It
is that time of year, a place where I find myself year after year when I just
don't feel like I can get enough work done in a day and certainly can not get pots
dried out fast enough for bisque firings. Over the years I have taken to using
the kilns to dry out my terra cotta pots thanks to a forgiving and all purpose
terra cotta clay body that I have tweaked over the years. The terra cotta that
I am currently using was originally from a formula that I got from Dick
Schneider back at my CSU days though the current incarnation has be altered
quite a bit to all for what I call shock drying which rarely results in any
warping or cracking of the clay. Illustrated is a black and white slip tray
that was made on a Monday and glaze fired on a Sunday thanks to this drying
method. Using soft brick under the tray, I allow the heat to perculate up
through the bricks and dry out the clay which can take a couple of hours but
makes it ready to go in a bisque the very next day. From here it is simply
about balancing out pieces, filling and firing the kilns and getting everything
finished. There is never enough kiln space or time and I always seem to get
inventories to galleries just at the last minute or a day or two late but
luckily, for the most part they are very accomidating. Thanks.
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