NOTE TO SELF: DON'T LEAVE KILN OPENED ON 200 PER HOUR RAMP.

Well, ok.


Here is the email I sent Jen at 10:13 last night once I got to thinking about a firing ramp that progressed at 200 an hour to 2100 degrees:


Dear Jen
I left the kiln lid open a bit. I was going to come in and shut it in the morning.  I hope that is ok.  I turned on the fan in the kiln room also.

It is held open with that little metal thing that is built into the kiln.

I hope I did not mess things up by doing that.  Sorry if it was the wrong decision to make.  Geez now I am worried.

much love
DJ




Heer is the email I got from Jen at 8 am -- but I had already left for the studio before I ever read it.


DJ - that is not good to do when the firing will be going up so fast.  Probably will be ok this time.  But if you haven't shut the lid by now (8am), go up there now.  It is hard on the kiln at higher temps.  When it is only a bisque firing the temp will be around 200-1000 degrees in 12 hours.  I figure yours will be around 2000 at this time.  Not good.
I'll be at Lee in about 30 min.
jen


so...um... don't do that any more, self.

10.12.2010 FIRING IN SMALL ELECTRIC KILN

I started the firing of several test glazes yesterday at 7:45 pm.  I left the kiln lid cracked open with the little latch built into the kiln.  It was around 285 degrees when I left last night at around 8:45.

The firing ramp is:
Ramp 1 -- 200 an hour to 2100 degrees
Ramp 2 100 an hour to 2232 degrees -- hold 8 minutes
Ramp 3 -- cool as quickly as possible to 1800 degrees
Ramp 4 -- 100 degrees an hour til it reaches 1300 degrees
END

However, by the time I get to the school this morning and close the kiln -- its gonna be close to 2100 degrees. Maybe it will just help the cooldown to 1800 go better......

I should have shut it last night when I left. I was not thinking how quickly it would reach temp.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

KILN OPENING FOR HIGHFIRE GAS REDUCTION 10.11.2010

Lee College Ceramics, Baytown Texas
Prof. Jen Herzberg


DJ Brewer writes:
We had the best firing ever this time -- just awesome reduction.  The colors were spectacular -- we even good some good carbon trapping going on.  Phil's ash glazes were super.  I got an AWESOME piece with Hank Murrow's shino recipe that uses low melt spodumene and Helmer kaolin.  I'll add shots until they are all up.  Right now I'm putting up the ones of the Kiln Opening, front shelves and back shelves

Jen called me as soon as I arrived for the kiln opening to ask me about what glaze I used on a bowl that came out beautifully.

I told her it was Hank Murrow's shino. It flashed and blushed and carbon trapped -- it was amazing coloration from just one glaze

Amazing! I'm going to mix up some more of it.  I think I used the smooth shino recipe, but I'm going to mix up some of both of the recipes below for the next highfire.

Two of the ingredients are hard to find -- lowmelt spodumene and Helmer Kaolin.
You can get low melt spodumene (also called montebrasite ) from http://www.igctechnologies.com/
You can get Helmer kaolin from Wendt Pottery
http://www.wendtpottery.com/helmer2.htm

You can also use McNamee kaolin, but I did not get any of that.

Here is the recipe that Hank Murrow emailed me a long while back

Cryolite........................................ 0.6 %

Nepheline Syenite........................ 55.4

Low-Melt Spodumene................. 18.0

McNamee Kaolin........................ 26.0

100.0 %

Add: Veegum T.......................... 1.0 %

0.159 K2O 1.593 Al2O3 5.246 SiO2

0.534 Na2O 0.006 Fe2O3 0.023 TiO2

0.041 CaO 0.067 P2O5 0 . 0 0 0

MnO2

0.010 MgO 0.101 F

0.256 Li2O

White where thick; red where thin.

Best with early reduction firing with a long

concluding period of oxidation, or a soak

in oxidation during cooling. Yields a very

soft and fat surface with crawling. Crawls

more strongly if fired soon after glazing.

Note the low (3.3:1) silica to alumina

ratio. Cryolite seems to deepen the color.

Perhaps while outgassing, the fluorine content

carries iron from the clay to the glaze

surface. Low-melt spodumene contributes

phosphorus, which (as in Shaner’s Red)

also helps the fire color. McNamee kaolin

is a Georgia clay having a lovely blush of

color in the wood fire, probably because

of its iron/titanium content, which is also

beneficial in Shinos; Helmer kaolin can

be substituted.

Hank’s Smooth Shino Glaze

(Cone 10, reduction then oxidation)

Cryolite........................................ 0.8 %

Custer Feldspar............................ 32.2

Nepheline Syenite........................ 35.0

Low-Melt Spodumene................. 18.0

McNamee Kaolin........................ 13.0

Silica............................................ 1.0

100.0 %

Add: Veegum T.......................... 1.0 %

0.287 K2O 1.292 Al2O3 5.484 SiO2

0.428 Na2O 0.005 Fe2O3 0.011 TiO2

0.034 CaO 0.064 P2O5 0 . 0 0 0

MnO2

0.006 MgO 0.129 F

0.245 Li2O

A white satin where thick; red where thin.

Best with early reduction and a long,

concluding period of oxidation, or an

oxidation soak during cooling. Produces

iridescence with oxides.

I sent Hank the images and he said that he thought it was the Smooth shino recipe -- that's what I recall also.  He said he'd never seen it carbon trap -- but it did on a tiny teabowl I made in the spring.  I'll have to get a photo of that up also.

Phil's Woodash Menagerie!

Phil's got it down. He made glaze of 50 percent wood ash with cobalt in the blueish ones and copper in the green ones and the brown ones had no colorant added. The glazes don't dribble down on the kiln shelves any more.  He sprays 2 coats on the base, four on the middle, and 6 on the top.

Phil de man!


More goodies on the table

Pleased potters parlay over pieces.

Nice Teadust and bright copper reds

Lizard Brush Holder

Newborn Baby Cyclops covered in Monster Snot and drool

I'll post more later.....

It's been a long day.

THE NEW FIRING 10.11.12

I've emailed Alisa Clausen and solved the Riddle of the Raspberry Blue glaze -- now I have a couple of pieces glazed with it, as well as some pieces glazed with my Grape Monstrosity mix -- one with cobalt oxide that come out decidedly grape, and another with cobalt carbonate, that if it comes out much different, I shall name Purple Haze, in honor of Jimi Hendrix whose birthday I share.


Here are the two miscreant grape glazes I mixed. Alisa has cleared up her posting on Raspberry Blue -- it no longer has all of the variations that I wandered through trying to figure out the additives for Raspberry blue.


I combined the additives for the MC6 Raspberry glaze and the additives for Raspberry blue.  It makes a great purple when you accidentally put in cobalt oxide instead of cobalt carbonate.  I shall see what the other miscreant mixing does in this next firing


GRAPE GLOSS GLAZE WITH COBALT OXIDE

cone 6	X1	X2	X3	X5
Neph Sy	18	36	54	90
Frit 3134	14	28	42	70
Whiting	20	40	60	100
OM4	18	36	54	90
Silica	30	60	90	150
total	100	200	300	500
oxides
Chrome Ox	0.2	0.4	0.6	1
Tin Ox	7.5	15	22.5	37.5
Cobalt Oxide	1	2	3	5
RIO	0.5	1	1.5	2.5

GRAPE GLOSS GLAZE WITH COBALT CARBONATE

cone 6	X1	X2	X3	X5
Neph Sy	18	36	54	90
Frit 3134	14	28	42	70
Whiting	20	40	60	100
OM4	18	36	54	90
Silica	30	60	90	150
total	100	200	300	500
oxides
Chrome Ox	0.2	0.4	0.6	1
Tin Ox	7.5	15	22.5	37.5
Cobalt Carb	1	2	3	5
RIO	0.5	1	1.5	2.5

I mixed up the following glazes:
Raspberry Blue -- the REAL version

cone 6	X1	X2	X3	X5
Neph Sy	18	36	54	90
Frit 3134	14	28	42	70
Whiting	20	40	60	100
OM4	18	36	54	90
Silica	30	60	90	150
total	100	200	300	500
COLORANTS
Cobalt Carb	1	2	3	5
RIO	0.5	1	1.5	2.5

Gloss Praesydimonium Yellow

Cone 6	X1
Neph Sy	35
Silica	21
EPK	10
Whiting	8
Gerstley Borate	18
TOTAL	92
COLORANT	7 Praseodymium yellow #6433

I also glazed some pieces with the Strontium Opal blue I made for a firing done in September.



I mixed up some of John Post's tomato red glaze #13 as well as the Juicy Fruit glaze that he puts over the tomato red for some lovely effects posted on his blog.  I hope I get some lovely effects also, and I hope the glaze does not run all over the kiln shelf! Maybe I can find a cookie for it.  I will use the firing ramp that John Post emailed me for his slow cool tomato reds.
John Post Tomato Red #13

FRIT 3134	10.8
Neph Sy	23.1
Bone Ash	10
Magnesium Carb	6.2
Whiting	7.7
EPK	21
FLINT	21.2
TOTAL	100
BENTONITE	2
Red Iron Oxide	12
Lithium Carb	2

JEN'S JUICY FRUIT VARIATION FROM JOHN POST

CONE 6	X1	X2	X3	X5
EPK	30
Gerstley Borate	27
Neph Sy	147
Flint (Silica)	36
Whiting	33
Lithium Carb	27
TOAL	100
Soda Ash	30
Titanium dioxide	15

FIRING RAMP FROM JOHN POST’S EMAIL 10.10.2010
200 degrees an hour up to 2132
100 degrees an hour up to 2200
drop at full speed to 1800
150 degrees an hour down to 1300

I'll check my pieces tomorrow and update this post with glaze recipes, and make sure that I did not leave out any recipes of glazes that will be in this next firing.

I might even try to photograph the unglazed pieces, although, at this stage of the game, I am so tired that I don't remember which piece is which color. However, once they are fired, it should be pretty apparent what is what.

I hope!