glass on either side of the line (imagine trying to bend it into a “U” shape) (figure 3). You should practice on different thick-

Y What You NeedElectric kiln with computer controllerFusible glass or fusing compatible glassGlass cutter—buy only from a glass supplier Straight edgeBreaking pliersFrits and Stringers - available from glass suppliersFiber paper (a.k.a. thin fire shelf paper)Strips of paperStainless angle iron or cut kiln shelves

NoteBuy a quality glass cutter from a glass supplier. It makes your experience much easier. And rather than buying any of the special oils available to store your cutter in, use kerosene, and create a homemade storage container for it using a glass jar with a hole cut out of the lid. Add just enough kerosene to cover the blade and cover the opening with plastic before securing the lid.

A pottery kiln with an electronic controller opens the door to working with glass. Experimenting with fusing and slumping will get you started.

18 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

nesses of plate glass available at any hardware store or home center (ask if they have any scrap they want to dispose of).

Cutting curves works very much the same as cutting with a straight edge. Halem free-hands the curves, but you may want to draw your pattern with a Sharpie or something that cleans off easily. Again, practice makes perfect. Apply equal pressure to the cutting tool with both hands and cut your curve (figure 4). A curve takes more practice than a straight line. Separate the two pieces either by using the breaking pliers, or by gently tapping along the break line under the glass with the cutting tool (figure 5). Again, practice, practice, prac-tice. (Tip: You can go to www.YouTube.com and search for cutting stained glass to find video clips that may help. Watch several to get an idea.)

Fusing GlassFusing glass is where pieces of glass are joined by melt-ing them together with the goal to create a solid piece of glass from many individual pieces. There are many different types of glass (just like clay bodies) available, suited to a wide variety of uses, from Pyrex that goes into the oven to green glass for making wine bottles. For fusing different types of glass, you’ll need pieces that have the same thermal expansion and viscosity (see “Supply Room” p. 10).

To begin, clean every piece of glass thoroughly then start cutting your glass into various shapes and forms appropriate for your desired composition, keeping in mind that the final piece needs to fit on your slump

Using a straight edge as a guide, hold the glass cutter firmly, pull it from the top edge to the bottom edge.

After scoring the glass, grip the glass below the cut line you just made.

Holding the glass firmly, snap the glass in two by flexing it on either side of the line.

When cutting a curve, apply equal pressure to the cutting tool with both hands.

Separate the two pieces using the breaking pliers or by tapping the cutting tool along the break line.

Clean every piece of glass thoroughly then start cutting your glass into various shapes.

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PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 19

mold (figure 6). In addition to cut glass, you can cre-ate spots and patterns of different color on the com-position with frits (figure 7) while stringers can add linear elements to the composition (figure 8). Create your composition by placing the cut glass pieces on a larger, clear piece of plate glass (figure 9). The stringers and frits can be overlapped to achieve depth within the composition (figure 10).

When you’re ready to fuse the glass, lay fiber paper in your kiln so that the plate glass won’t stick to the shelf and lay the composition directly onto the paper (figure 11). Cut strips of fiber paper, arrange stainless angle iron around the artwork and line them with the fiber paper. This prevents the glass from spreading out during the firing and ruining your kiln shelves. You can also use cut kiln shelves or simply stack up

strips of fiber paper to create the frame (figure 12). Fire and cool the glass according to the suggested schedule for the type of glass you purchased. After firing the piece in your kiln, clean up the edges using a belt sander (figure 13).

Slumping Glass To take the flat fused glass composition you made from a flat plane to a curved shape, you can refire it over a slump mold. Make a slump mold by draping a clay slab over a curved form. Place a piece of paper or canvas onto the form so that the clay slab releases easily (figure 14). Lay the clay slab over the form and gently compress the clay with a rib until it conforms to the desired contour and allow it to slow-ly dry in place. Bisque fire the clay slab once it has completely dried out. Set the bisqued slump mold into your kiln, line the

Use colored frits in your composition to create patterns and spots.

Stringers, shown here in a variety of colors, add linear ele-ments to the composition.

Place the cut glass pieces, frits and stringers onto a larger, clear piece of plate glass.

Overlapping the stringers and frits creates depth within the composition

Place a piece of fiber paper into the kiln then carefully place your composition on top.

Create a frame around the piece to prevent the glass from spreading out during the firing.

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slump mold with fiber paper and place the glass directly onto the paper (figure 15). Firing the work will cause the glass to become softer, and it will then take the form of the mold beneath, thus slumping (figure 16).

Firing GlassThe important thing about firing glass is to heat it evenly so no stresses develop between warmer and cooler areas, which will cause the glass to crack. Kilns made specifically for firing glass have a heating element in the lid in addition to those in the sides. If you use your pottery kiln, you can adjust for this by placing your glass project further down into the kiln. To assure that the temperature of the glass remains consistent, the kiln must heat and cool evenly, and the computer con-troller helps here.

To program a controller in hours per degree, divide the temperature you wish to achieve by the degrees per hour. Example: 1250°F divided by 200°F equals 6 hours and 15 minutes. The speed of the slump is a factor of time and temperature. The glass will slump at a lower temperature 1150°F but will take a bit longer. The higher the tempera-ture, the faster the slump but you’re apt to pick up texture where the bottom touches the slump mold. Here is a typical slumping schedule for use with 1/4-inch glass but please note that this is a very basic slumping program. There are many other factors that affect slumping.

Step 1. Raise temperature 200°F per hour to 1200–1350°F. Hold for 5–15 minutesStep 2. AFAP* down to 960°F. Hold for 1.5 hoursStep 3. Lower temperature 100°F per hour to 700°FStep 4. Kiln off, remove from kiln when warm to touch.*As Fast As Possible

For Further ExplorationHere are some good books on fusing and slumping:Warm Glass: A Complete Guide to Kiln-Forming Tech-niques: Fusing, Slumping, CastingContemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping & Kiln-Forming Techniques (see “Supply Room” p. 10.)For the advanced enthusiast, see Glass Notes: A reference for the Glass Artist by Henry Halem Additional information on using your kiln for glass work is available on most kiln manufacturer websites.n

Anderson Turner is the Director of Galleries for the Kent State University, School of Art, as well as an artist/farmer/writer/editor (www.luckypennyfarm.com).

For information on Henry Halem and his book, go to www.glassnotes.com.

After firing the piece, clean up any sharp edges using a belt sander.

Create a slump mold by draping a clay slab over a curved form and bisque fire the slab when dry.

Line the bisqued slump mold with fiber paper and place the composition on top.

Firing softens the glass and it conforms to the shape of the mold.

Who is Henry Halem and why should you know about him? Henry is a glassworker and the author of the book, Glass Notes, A Reference For The Glass Artist. Halem retired in 1998, after spending 29 years teaching at Kent State University (Ohio). During his tenure, he built the university’s glass program into one of inter-national reputation. Many of his former students have become major names in the glass art field and main-tain studios throughout the United States. Halem’s work has been exhibited throughout the world and is found in many major private and museum collec-tions. He and a few other glass artists helped found the Glass Art Society (GAS) of which he served as their first president, and in 2008 GAS awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award.

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A Texas potter makes 1,300pound quilts with her Paragon

Dragon

2011 South Town East Blvd.,Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557Toll Free Fax 888-222-6450www.paragonweb.cominfo@paragonweb.com

BetterDesigned

Kilns

As a child, Earline Green made hand-stitched quilts withher grandmother Mama Freddie. Earline spent more timequilting with the older ladies than she did playing with chil-dren her own age. Her early experiences with the lively quilterstaught her a life-long love of artwork.

Earline’s other grandmother, Mama Ginger, taught heradvanced quilting patterns. Later this influenced the design ofEarline’s stoneware quilt tile mosaics displayed in the en-trance of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Lancaster-Kiest Libraryin Dallas, Texas. For that project, Earline fired 284 whitestoneware tiles—all in her faithful Paragon Dragon.

“The Dragon's design and controls are perfect for firinglarge flat pieces,” said Earline. “The digital programming con-trols provide a consistent firing environment that eliminatedcracks and warpage in this project.

Earline Green with her Paragon Dragon front-loading kiln. This kiln is be-coming a favorite with potters. It is easy to load, heavily insulated, and de-signed to reach cone 10 with power to spare.

Earline Green’sclay spirit quiltson display inthe DunbarLancaster-KiestBranch Libraryin Dallas,Texas.

“During tile production, I fired my Dragon two or threetimes a week for four to six weeks at a time. I expected and re-ceived excellent results with each firing.”

Contact us today for more information on the excitingDragon kiln. Ask about the new easy-open switch box hingedat the bottom. Call us for the name of your local Paragon dis-tributor.

22 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

y father’s taxidermist and slaughterhouse busi-ness was an overwhelming environment for me as a child. Scenes of hanging carcasses of deer, piles of sawed-off animal feet and freezers full of animal hides left me with powerful images,

ones that presented a lack of empathy for life. The goal of my artwork is to create a sensory experi-

ence or narrative that refers to memories of this provoca-tive atmosphere, and also to evoke the animal spirit that was once destroyed and to make amends for the discord and waste. While my father’s vocation was to permanent displays frozen in time, my work conjures the past, pres-ent and future to invoke a contemplation of our exis-

tence. I attempt to expose the unseen core, the essential structure of skeletal or embryonic animal references. I find that these references offer me an opportunity to un-derstand our own growth and decay.

Catch of the DayThere are many ways to prepare fish—fried, grilled, smoked, sautéed—however, you can make a clay fish us-ing a plaster mold and “barbecue” it in a raku firing. Ironically, my mold (figure 1) is the same taxidermist mold that my father used for thirty-five years to mount fish. I remember the day I helped him make that plaster mold after he caught a twelve pound bass and decided to make it one of his ‘frozen memories’.

Fish Talesby Lisa Merida-Paytes

This 14 in. (36 cm) raku-fired, skeletal fish was carved and mounted on driftwood by Lisa Merida-Paytes. She started the piece, titled Upstream, 2008, using a plaster taxidermist mold her father originally used for mounting fish.

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M

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 23

To follow the process for creating a skeletal fish similar to the ones I use in my work, begin with twenty pounds of white raku clay (or whatever amount is appropriate for the scale of your press mold). Compress the clay into the completely dry plaster mold (figures 2 and 3). Smooth out the surface of the clay and allow it to stiffen for at least two hours.

As soon as the clay sets up, gently begin to separate it from the plaster mold (figure 4). Next, cut away the excess clay using a fettling knife (figures 5 and 6). Begin to bend and alter the fish into a more active gesture (figure 7) and prop it up using wads of clay so that it main-tains this shape.

Now you’re ready to begin carving away the clay to create the skeletal framework of the fish. Use small and large loop tools to carve the space between the spine and the ribs, and define where the skull begins (figure 8). In addition to carving, add more clay to enhance the form, creating a more anatomical structure. For in-stance, add more clay to the body to create a fish tail. And other objects can be used to create texture, for ex-ample I use a sea shell to imprint a simple line pattern on the tail (figure 9). Finish defining the head by add-ing and subtracting clay to define the eye and mouth area if desired.

After completing the body and tail structure, use a wooden skewer to pierce the head and bore out a hole for hanging (figure 10), then clean up any loose bits of clay that might block this opening. Next, cover the clay sculpture with plastic and let it set up for up to three days so that the carving won’t be distorted when you work on the other side. Slowly unwrap the piece and gently flip it over to carve out the back side, following the same steps as above.

When finished, allow the piece to dry for about a week under plastic, then unwrap it and let it dry out completely. Allow it to dry slowly for up to two weeks because the uneven thickness created by the carving and handbuild-ing processes may make it prone to cracking. Taking this extra time helps ensure a safe passage through the bisque firing. Bisque fire to only cone 05, this leaves the pores of the clay body more ‘open’, which will later allow the raku firing post-reduction to impregnate carbon into the clay.

MarinateAfter the bisque, you can apply glazes by brushing, dip-ping, pouring, etc., to suit your own aesthetic. Whatev-er your method of glazing, remember that applying the

glaze is just as important as the glaze itself, and where and how the glaze is placed on the piece can enhance, emphasize or obscure particular areas. I like to apply glazes with several acrylic brushes, a pointer to retain a high degree of accuracy and several soft towels for ap-plying and wiping away large areas of glaze. I’ve found that wiping off the surface of a freshly applied glaze with a towel allows the carbon from the post-reduction process to partially enter the clay body, creating a mot-tled effect. As a result of diverse glazing techniques, the

ceramic piece might have three coats of glaze applied next to an area that only has one coat of glaze, or even an area that hasn’t been glazed at all.

Tip: As I apply glazes to my pieces, I take lots of notes and draw dia-grams in a sketchbook. By record-ing good notes, it’s possible to de-velop a ‘quasi’ controlled outcome in the unpredictable firing process. For the past several years I’ve used five glazes. Three are from Amaco’s Old World Crackle Series (Fog Gray, Amber and Satin White), while the remaining two are recipes I mix in my studio (White Crackle and Cop-per Matt.) All five glazes mature be-tween cones 06–05.

I’ve been very selective about my glazes because I want a wide varia-tion of color, hue and texture in my palette. I knew that the more glazes I introduced, the less control I would have on the surface effects

and I wanted the glazes and alternative firing process to enhance my sculptural forms. Through countless fir-ings and a limited number of glazes, I’ve been able to achieve a wide range of surface color and texture us-ing the variables of the glaze selection and application, firing temperature and atmosphere of the kiln and the post-reduction chamber.

BarbecueAfter glazing, make a bed of combustibles in a metal can for post-firing reduction. When making the bed, think how a bird would make a nest and use sawdust, news-paper, straw, etc., to make the perfect nest for your piece (figure 11). I prefer using a combination of combustibles to prolong the smoldering period, which is usually 15-20 minutes. I use pine wood chips, sawdust, shredded news-paper and a little bit of straw or leaves. You can buy pine wood chips in pet supply stores as pet bedding in several different sizes. I like to use more pine wood chips rather than sawdust for two reasons: pine burns hotter than oth-er woods and the wood chips are larger than sawdust,

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 23

The raku firing process is an an-cient Japanese art form, combin-ing chemistry, fire and smoke to produce dramatic displays of color. Specifically, after glazed bisque ware is fired to 1600–1800°F, the kiln is opened and the pieces are removed with tongs. Then the pieces are put in a container with combustible material, dried leaves, sawdust, newspaper, straw—anything that will burn—then the lid is shut. The burning flame needs oxygen to breathe and since it is smothered, a reduction atmo-sphere is created and the flame begins to search within the clay body and glazes for oxygen. This post-reduction process is why the beautiful colors and surface qualities are so unique.

Raku Firing

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My dad’s plaster mold of a twelve pound bass. Pressing and scoring clay into the plaster mold.

Pushing and hammering clay into the plaster mold to remove any air pockets.

After the clay has stiffened, carefully pull the form out of the plaster mold.

Trim unwanted clay from the sides and bottom of the form with a sharp tool such as a fettling knife.

Continue to trim clay while bending the fish to form your desired shape.

Make a Fish that Tells Its Own Tale!

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Compress and shape the clay with your hands to add a natural look and more dynamic curve.

Use various sized loop tools to carve away and define the fish skeleton.

While shaping the tail, imprint natural and repetitive sur-face patterns using a shell.

Use a long wooden skewer or any sharp tool to bore a hole through the fish head for hanging.

Prepare a nest of combustibles including sawdust, news-paper and straw in a trash can.

Place the bisque fired and glazed sculpture vertically inside the raku kiln to avoid possible breakage on carved areas.

At temperature, gently grab the fish’s body close to the tail with metal tongs and place it into the metal can.

Carefully scrub the cooled piece with water to remove the carbon on the surface.

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which allows for more air flow in the chamber. Using sawdust in the bed makes the can smolder for a longer period of time, and a small amount of shredded newspa-per ignites the wood chips, while straw and leaves actu-ally imprint their organic textures on the ceramic pieces as they burn. The smoldering of combustibles helps make the glazes appear to have depth versus using more newspaper which burns fast and creates only a carbon-filled surface.

After the bed of combustibles is made, place your piece in the kiln (figure 12) and raku fire to 1600–1800°F, depending on your glazes. Using raku tongs and protective wear, gently grab the fish from the kiln and place it in the post-firing re-duction chamber filled with com-bustible material (figure 13).

Note: Work in a well-ventilated environment. Extra airflow is ben-eficial with the combination of Sat-in White and White Crackle glazes over the ceramic surface. This rapid cooling causes the glazes to shrink even more, allowing for more car-bon to reach the body and create large, bold black lines.

Once the heat from the piece has ignited the combustible mate-rial, put a tight fitting lid on the can to create the post-firing reduc-tion. After the can has smoked for a least fifteen minutes, remove the piece and set it on a non-combus-tible surface to slowly cool. This is a very critical time because your piece is extremely hot and fragile and can break easily due to thermal shock. It’s imperative that you use a raku clay body contain-ing a medium grog and/or kyanite to withstand the rapid cooling that takes place. So, never throw water

on your handbuilt piece right away; the uneven thick-ness throughout the clay body will compound the stress caused by the sudden shock of temperature change, and may cause the piece to crack or break apart. Instead let the piece cool for another ten to fifteen minutes before ‘freezing’ the color with cool water.

Finally, use a scouring pad or kitchen scrubber to wash away the surface carbon (figure 14). I typically resist the urge to leave the metallic color, even though it can be very attractive, and continue to wash the surface to reveal an even more beautiful inherent coloration with many tonal

variations in the glaze and clay body under the surface carbon. Ex-periment, test and have fun!

My work has always considered the many possibilities of inherent coloration through experimenta-tion with various applications of color and firing techniques includ-ing raku, pit fire, gas kiln reduc-tion, etc. By varying the applica-tion of the versatile Copper Matt glaze, I’ve been able to produce a wide range of color that’s very re-ceptive to atmospheric changes in-side the kiln as well as outside the kiln during post-firing reduction. From experiments with the appli-cation of the glaze, I’ve been able to get a beautiful mottled surface with a gorgeous luster sheen and opalescent color. In particular, I’ve discovered that applying less is better—one thin coat of glaze that

is then wiped off with a dry towel works best to achieve a matt, speckled brilliant surface. n

Lisa Merida-Paytes has an M.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Cincinnati and is currently the Gallery Director at FUNKe Fired Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Raku Glaze Recipes

Copper Matt Cone 05–06

Gerstley Borate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 %Bone Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 100 %

Copper Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 %Cobalt Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 %

White Crackle Cone 05–06

Gerstley Borate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 .5 %Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 .8Barium Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 .9Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 .8 100 .0 %

Flat Fish Tales, 38 in. (97 cm)

installed, raku.

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h a n d m a d e t i l e & m o s a i c s

www.potterscouncil.org

Potters Council Regional Conference

Minneapolis, MN September 18-20, 2009

Featured Artists: carol Rose dean, Barbara Keith, Karin Kraemer, sheila menzies, carrie anne Parks, Joe taylor,

and louis and allen Voigt.

Conquering Everyday Challenges

Space is limited866.721.3322

www.ceramicartsdaily.org/education Host: Handmade Tile Association and Edina Art Center

www.handmadetileassociation.org

Artist: Carol Rose Dean

28 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 29

Oh, Yes You Can!

by Russel Fouts

I started experimenting with smoking pots in aluminum foil saggars in 1995 after Jane Waller mentioned the possibility in her handbuilding book. Just as many people first looked at soda firing as an alternative to salt firing, I first looked at using foil saggars as a replacement for sawdust or pit fir-

ing, but it soon revealed its own aesthetic, in the same way soda firing has.

The limits of aluminum foil saggar firing suited my own aesthetic perfectly. I like to work simply, within very

narrow constraints using a minimum of materials and techniques. To make my work, I use one clay body,

a white terra sigillata made from a high-fire ball clay, an orange terra sigillata made from my clay body, aluminum foil, black and white newspaper and an electric kiln. This focus forces me to use my own creativity and ingenuity.

PreparationBecause smoke doesn’t move in the aluminum foil saggar, you can’t rely on it to help randomly pattern the surface. Instead, I use various deco-rating techniques and bisque fire pieces first to harden the terra sigillata and decoration so that

it acts as a resist against the smoke during the smoke firing. In preparation for the smoke firing,

various materials can be used to create patterns. Experiment to see what works for your situation.

Smoke Firing in an Electric Kiln

Left: Plate made from appliqued torn slabs, 14 in. (36 cm) in diameter, earthenware, electric fired in aluminum foil saggar.

Above: Plate with crackle slip and smoke stenciled decora-tion, 14 in. (36 cm) in diameter, earthenware.

30 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

For my work, I normally bisque three or more times to 1650°F (900°C) or to about cone 010. After the first bisque, I apply white terra sigillata, then I bisque again to harden it. I bisque one more time after decorating the pot to harden an orange decorating terra sigillata and any other smoke resistant decoration.I’ve recently begun experimenting with bisque firing only once before the smoke firing. The bone dry pot is dipped in a terra sigillata, then it’s decorated and finally bisque fired. I didn’t do this before because my work was very thin and my breakage rate was high. I now make my work much heavier and it can withstand the bone dry dipping.

WrappingStart with two lengths of foil that are three times the di-ameter of the piece you want to wrap and lay them on top of each other. Fold one long edge over about 1½ inches and press flat, then repeat this twice to lock the two sheets together. Take the two ‘pages’ and open the sheets like a book, lay them flat and wrap normally. More sheets can be joined on either side as needed until you have a sheet large enough. Place the newspaper for smoking in the center of the sheet (figure 1). Place the bowl over the newspaper, making sure that you have at least 1½ inches on the short sides (figure 2). Place another piece of newspaper on the back of the bowl, if desired. I tore it in half for better coverage (figure 3). Bring up one of the long ends and crease it at the half-way point on the bottom of the bowl (figure 4), then fold up the other side to meet it and crease it as well. Do the same with the other long end. Bring the two long ends to-gether and fold in half (figure 5), then continue to fold this flap in half until it touches the top of the piece. Flatten the foil so it conforms to the piece’s contour (fig-ure 6). Fold up the two sides (figure 7) following the same steps as with the top. You can leave the corners sticking out or fold them out of the way. This allows the foil to ex-pand a bit, like Jiffy Pop. Or, you can roll the edges down close to the rim to keep the foil really close to the pot and further limit the movement of the smoke.Note: If you puncture or tear the foil as you wrap the piece, start over. I’ve never found an easy way to repair a tear or hole.

Smoke FiringBy now I know you’re asking, “Won’t the smoke damage the elements?” I’m still using the original elements that were in my kiln when I bought it back in 1995 and it fires just fine. Under normal conditions, the amount of smoke

Lay a piece of newsprint or your paper pattern onto the aluminum foil.

Place your piece in the middle of the foil.

Lay a few pieces of newsprint on top.

Fold one side up to the center of your piece and crease it at this center line.

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TipBisque again to harden on any additional decoration. If you don’t bisque the decoration before the smoke firing, it can’t resist the smoke and everything will just turn black.

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 31

escaping the tightly sealed foil saggar is minimal, if any at all, especially if you’re only firing a few pots at a time. In addition, if you bisque often, this cleans up and re-oxidiz-es the elements. That said, your kiln must be ventilated. I have an Orton downdraft kiln vent, which is very good at removing the smoke from the kiln.In a conventional saggar firing, the smoke moves in waves around the pot, leaving traces of the smoke and combusti-bles. The smoke in an aluminum foil saggar hardly moves at all, so it’s even possible to stencil with sheets of pa-per or other combustibles. In the photos, you can see the surfaces resulting from using very simple materials that double as stencils and as the sole combustibles in the foil saggar, such as paper cut into a repeated pattern (figures 8 and 9), masking tape and string. Even pencil drawings—which look the same as before the firing, become perma-nent after firing (figure 10).If you want to completely cover a piece with smoke mark-ings, you have to cover the entire piece with paper. How-ever, I tend not to do this because I like the variety of having smoked and unsmoked areas rather than an evenly black pot.In a conventional saggar firing, you can use all kinds of oxides, soluble salts and organic materials to make dif-ferent kinds of marks on the pot. Aluminum foil starts to break up and become flaky between 1200°F (650°C) and 1290°F (700°C). This means that most coloring oxides cannot be used because they have little effect below these temperatures. In addition, salts can attack the aluminum foil, breaking it down.In a conventional saggar firing, temperature can be impor-tant to obtain certain effects. This is not so in aluminum foil saggars. Since paper burns at 451°F (223°C), you only

Press the two long ends together and fold them in half.

Press the folded edges flat and press the foil down all around the pot.

Fold the short ends in half multiple times and press flat around the pot.

Paper pattern laid on top of a clay slab before being wrapped in foil and smoke fired.

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Aluminum Foil Basics The aluminum foil saggar not only keeps the smoke in, but also keeps the air out, which creates a reduc-tion atmosphere. If you have a hole in the saggar, air will get in and you won’t have as much smoke—you’ll have fire, which is not what you want. Aluminum foil from a restaurant supplier works best for making the saggar. It comes in wider rolls, is a bit heavier than foil for household use and it’s cheap. In the U.S., there are heavier weights of aluminum foil available. Be careful, as some of the really heavy foil might be difficult to seal properly. If the foil you’re using tears and punctures eas-ily, use a double layer. When you’re ready to wrap a piece, cover your work area with a couple layers of newsprint to protect the foil from snagging on any rough surfaces while you wrap. You still need to be careful that you don’t stretch the foil too much, especially around sharp edges or points. For angular pieces, try fixing a ‘pad’ of newspaper on the points to protect the foil. It will leave a trace of smoke but that could be useful.

32 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

need to keep the kiln just above this temperature to have smoke. I have known people to use this method in their kitchen oven.As with other saggar firings, the longer you leave a piece in the smoke, the stronger the smoke effect. If you have a computer controller on your kiln, you can set it to a temperature just above 451°F to get the paper burning and leave it for as long as you like.Because the foil saggar is tightly sealed and I prefer to press the foil close against the body of the pot to exclude as much air as possible, the smoke is very concentrated. You really need very little newspaper in the saggar to get a good effect. I’m finding that the less I use, the better I like it. I’m currently using about ¼-page of newspaper on each side to smoke a 14-inch diameter plate.The orientation of the pot during the firing can be im-portant. If, for instance, you’re firing an open bowl, you have a large air space in the interior volume of the bowl and where the foil covers the mouth of the bowl so you have several possibilities to play with. Fire the bowl

right-side-up, and any paper sheets you lay in the bowl will leave a mark shaped like the paper. If you don’t want any specific stencil patterning from the smoke in the in-terior of the bowl, then use loose wads of newspaper. I like to dip the wads in water, shake out the excess water (keeping the paper loose) and place them in the bowl. The steam formed as they burn away will push the foil up over the mouth of the bowl, ensuring that the lip gets some smoke.

Alternately, if you fire the bowl upside down, the paper won’t touch the surface of the pot at all, leaving an over-all smoky effect rather than distinct markings or patterns. In addition, because the foil stays pressed against the lip of the bowl, it acts as a resist, keeping smoke away from the lip.

ConclusionI love the unexpected effects made possible by this tech-nique because you can never be certain that things will work out as planned. The results can disappoint but more often, they surprise. I recommend you keep going after the first smoke firing. Let the piece sit awhile and go back to it. If you decide you can’t live with it, you can always bisque fire it again to re-oxidize it, maybe add some more decoration and smoke it again.Please be aware that nothing here is truly set in stone. If you want to experiment with other materials, combusti-bles, temperatures, oxides, salts, etc. I’d be very interested to see your results, so please contact me. n

Russel Fouts is a potter and workshop presenter living in Brussels, Belgium. He specializes in electric kiln smoke firing and is founder of “Pot Fondlers Anonymous.” For comments or more information visit his website at www.mypots.com.

For more information . . .Read a PDF version of the PMI companion article, “Pièce de Résistance,” at www.potterymaking.org.

The article also appears in the book Surface Deco-ration: Finishing Techniques available through the Ceramic Arts Daily Bookstore at www.ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore.

For additional formulas related to that article, visit Fouts’ website: www.MyPots.com/Files/Piece_de_la_Resistance.txt.

Fouts’ “Terra Sigillata Primer,” which contains basic guidelines for making and applying terra sigillata, is available on his website at the following link: www.MyPots.com/Files/Terra-Sig%20Primer.txt.

9 10Paper pattern after the firing. The paper used to make the stencil was the only combustible used.

Grease pencil or china marker drawing, after firing. Some residue will be left but what doesn’t brush off is permanent.

TipTo get a completely black surface, use a fairly porous terra sigillata or none at all, completely cover the pot in newspaper inside the saggar, and set your kiln to soak at 482°F (250°C) for a few hours. When you come back, you’ll have a uniformly black pot. If you use a paper clay body, it’ll be even blacker. Leave the studio if you do this because even with a kiln vent, a large amount of paper generates some external smoke.

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 33

34 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 35

Hang It Upby Annie Chrietzberg

Christine Boyd’s Crow Platter performs double duty as a wall hanging artwork and a functional serving dish.

first came across Christine Boyd at an art fair. Her booth was irresistible—the work drew me in with its high-contrast, dynamic surfaces, which read well from a distance. Upon approach and engagement, my inter-

est continued to grow, to the point where I had to own a piece, and have her work become a part of my own everyday existence. Christine’s work has a rough-hewn aesthetic that carries through form, decoration, and also, I discovered as I used it, function. Her plates are burly enough for everyday use, but not at all cumbersome and stack well.

Creative EngineeringThat’s enough, isn’t it? What more could you ask from a plate? The wonderful thing about Christine is that she natu-rally dwells on more than form and function and doesn’t attempt to rein it in. In addition to surrounding herself with decoration and pattern, she has a mind that travels beyond the usual boundaries and an innate sense of engineering. These interests are clearly evident in the efficient system she’s designed for hanging everyday plates that’s easy to use and remove (figure 1).

Christine’s system uses common sewing snaps and picture-hanging wire (figure 2) to create removable hanging devices for serving pieces and everyday plates. She carves keyhole-

I shaped grooves into the backs of her plate rims when they are in the leather-hard stage. The grooves have a bevel or undercut below the surface to hold the snap on the hanging device in place (figure 3).

Tooling UpChristine made three special tools for creating the slots that correspond to the shrinkage of her clay body and the size of the snaps. She makes these tools out of long straight pins (the kind used for quilting), dowels and lots of hot glue. “I don’t make tools for reasons of economy, but rather because the things I need don’t readily exist,” she explained. “I’ll come up with an idea that needs a specific shape, and rather than spend weeks looking for something, I’ll just get out some metal and pliers and make what I need.”

Tool #1 is used to start the slot and it looks like a square trimming tool with a wire extension on one side (figure 4). This longer wire acts as a pivot point to facilitate the cut-ting and removing of a disk of clay (figures 5 and 6). The other end of the tool is used to smooth out and compress the cut surface.

Once the disk of clay is removed, she uses tool #2 to cut the slot (figure 7). She makes three cuts with this tool. For the first cut, she holds the handle horizontally, level with

36 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

the surface of the plate (figure 8). Starting at the circle, she cuts a groove that’s about an inch long towards the top edge of the plate. She finishes the cut with a quick upward flick, and carefully removes the trimmed clay (figure 9). This cut goes through the surface of the clay and exactly matches the depth of the circle, but doesn’t cut through to the front side of the plate rim.

The second and third cuts are made by holding tool #2 vertically to create cuts that run beneath the surface on either side of that first slot, to create a channel beneath the surface of the clay that will allow the snap to travel up

to the top of the slot and hold the wire securely in place (figure 10). Cuts two and three are started at the top of the channel and cut back towards the circle, by inserting the cutting edge of the tool through the channel and rotating it clockwise for the right side, and counterclockwise for the left side (figure 11). This is the only way to cut these, as the bit of clay cut away with each stroke needs to be removed through the circle. It’s very important to note that all these cuts are meant to create a smooth and level gallery or channel for the snap below the surface of the back of the plate.

Lift the tool after completing the circle to remove the disk of clay.

The back of one of Boyd’s plates, with the wire in place. The wire is held in place by a sewing snap fastened to it.

The hanging wire in the slot on a finished, fired plate. Tool #1, used to create the circle at the bottom of the slot.

Insert the tool into the clay until the pivot point hits the works surface, then twirl it to make a circle.

1 2

3 4

5 6

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 37

Christine then uses tool #3 to tamp down, gently widen and smooth this internal space so that the snap may travel freely in and out (figure 12). Tip: Bits of grog can obstruct or hinder the smooth operation of a sliding snap so be sure to press bits of grog left behind into the surface.

Some Assembly RequiredTo get the correct amount of wire, Christine stretches the wire across the back of a finished plate, measuring rough-ly 2½ inches past each slot (figure 13). She uses 15-pound weight, plastic-coated picture-hanging wire rather than the

uncoated type because it’s kinder to her hands as well as the user’s hands. She recommends you also buy one of the spe-cial picture wire winder tools available at frame shops and hardware stores that make tidy, secure coils. The last thing you want is for that wire to unravel and have a plate come crashing down!

Christine first feeds the wire through the front side, then through the back of the snap, so that the loop of wire is at the back of the snap (figure 14). Then she takes a pair of snub-nosed pliers and gives the wire and the snap a good crunch to compress both the wire and the snap itself (figure

Tool #2, a rectangular loop of wire on a stem, creates the slot and channel for the wire and snap.

Holding tool #2 horizontally, place it at the top of the circle, level with the surface.

Drag the tool up towards the top of the plate so that it cuts a channel or slot in the surface.

Insert tool #2 vertically into the slot to create undercuts on both the right and the left of the channel.

Starting at the top of the channel, move towards the circu-lar opening so you can easily lift out the clay.

Use tool #3 to compress, smooth and widen the surface of the inside the channel.

7 8

9 10

11 12

38 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

15). She uses both the male and female sides of snaps, they both work fine. Next, she feeds the wire into the coil-wind-ing tool, which secures the snap in place (figure 16). After one side of the wire is complete and put in place, Boyd presses the middle of the wire up to the point she wants it to be when the plate is hanging on the wall (figure 17). She then bends the other side of the wire where the snap should seat, and repeats the process of threading a snap, crunching it and creating the wire spiral.

When Boyd sells a piece with one of her hanging mecha-nisms, she demonstrates how to install and remove it. She

also includes a card that says, “This hanging device is de-signed to be removed easily, to allow the plate to be used for serving food.”

It’s the little extra things like Boyd’s hanging devices that go a long way toward opening up dialog with a stranger who approaches you and your work! n

Annie Chrietzberg, a studio potter and frequent contributor to PMI, lives and works in Denver, Colorado. To see more of Chris-tine Boyd’s plates, as well as her other work, visit her website at www.allclay.com.

To find the length of wire, pull it across the back of the plate and add 2½ inches beyond the slots.

Thread the picture-hanging wire through the snap from the front side so the loop is on the back side.

Use snub-nosed pliers to compress both the wire and the snap, to avoid having the mechanism snag in the channel.

Using a wire winder, secure the snap onto one end of the picture hanging wire.

Insert the completed end, press the middle of the wire up to the appropriate amount, then bend the other side of the wire where the snap should seat.

Hare Parallelogram, 9 in. (23 cm) in height, by Christine Boyd.

13 14

15 16

17

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 39

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instructors fileHigh School Anagamaby Clay Cunningham

Many eyebrows were raised when I first began planning the construction of an anagama wood kiln at Lewis Central High School in

Council Bluffs, Iowa, where I teach. Other potters said that it just wasn’t done at the high school level while administration voiced concerns over several issues. But the students expressed surprise for the most obvious reason—excitement! Despite my own enthusiasm, we spent a year planning the project not only to increase safety, but to ensure the project’s success and longevity.

Workshop FormatSince this is a high school, the students and faculty need to be in classes six straight hours a day, everyday. To avoid conflicts, I decided to direct the project in the form of a summer workshop in June. With a healthy mix of eight adult potters from the community and ten students from the high school, we had plenty of able hands, as well as a safe and constant adult/student firing team. I planned a single-chamber kiln that would have great at-mospheric potential, yet would fire over a weekend dur-ing the school year. Instructed as a three-week course, we spent the first week building the kiln, the second week making pots and sculptures, and the third week loading, firing and cooling the kiln.

Building the KilnWe began by laying out a 15-inch high foundation of concrete blocks, on which we placed 9 inches of K23 hard brick in an alternating header and stretcher fashion to create a total interior floor plan that mea-sured 45×96 inches (figure 1). The first three feet of the interior was reserved for the firebox with the remaining five feet, tiered up 6 inches, for the ceramic ware. The flooring in the firebox area was constructed with K26 hard brick to better withstand the cone 10 temperatures we would be reaching. Similarly, the walls were con-structed 9 inches thick by alternating courses of stretch-ers and headers to a height of 15 inches.

Before adding the arch, we lined the outer walls of the kiln with cinder blocks to a height of 37 inches, then filled the blocks with rebar and mortar mix. The small 4-inch gap between the concrete blocks and the hard brick was then filled with pea gravel to support the force

Two layers of concrete block form the foundation and raise the kiln to a workable height. Students build the walls and begin the stack.

A concrete block wall helps bear some of the weight of the roof and is placed 4 inches from the sides. The gap is later filled with pea gravel.

Proc

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2

42 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

of the dome on the kiln wall and to increase insulation and to allow for thermal expansion (figure 2). The exit flue to the chimney was created slightly oversized at a total of 22½×22½ inches with the chimney interior at 13½×13½ inches. The chimney was built with hard brick to a height of 15 feet and finished with a 4-foot stack anchored with cables into the ground on three sides. A removable spanner brick was placed above the damper to act as a passive damper.

The RoofInstead of making a wooden frame for the arched roof, we used excess dirt from the construction site of a nearby middle school to make a solid mound inside the kiln. With a couple shovels and a lot of muscle we piled on two truckloads of dirt to form a smooth curved dome. Once shaped to our liking, we then mixed high refractory castable to form the dome. Since we were on a budget, we mixed all 2400 pounds of castable by hand with a hoe and mortar tray to a consistency of thick concrete. Next, we lined the dirt with plastic bags and added one ball right on top of the other until the entire dome was completed to a thickness of 9 inches (figure 3). Using two plastic buckets, we added the balls around the buckets so that when the buckets were removed, we had negative spaces for side stoking (figure 4). After the last ball, we covered the entire dome with plastic bags to let it cure overnight. The next day we lined the dome with fiber blanket and an adobe mix of mortar, dirt and straw. This not only further insulated the kiln, but also protected the castable from the snow and rain.Caution: As a safety precaution, everyone wore face masks and rubber gloves while handling the fiber blan-ket, as the small particles can irritate the lungs and the skin. Rubber gloves are recommended when handling adobe as wee. Concrete can irritate skin (and it makes your fingers pruney). After the castable set up, the door was disassembled and the dirt was removed. At last, af-ter five days, the Lewis Central Anagama was complete.

Making WorkThe next week was spent making a wide variety of pot-tery for the kiln. I provided three different clays to use with maturing rates from cone 6 to cone 10. In addition, a variety of tried-and-true high-fire glazes were supplied from copper reds to celadons and shinos. Students were encouraged to keep good notes of which clays and glazes were used for each piece to reflect on successes and learning experiences.

Getting ReadyOver the weekend, we spent one full day loading the pieces into the kiln. Tumble stacked one on top of the other, nearly every nook and cranny of the kiln was used. By Sunday, the front of the kiln was bricked up, leaving a main stoke hole and primary air inlets at

Using a technique from Fred Olsen’s, The Kiln Book, mound and contour dirt to create the domed roof, then cover with plastic. Apply castable refractory over this form.

3

Plastic buckets were used as forms to create side stoke holes in the roof. A fiber blanket was added then the roof topped with an adobe mix of concrete, mud and straw.

4

Firing steadily for more than 30 hours, the kiln reaches cone 10 and soaked at that temperature for a few hours. It’s then allowed to cool slowly for a few days.

5

View of the kiln interior and the stack of ware, showing some of the 400 pots included in the inaugural firing.

6

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 43

early to see their approximately 400 newly finished creations and enjoy a potluck meal with a new family of bonded potters. We had much to celebrate. We were able to load and fire the kiln in the course of a weekend with just under two cords of wood. We proved that an anagama is not only doable at the high school level, but an amazing learning tool that will provide students with a life-long experience. We will be firing it up again this summer and our pottery club is in full swing to fill the quota. n

Clay Cunningham is a ceramic artist and instructor, currently teaching at Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. To see more of his work, or for contact information, visit www.claycunningham.org.

the bottom of the door. Using a homemade block of castable, a U-bolt, an eyebolt and some chain, we were able to suspend a mov-able door from a post and lintel so that wood could be stoked with minimal heat loss. The post and lintel were made by setting two 8-foot 4×4 posts with a 10-foot 4×4 post for the horizontal beam and securing them with metal brackets. With the door in place and the kiln full of work, we were ready to go.

FiringThe kiln was started with a small fire at 5 PM on Sunday. By early Monday morning the kiln was nearing 1800ºF. Working in teams of two or three and stok-ing several split logs at the end of every reduction cycle, the kiln climbed to 2200ºF by Monday evening. We were at cone 10 by noon on Tuesday (figure 5) and held it at that temperature until 5 PM when we stopped stoking and sealed the kiln. To help ensure a slow cooling, we dipped newspapers into a large bar-rel of slip and completely coated the entire kiln with the dripping wet sheets to decrease heat loss. This, as you can imagine, was a fun and messy highlight of the entire experience.

The ResultsAfter three days of cooling, it was time to open the kiln. The old adage of a unloading a kiln unloading feeling like Christmas morning could not be more apropos (figure 6). All of the students, young and old, came

Porcelain vase, 20 in. (51 cm) in height, by Clay Cunningham (instructor).

Porcelain vase, 17 in. (43 cm) in height by Rick Devoss.

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Porcelain bowl, 5 in. (13 cm) in diameter, by Kelly Cox. Stoneware vessel, 6 in. (15 cm) in height, by Deanna Williams.

44 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

firing. Other types of smoke-firing described in the book include firing in a trash can, pit firing, and raku-style post-firing reduction.

This book is fascinating and beautiful, and if you have an interest in smoke firing, it will inspire you to want to try new things. However, it is an overview of work by contemporary ceramic artists using smoke-firing techniques, and while a certain amount of technical information is included, it’s not a how-to manual. The entries are biographical, rather than technical, and some of the artists shared more of their secrets than others. Several of the entries include recipes for clay, slip or terra sigillata. A few of the artists use very simple firing methods, which would be easy to try if you’re interested. Some of the artists’ making and firing processes are described and illustrated in detail, others are described but not il-lustrated. In some cases, the process is described fairly

completely, but the artist relies on locally collected materials and their results might be hard to replicate with other mate-rials. For instance, Duncan Ross researched the techniques used to produce ancient Greek black and red pottery, then spent years developing his own work through rigorous test-ing with clays he dug himself. Expect to be intrigued, to get some good ideas and to be energized to go out and try something new yourself. n

off the shelfSmoke Firing by Sumi von Dassow

Smoke-firing: Contemporary Artists and Approaches By Jane Perryman University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, PA, 2008 www.upenn.edu/pennpress

Jane Perryman is a prominent international ceramic artist who specializes in handbuilding and smoke-firing. Her book Smoke-fired Pottery, published

in 1995, helped inspire many modern ceramicists to work with unglazed, low-fired clay. This new book was originally intended to be an updated edition of the earlier work, but Perryman discovered so many artists creating innovative smoke-fired work that she ended up produc-ing an entirely different book profiling 29 artists.

Smoke-firing is a fairly loosely defined term, covering any firing process in which the pot is somehow impreg-nated or marked by the smoke and fumes created during the firing. Smoke-firing as an artistic technique is directly inspired by processes used by traditional potters firing without kilns and glazes. While as a rule such potters see any smoke-marking as a blemish, contemporary artists embrace the unpredictable marks left by fire and smoke and see themselves as collaborating with the fire to achieve a wide range of markings on unglazed pots.

The book opens with an introduction describing smoke-firing in antiquity and in traditional societies, and a chapter further examining the traditional firing techniques used in Nigeria, India and Native America. The main body of the book is divided into two sections, “Smoke Firing without a Kiln” and “Smoke Firing with a Kiln.” The 29 featured art-ists come from 17 countries, including Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. Some of the artists view smoke-firing as nothing more than the logical or necessary way to fire their work, while for others the clay forms are merely a canvas for the real art that goes into the firing.

The techniques of smoke fir-ing range from the astonishingly simple—Siddig El’Nigoumi blackened areas of his bur-nished pots by holding burning newspaper under them—to Pao Fei Yang’s impressively so-phisticated method of creating imagery on tiles through saggar

Gabriele Koch’s Gray Vessel with Dimple and Red Vessel with Dimple, 33 in. (83 cm) in height (tallest). Photo: Kelpie.

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 45

46 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

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Raku, Pit & Barrel: Firing TechniquesExplore the effects of unusual glazes and surface treatments only possible with alternative firing methods. Discover the thrill of taking glowing red-hot art out of a raku kiln, then working with flaming combustibles to get those special surfaces only possible with raku. Try out methods for pit and barrel firing, and discover the effects burning embers impart to your surfaces using these ancient techniques. Energizing your clay experience with alternative firing techniques adds excitement and sponteneity to both your work and your life.

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009 47

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Access to Wood/Salt/Soda/Raku Gas Kilns. Com-munity & Private Studios. Residency opportunities in beautiful Taos, New Mexico. Rent starting at $70/month. www.taosclay.com.

EXTRUDE IT! Getting the Most From Your Clay Extruder, new instructional videos by David Hen-dley. Volume I—extrusions as handles, feet and ad-ditions; Volume II—two-part dies for hollow extru-sions; Volume III—the expansion box and extrusions as building components. $43 each or $105 for the set (more than four hours of video). Shipping costs included. (903) 795-3779; www.farmpots.com.

Custom Mold Making—Increase your productivity and profits with quality slip-casting molds of your popular designs! Petro Mold Co. offers a complete range of mold-making services, including sculpting and 3-D models, master and case molds, and pro-duction mold manufacturing to thousands of satis-fied customers. Visit www.custommolds.net or call (800) 404-5521 to get started.

PotteryVideos.com – DVD’s with Robin Hop-per, Gordon Hutchens and Graham Sheehan. Video Workshops for Potters at all levels of ex-perience. Choose from 21 titles. 800-668-8040; info@potteryvideos.com.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org

48 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2009

ad hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning “for this.” As an adverb or adjective, it means that something is done “for this” purpose only. This is for your entertainment and enlightenment.

Quartz inversion occurs at 1068°F (573°C) (a dull red to dark red glow will be visible inside the kiln). When clay is fired, quartz crystals change from an alpha (α) crystal structure to a beta (β) crystal structure. The inversion is reversed on cooling. This conversion creates stresses in the clay so temperature increase and decrease must be slow to avoid cracking the work.

did you know?More than a third of PMI readers would like to wood-fire, try out salt/soda firing, raku and/or pit-fire during the next two years.

Reader SurveyIn our reader survey this issue, we asked a few questions about firing. Some of you commented that you use more than one firing technique and that you enjoy each one. That’s something we can all strive for.

Black coring is a thin band of either black

iron or carbonized material/graphite sometimes visible

in the cross section of a broken pot. A carbonized core

results in a weaker structure, and a pot that is likely to

break. The condition happens most often in clays with

high iron (like redware or brick clay) or organic material

content (like paper clay, for example). How to avoid it:

fire your bisque slowly. Firing a bisque too quickly may

not provide enough time to oxidize the iron or burn off

all of the organic materials before the clay starts to seal

off (above 1472°F or 800°C), trapping unburned carbo-

naceous materials and sulfides, which could cause bloat-

ing and black coring. For those of you who bisque fire in

a gas kiln, make sure the damper is wide open. If the

atmosphere inside the kiln is not oxidizing, this lack of

oxygen will slow the rate of organic burn-off. As the firing

progresses, the clay will seal off before all of the organics

are gone, trapping them below the surface and causing

black coring.

High-fire Cone 8-11

24%

Reduction 23%

Wood 1.3%

PMI Firing Ranges PMI Atmosphere PMI Heat Sources

Mid-range Cone 5-7

60%

Other 6%Low-fire

Cone 04-06 10%

Oxidation 77%

Electric 79.3%

Gas/Propane 19.4%

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http://www.bennettpottery.com/

http://www.hotkilns.com/