Hello everyone! I recently moved my studio and, with the new space, decided to expand on my old kiln by building a new one from scratch. I used the gas-kiln sizing calculations discussed in the earlier post to develop the new design. […]
Hello everyone! In this post, I turn to an important subject for ceramic artists: health in the studio. I discuss toxic exposure, silica dust, kiln hazards and care when handling ceramic materials, with references to occupational health and poison information services.
Hello everyone! Today I would like to discuss kiln construction. Gas-fired kilns offer different possibilities for control and operation from wood-fired kilns. Their installation requires an assessment of combustion-product exhaust, ventilation, heat and site conditions. […]
Hello everyone! This is the final post in the glaze-theory series. I will discuss how the theoretical foundations developed so far can help us identify a good glaze and anticipate possible problems before testing it in the kiln. […]
Hello everyone! Continuing the glaze series, this week I will discuss glazes’ physical and chemical characteristics and explain how to calculate the Seger unity molecular formula. We begin with the nature of glass and the role of glass formers. […]
Continuing our study, today I will discuss glaze theory with an emphasis on chemical elements. This technical subject requires some basic chemistry, but I will start from the beginning to make the ideas clear. […]
Hello everyone! I have been away from the blog for a while, but now I would like to introduce an important subject for potters: ceramic glaze. It is a broad, technical topic, so I will divide it into several posts. […]
A few months ago, I wrote about ash glazes. Recently, I have had some good results in this area and wanted to share the latest developments with you.
Hello everyone! Imagine finding a promising glaze recipe online, only to discover that it uses an ingredient difficult to obtain in Brazil. There is a way to approach this problem through raw-material substitution and glaze-calculation software. […]
Hello everyone! This post explores a process widely used in industrial ceramics but, I believe, less common in studio pottery: making pieces with plaster moulds. Although the method removes the individually hand-formed character of each piece, it can help produce complex forms with less labour. […]