Hi Sarah, Two things that might help, you should have a grapefruit size space around the cone in your kiln sitter. It looks as though your shelf was a bit too close. The second thing you should check is that all your elements are firing. Have an electrician check that all elements are working, elements need replacing from time to time.One last suggestion… if you can set your witness cones so you can see them through the spy holes you will know when it has reached temp or if you need to have it run a bit longer. Thats the nice thing about spy holes, they give you a great way to know whats going on inside but the witness cones need to be set where you can see them😊 love your pieces!!!
Hi Jody! I’m so sorry that I haven’t responded sooner, I’m just learning the ins and outs of RU-vid studio. I don’t know why your comment was ‘held for review’ so it didn’t populate where I typically read and respond. Well now I know that I have to change the filtering system so that doesn’t happen again! Again I’m sorry. You provided so much detail in your message, thank you! I will definitely apply your solutions! My last firing was much better, I purposely didn’t fill it just in case something went wrong. I did however leave more room around my sitter and I’m going to do a paper test on the elements, just in case. I changed out my elements not too long ago. Again thank you for taking the time to provide me with such great advice! Cheers!
Nice glaze combos - thanks for sharing. I especially liked the closeups. Note: Sitter cones should bend to exactly 90 degrees for a correct firing (not a U). If it is not bending to 90 degrees, readjust the sitter using a sitter gauge.
@@SarahWaltonPottery Adjusting sitter is really easy if you have the sitter gauge. Since sitters are generally all the same, you don't have to get one from your kiln manufacturer - any one should do and they are pretty cheap (
Lol..I know I can be a little bit ‘extra’ but it really is who I am 🤭 …when I’m editing and watching myself I laugh at how dramatic I get and I don’t realize how animated I am..lol.. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comments and support! 🤗
I CANT even tell you how much I appreciate you showing this!!!! I could NOT get my dang kilns to get hot enough and had 4 kiln loads with witness cones like this!! I never see other people show this and I really want to thank you!! Beautiful pots by the way!!
Thank you Michele! I’m glad it helped, I’m really hoping that my channel will be exactly that kind of support, try, fail, learn try again..but I’ve put a share in there too…lol. Your comments are an encouragement for me, so thank you for your support!!
Hi! Pottery can be so rewarding , and at times so frustrating! I feel your pain! My motto is try-fail-learn and try again! Failures are only failures if you don’t learn from them! I’m glad you learned something from my videos and your struggles are exactly why I started this channel. All potters have gone through what you’re going through now. Keep at it, take detail notes so you can either repeat a success or change what you did! Keep practicing the failures will become less and it will feel more rewarding!! Thanks for your support!! 🥰
Oh ya I forgot to tell you the important thing.. The same problem happened to me. I discovered that I had set the timer for slightly less than 12; I can’t remember how much and the the same failure happened. I always set my timer for a minimum of 12 now.And it has never happed since..I guess they need that time regardless of what kind of load you have doing.. I am not being very scientific but maybe it will help in times of need. I love your pottery. I am drawn to the same colours. Thanks for all your demos and the work you put in to it. I laugh because my kiln was given to me also. I am ever so grateful. The large bowl is kind of cool. It looks like it has a violet tinge that is appealing. Don’t despair. Also your dark clay light clay demo was great to see.Marcia again. Not trying to bug you but since I have the same kiln I thought I could share
Hi Marcia, Thanks so much for this info! Especially with these older kilns it very hard to get firing information so the fact that you have shared your similar experience I appreciate it. I love getting comments, suggestions and ideas from my viewers and hopefully the info will help others as well, so you are not being a pain! Keep the convo going 😊😉
Really enjoyed seeing your combos - I took notes. I have a similar Kiln Sitter and I do not use the Kiln wash on the sitter and have never had even a hit of problems. Kiln washing the sitter may be causing you problem and not fixing anything.
Hi Mark, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed some of my glaze layering combos, I am currently working on a new video with more glazing so stays tuned! I also appreciate your suggestion, and I think I will try no kiln wash next time I fire and see what happens. Pottery is definitely trial and error. Cheers!
@@SarahWaltonPottery BTW, I am just getting started. My son is the real potter. I bought a few PC and Celadon glazes (PC20,21,30,35,59 and C10,11) and did some test tiles but no pots yet. Jeremy (my son) has A LOT of bisque pieces on the shelf I wan to do something with. They were left over when he headed to College.
Oh you can have some fun with those glazes! A go to of mine is Temmoku under Blue Rutile, especially on a texture piece, the way the glaze pools is beautiful!
It is really helpful to see how many elements effect how the glaze turns out. I would love to see how you throw the cookies that you put pieces on. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Karen!! Not to toot my own horn, but I have to totally agree with you! I was sooo pleased with it on the bowl! Until this bowl I’d only put this combo on mugs/cups and vases. I’ve always had great success with it! The bowl blew my mind! Lol!
Thank you SO much for sharing this! I’m new to pottery too, and it’s so interesting to see all of these beauties a ,and what things can happen. I actually really like the brown bowl...subtle. 🌸
I'm sure you've learned a lot about kilns and firing since you made this video. But, for the sake of anyone reading these, probably the problem your kiln underfired was because the elements are tired. If you had left it running for a while even after the ten hours you usually ran you would have made it to a good cone 6. I use a kiln sitter kiln out of preference, but I don't totally rely on the sitter. I place my cone pack where I can see it inside the kiln and watch for the cone to go down. Wear heat-proof goggles like welders use when you look into a kiln.
Hello!! I’ve been to San Antonio for work back in the mid 90’s and just loved it there! I toured all the major city’s in TX loved it 💕 And Thank you so much for the compliment! 🥰Cheers!
Just discovered your channel and loving the detail you go into. Thanks for describing everything, even down to aspects of the kiln. Really helps as a new potter. That PSH black clay is gorgeous.
Didn't Read all the comments yet so my apologies if this is a repeat. I think that you just need to let your kiln go longer. I have kilns that are kilns also and depending on how full my kilns are sometimes it can take a lot longer for a run to complete. I think that if you'd have given it another half an hour or so you probably would have gotten up to cone. I really love your pink bowl
Thank you so much Courtney I appreciate the advice! Yes I do believe that running it a little longer could have made all the difference, I was worried because my previous load was an over fire and ruined half my piece 🤬!!! Someone also suggested running my timer a little longer, 12 hours opposed to 10 so it’s all great advice. I love that you took the time to share…and thanks for the compliment 😉😊
@@SarahWaltonPottery haha I totally got what you meant! 😉 I definitely can't afford a digital kiln.. not yet.. heck, I still can't plug in the one I managed to find 🥲
Just found your videos. Thanks for showing your work. I love it. I love the pink bowl. What a luck a friend is heading to the US soon so he can bring me the Coyote glazes. I can't get them in Germany. I need to get them. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of more videos!
Hello Germany!! Thank you for the compliments! I will be getting back into the studio soon so recordings will begin again soon! Thanks for your support! Btw you’ll LOVE the coyote glazes, don’t forget to really stir up the Archies Base to incorporate all the ‘gummy’ settlement ;)
@@SarahWaltonPottery I can't wait to get the glazes. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna cry when they are used up. I just got a big bowl out of the kiln with big drops 😍. Waiting for your videos ... Ta ta
Sarah I have officially received my order of Sunset Pink and Archie's Base. I had been resisting them until saw your result/Bowl Love Love Love. Sadly I am on call for the next two weekends-so it will take some time before I get to use them. But that gives me time to throw several items in a few different clays. I do hope I get the same results you got because your bowl is amazing! We are eagerly awaiting more videos.
Thank you so much and I'm thrilled to have inspired you to get these glazes, I really hope it works out for you too! On a sad note, I've been going thru some family issues which has taken me away from my pottery work, this is why I have not been consistent with my uploads, but I will be back at it VERY soon! More videos to come!! I promise!!
@@SarahWaltonPottery prayers for you and your family, sometimes life just makes us stop everything and come together to work on things. Hoping all goes well and peace be throughout your hearts and homes. We will be here waiting for new videos, but family always comes first! Hugs
Maybe it’s time to change those bars on the kiln sitter. There’s a utube video on how to do it. He did say it will show up as burnt looking on the plate inside if it’s time to change it out.
Hi! Just found your channel. I like where you're going with it and your pottery. I too have a used sitter kiln and I am learning a lot by dialing it in as I go. From what I can see, your kiln is obviously under-firing and is colder at the top and bottom. You stated that you set your firing to 10 hrs with a 12 hr cool-down. Considering the age of the kiln and (I assume) unknown hours of previous firing, you may want to set your timer a couple of hrs longer because your elements may be wearing out and not able to reach the correct heat-work temperature (cone) for the time you set. The uneven temps at top and bottom are likely due to the elements in those sections not getting as hot as the middle. In the long run, if you can find a kiln tech in your community I would have them check you elements and replace them if necessary. In the meantime I would advise setting your timer 2 - 3 hours longer. My $0.02. Happy potting!
Thanks David! I changed my elements a few months ago, but I'm not dismissing that it could be an element problem. I had many successful firings following the change out so I'm feeling a little confused. My previous mis-fire was an over-fire and half of my pots were ruined :( now that restrictions are finally being lifted in my part of the world I will definitely have a tech come check it out and hopefully fix it once and for all. I will definitely run my timer a little longer in the meantime! Thanks again David, I appreciate the info!
Hi Sarah, I really love your content! I love the look of the PSH buff speckled clay body. I’m considering purchasing a batch for myself but would love your input as to how you like throwing with it. I think I’m using Laguna WC-614 #90 currently and find that the clay is so difficult to center. I’m sure some of it might be due to me being in pottery for only about 1 year, but I’ve never experienced such difficulties with other clay bodies. I’d love any feedback on it. Thanks! And I look forward to more content on your page 🙂
Hi Kelsey! Thank you so much I really appreciate your compliments! 🤗 To answer your question, I really like throwing all of PSH clays and I’m sure you will too. I’m wondering if part of your challenge is air bubbles, because that can make it really hard to centre. Trapped air when wedging, also, if your clay was sitting around a warehouse for a bit or in your studio sometimes it gets harder to use. When I have this problem I will get a large bucket deep enough to completely submerged my bag of clay. I will pour a ½ - 1 cup of water inside the bag, tie it off and fill the bucket until it’s covering the top of the bag. Leave it overnight. The next day your clay should have absorbed the liquid and your clay will be easier to work with. Or, you can try dropping the whole bag of clay on the floor a couple of times, this will help get the clay molecules moving again, improving the plasticity see if either of those help with the Laguna clay. 😊
I’m going to make a bunch of those small plates to raise up the pot to allow drips. What an easy solution to a frustrating problem. I really love the look of winterwood capped by Archie’s base. Thanks for sharing your glaze results. That clay that fires burgundy was really nice. I had an old kiln that used a kiln sitter. I never used kiln wash on the kiln sitter prongs and never had a sticking issue. Did you, perhaps, get new kiln wash with a new ingredient that could have caused the sticking? With uneven results reaching the correct cone temp I wonder if you have burned out or broken elements? Do you vent your kiln to the outside when firing? It’s very dangerous to breathe in the fumes produced during firing.
Hi Annie, Thank you for your thoughtful and kind comments, i really appreciate it. This was the first time i had sticking issues with the prongs and have always applied the same kiln wash, i think it may not have been dry when I put the cone in the sitter. I have since had a successful firing, though my bottom shelf was still a little cool (cone 5.5) 🙄. As for venting, i have a very basic venting system...garage door open with an oscillating fan pointed at the peep holes to help drive air thru. One day i hope to be able to purchase a proper vent but until then...I don't spend time much time in the garage when it's firing...sigh...thanks again for saying hello 😉
That has turned out quite wonderful considering your kiln issues. That pink bowl is absolutely awesome (and I am not a fan of pink color in general). I am not a potter (I am a glass fusing enthusiast) so I don't know the way different clays react with different glazes, but I am wondering how that pink glaze would look on black/chocolate brown clay. I really hope you manage to solve your kiln problem and I am 🤞🤞🤞for a new kiln.
Thanks for your well wishes, I too hope I can figure out my kiln issues! I have used this same pink glaze combo on dark brown/black clay and it is absolutely gorgeous!!! I’ll have to post some pics to IG! Thanks for watching!
Oh this is brilliant! I love how your creations. Thanks so much for sharing with us! I'm only just beginning and this is truly motivating. I have access to studio kiln that does only high fire cone 10 etc, I wonder if I'm able to achieve the drip effect on high fire.
Hi Shruthi! Thank you and I am so happy that you enjoyed my videos and are inspired to try some drippy effects...my personal favourite! My best advise for you would be to make test tiles and see how much movement you will get and how to layer, often glazes move a fair bit at cone 10. Let me know how it turns out for you!
@@shruthi.b absolutely!! You don’t want to have your glaze run all over the kiln shelves..it’s a lot of work cleaning them up!! I always use cookies or drip catchers unless I know for certain that the glaze is stable. It’s easier to sand/grind of drips on your pot than cleaning up your shelves. Happy glazing!
Yes it will. Once a piece goes thru the first fire (bisque) it begins the vitrification process and will hold water but is still porous and the water will slowly seep thru the pot. Once a piece goes back in the kiln for the glaze fire (a much higher temp than the bisque) it really becomes waterproof. The problem with an underfire (as in this kiln opening) is that the glazes did not mature enough to become food safe, and or create the finish that I wanted. Each glaze and clay has a fire temp to reach, and in the case of the clay's that I use, that's cone 5-6 stoneware. I know this all sounds very confusing, and there will be a learning curve involved but cone temp is about 'heat work' and not always a temp but so you get an idea, cone 6 is approx 2200°F or 1200°C. hope this kinda helped!!
PS I got the same sad results with frosted lemon and WW. also Rasp Mist, and Norse Blue. However, I believe from what I have read it is due to the darker clay body. I will be trying the same combos on my white clay body.
Oh I'm so sorry to hear you too had same sad results! I've tested it before on mid toned clay and got some beautiful melted, drippy, runny, gorgeous results...I'm determined to try again....and hopefully no kiln malfunction!! I'm so happy that you shared, please keep us all posted with your results on the white clay body!
Let me tell you. Please replace your sensing rod!! It should never get that black!! It is also very thin. That alone will give you more consistent firings. Also your kiln shelf was very close to the kiln sitter. Remember the kiln furniture gets extremely hot and is the last thing to cool down. With it being so close to the kiln sitter it will heat your kiln sitter come really fast, making it turn off early. Be sure to calibrate your kiln as well. Look it up online it’s very easy to do. Hope this is helpful. I’ve been using kiln sitter kilns for over 20 years. You learn so much along the way. Also, make sure your kiln is at the very least 18” away from your walls.
Hi Michele, thank you for your suggestions! I’ve not had a chance to fire my kiln yet due to some extenuating circumstances..but hopefully very soon so that I can get to the bottom of this. I have a kiln shed with a notch out of the side so I’ll be sure to position it towards the sitter. I replaced the rod assembly recently but maybe, like you suggested, needs recalibrate. Thanks for your support!!
Thank you for this video, well done. I would like it if you could tell us how you applied the glazes, did you spray, paint brush, or dip your pieces. Thank you.
Hi John! Thank you! On all of these pieces I brushed on the glazes, though I do dip sometimes. I’ve got a couple of videos showing me brushing and dipping glazes. And I’m in the process of filming some new glaze combos..so stay tuned! Cheers!
Hi Nancy, Thank you!! I used 2x of each, but I step back the archies base just a little from where I stopped the sunset pink..hope that makes sense 🤪 thanks for watching and your support!
I wouldn’t use kiln wash on that mechanism. I have the same kind of mechanism in my kiln and I think if you just clean it off and leave it.would be best. Kiln wash can be a pain in the butt. I saw some small fragments fall and when you rubbed the little prongs and if you put kill wash on before your recent firing then I bet that is your problem.. The little cone just got stuck. Just clean them and don’t use any wash .PS I love the pink bowl..
Nice! How do you manage and the glazing does not run? what Temperature( celsius) do you have the kiln and how many minutes do you hold? Sorry for my bad english :)
Hello!! At the time of this firing, I was using a Manual Kiln Sitter kiln and can't give you an exact temp because the manual kiln use cones to decipher finish temp. I typically shoot for cone 6, no hold, as at this time in my pottery journey I didn't know how to do a hold on a manual kiln. 🤭 As for glaze running, I try to raise up my pots off the kiln shelf to prevent the drips from making my work stick to the shelf and then I can easily sand off any drips that run too far. I hope this answers your questions...if not please let me know...cheers!
It’s been a quite a while since I have used a kiln with a sitter but I seem to recall that there was a tool for adjusting the sitter. It was a little metal gizmo. I would ask your ceramic supplier for help. They will be the best bet for information. I used both the bar cones and the regular mini ones. You mentioned using Pottery Supply House Clay, are you in the GTA. They would certainly be able to handle any questions regarding firing for you.
Hi Jane, yes I’m in the GTA, I’ll give them a call and see what they suggest. My first mis-fire was and over fire and then..well you saw what happened. Clearly it’s something to do with the settings and the sitter must need an adjustment of some kind. I will reach out to PSH and see what perspective they have to offer. Thanks for the suggestion! 😊
Hi Sarah! I know this video is older. I’ve been watching them all! ❤ I have a similar kiln and would love to know your firing schedule for glaze fires. I’m struggling a bit. The kiln is reaching temp and sitter is working but I’m unsure of the timing of ramping up the heat, if that makes sense. I’m on your email list if that’s an easier way to send something. ~ Thanks
I remember waiting for my first class..I was so excited! Pottery is so rewarding! To answer your question, yes you can put them in the dishwasher. Some glazes don’t like the harsh detergents and may over time dull slightly, but I’ve yet to experience that..I put all of my pots in the dishwasher. Ceramics are very durable and very strong much more robust then let’s say glass, the dishwasher isn’t going to break them..dropping them might..teehee. Thanks for your question, let me know how your first class goes!
Hi Sarah, I was so impressed by the dark clay glaze that I ordered the dark granite from Potters Supply. It turned out to be the wrong one that I discovered after biquing several pieces. I thought it was a mislabeled clay. When I contacted them to complain they told me about the “black clay”. I should have pain more attention to the numbers in the video. In any case, after making test samples of the black clay I am waiting for Lustrious Jade to come in the mail and look forward to testing it out for results similar to yours. One question, are there any other combinations of glaze you would suggest for the black clay base? I really enjoy the time you take to explain what you do and sharing your glaze combinations.
Hello Rohrshak, first off, thank you for the compliments! Hey I’ve been thinking about ordering the dark granite and will do so after I go thru more of my on had supply. I know it wasn’t the black clay but did you like it?? I’ve seen pics on IG and think it’s quite beautiful! I’ll be getting back into the studio very soon, I was off for the summer tending to some family issues but plan to record some more glazing soon and will share some goodies to try ;)
Hi! As I have a manual kiln I typically do a natural cool as I don't often get back to it to fire it up again...to do a slow cool. I aim to fire to cone 6 and always use cone packs on each shelf to verify what temp each area of my kiln gets to. As for recommendations, I'd like to try a slow cool to see if that would help with pinholes as some glaze/clay combos give me some trouble...still a work in progress. Thank you for watching!
Hi Molly, thank you for the suggestion! In fact I did re-fire as I too thought I could get better results and I did! I’ve attached the video so you can see the results too! Thanks again for taking the time to make this suggestion!🥰 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P5ZzJPLDrXw.html
I use to have a cone setter kiln and I never used kiln shelf wash on my kiln setter and I used bar cones in the setter not the cone shape ones. Maybe this might help.
I also switched from cones to kiln sitter AKA junior bars. They are more repeatable and manufacturing those little 2 cones stuck together are almost impossible to separate without sore thumbs and multiple broken cones
I don't have a vent...well not one that is hooked up anyways. what I do is open my garage about a foot, while it's firing, yes even in the winter! I run a regular room fan which circulates the air well enough, I point it at my kiln to help move oxygen thru the kiln and I always have the top peep open. and non of the smells come into my house. It works well enough!
Hi Shelley, I buy get my pottery supplies mostly from Amaranth Stoneware in Kingston Ontario and from Pottery Supply House in Oakville Ontario. I’m also close enough to shop in person at Tuckers Pottery in Richmond Hill Ontario. All are amazing, and have a great product lineup, but in my opinion Amaranth Stoneware caries a more diverse product lineup.
I get my supplies from PSH also, I’m like 45min - 1 hour away but they don’t have Amazon/Mayco glazes. I will check out Amaranth Stoneware, hopefully they deliver. Thanks for responding quickly ALL the time 😊
I fired the two pieces separately . The top part (that holds the butter) I left the rim unglazed. I knew that the Frosted Lemon is pretty stable so I was able to bring it down almost to the edge. If you check out my 'refired' video, you will see how much more movement i got when it got up to the correct temp...no additional glaze was added just the proper heatwork....it turned out beautifully...On the Lusterous Jade/ Dark Green one, I did not glaze the flange nor the rim, I did get run off on this one and had to sand down the drip and cookie...check out my When glaze runs too far...Hope this helps!! 😃
Don't take anything from this load or the re-firing as an accurate example of what the glazes will look like on a normal firing. I too have second hand kilns. 4 of them. One is a studio kiln, one is the size you have there, one is a big kiln but it needs furniture and the 4th is in pretty bad shape so i made it into a raku kiln. I feel your struggle but it gets better as you get to know your equipment.
You may need to change out your elements. When the elements get old they stop heating. I have a Skutt kiln setter kiln plus a Skutt digital. Mature cone 5 is time plus heat work. Your kiln didn’t reach a uniform temp or hot enough. Change your elements and try again. Your pieces are lovely. Seaweed is normally runny.
Thank you Barbara, i appreciate this. After this video I was able to get a couple of good firings. I watched my elements thru the peeps and they seem to be ok, I had changed them not too long before this was recorded. I had a few good firings then I had an over fire which most of the pieces were ruined with heavy pinholes and glaze run off 😵💫😤. It still baffles me what exactly happened here, a couple of people suggested lengthening the timer which I did and it seems to be working better🤞. Thanks for watching and supporting my channel! 🤗
Thank you Barbara, I think you’re right! July has turned into a crazy month for me so I haven’t been able to work on my kiln. Yikes because I have a few things I need to fire 😬 I appreciate you taking the time to share your suggestions 🙏
That was a while ago and I haven't priced out elements lately but if I remember correctly it was about $120 bux for the elements so not too bad. I need to change out my elements soon so I'll definitely film and share...
Hi Jackie, I went the extra mile and had an electrician hook up my kiln, and in Ontario it's required that they pull permits. Now I know not everyone will do that and if you do your own electrical then permits are not required. In Canada, it's also recommended to have kilns hardwired in (I got that info from a kiln manufacture) and again I know that many people have their kilns plugged into a 220 outlet. It's a personal choice and I'm a little over-the-top sometimes ;)
