Question:
How do I fire Bisque?
How to do a Pit-Firing
How to do a Pit-Firing
This is the sort of thing you can easily do in your own backyard (subject to local council regulations of course). It's a simple firing technique used in many ancient cultures across the globe and popular with potters today.
Here's How:
Dig a pit of the appropriate size, depending on the amount of work to be fired.
Place a bed of dry leaves and twigs and possibly coal, which will burn slowly, at the bottom of the pit
Place the pottery on top of this.
Carefully sprinkle oxides and carbonates around the pieces (particularly copper carbonate), which volatilize and result in flashes of color appearing on the fired work.
Cover the work with more leaves, twigs and dung (if available), building up a mound over the pieces.
Once the stacking process is finished, light the pile around the edges and leave to smolder for several hours, or until the next day.
Towards the end of the burning process, bury the pit in earth or sand, which will cut off the oxygen supply and create a strong reducing atmosphere inside the mound.
Allow the kiln to cool overnight and open the next day.
Remove excess scum with a wire brush under a running tap.
Tips:
Additions of grog or volcanic ash 'open up' the clay and make it more resistant to heat shock.
The best color results can be achieved with iron bearing, or red clays.
Bisque firing the work first helps to prevent shattering and cracking.
firing greenware
When firing greenware, it can touch other greenware as well as the kiln shelves. Kiln washed shelves are not necessary when firing only greenware.
Stacking for bisque
Items may be stacked on and inside one another for bisque firings. They won't stick together. However, you can cause problems by doing this.
* The carbons may not burn out completely from an area that is covered by another piece, and this may cause defects during the glaze firing.
* Some items may break if they are not allowed to expand and contract freely. So if stacking two bowls for example, make sure there is plenty of room between them. Remember that items will shrink during firing.
* Stacking may cause more uneven temperatures throughout the kiln.
* Some people think the tighter they stuff the bisque load, the better. And you may have success with this method. But other people find that they do better when pieces are given space. My advice is that you can pack a bisque load tighter than a glaze load, but don't overdo it.
Suggested firing guide: Stoneware biscuit
Suggested firing guide: Stoneware biscuit 1000c (cone 06) 100c per hour up to 600c, then 130c per hour up to 1000c.
Drying for firing
Remember! Ceramic greenware must be bone dry before placing in a kiln. Wet greenware will crack in firing.
Breakages while loading
If you break a piece while loading your kiln go ahead and repair it but do not attempt to fire it before it is bone dry.
firing bisque
Fire bisque at least one cone hotter than glaze and even more if glaze can be applied easily.
Glazed ware and bisque ware should not be fired together unless both mature at the same cone. Even then, be sure that the glaze is loaded in the bottom of the kiln.
Kiln wash
If you fire only bisque, it is not necessary to use kiln wash on the bottom of your kiln.
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| Guru Spotlight |
| Patricia Walters-Fischer |
