Bisque firing and I'd like your wisdom about something. First- not sure why the color is different in these two pics. Different angle while taking the picture? Still the pots have this beautiful pinkish bisque color. All with the firing went well. Am thankful!
No cracked or broken pots. :) Here's my question. As I unloaded the kiln I noticed this 'kiln dust', for lack of better words. It's a thin dust that covers most of the pots. Maybe it's from using a new furniture set--- of shelves and posts.
On some of these I noticed a similar (maybe the same) dust as I unloaded these posts. I wonder where it's from.
A bit hard to see, yet here it is- a faint dusting on my fingers. Do I need to wipe down each of my pots before I put glaze on them? Will make and test glazes first of course. Just wondering if this dust will affect the pots as I dip them into glaze and then fire them. Hmmm Thanks ahead of time for sharing your wisdom! It's great to learn from you blog readers...
4 comments:
Yippee, congrats on a good firing. did you use cones? What did you bisque to?
Definitely wipe all of your pots down with a damp sponge before you put any glaze on them. Rinse your sponge often to be sure all the dust is removed. Don't use any hand lotion before glazing or wear those disposable plastic gloves. any oil can make the pot resist the glaze like wax does. I think the dust is probably the debris burnt off in the firing and perhaps more because your kiln is so new.
I usually wipe my pots down two or three at a time and then glaze them and put them directly in the kiln or cover them.
Hey Amy, the dust is normal. I get a big bucket of water and dunk my bisque in, give it a quick wash and set it all out on a long table to dry. You definitely want the dust off before glazing, The glaze will not adhere to dusty bisque. I used to work for a potter that set all the bisque out in the yard on wire racks and we hosed it all off and left it in the sun to dry.Ahh, the good old days :)
Me, I use a damp white cotton sock. (White, because it's easy to see the dust accumulate.) Wipe off 3 or 4 pieces, rinse, wring, repeat.
thanks everyone! I think I'll do the bucket of water technique for now. I'll be happy when I'm finished with the first round of my glaze firing. Still a way to go before that. (mix dry glaze recipes and test them)
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