Continuing the discussion from "Training Required" tools that sit idle:
If we assume that the kiln uses 2400 watts (pretty conservative value) then a 24 hour run would cost about 57 kwh in electricity at whatever our rate is.
One viable option would be smaller kilns, which would allow members to work with different clays requiring different firing temps. Faster cycling, etc…
Charging members to fire sounds like an idea that should be considered.
What problem are we solving here?
I don’t care either way but small kilns are expensive for what you get. It would make more sense to get another big kiln IMHO. I think jewelry already has a small kiln.
http://www.clay-king.com/kilns/paragon_kilns/paragon_quickfire_6.html
That’s only a 6" cube. Plus, it won’t fire to Cone 6 (2232F), so no stoneware. $359 plus shipping. And, they’re quite hot while running. Not in my budget, cash-wise or space-wise.
I’ll count the pieces in the kiln when I unload Thursday.
Also small kilns still take a lot of time to run and cool down. Just running mine to around 1500 for glass took many hours.
But they take less time then larger kilns, because of their lesser mass. The idea is that they would offer greater opportunity for variety, faster turn around, and the opportunity for more members to learn to operate the kilns.
The funding could come from selling one or both of the larger kilns.
There is no problem from the folks in fired arts
I know that there have been special kiln firings for porcelain
and the same for a lady that could fill a kiln with her own work
When I joined 2 years ago there were maybe 2 kiln firings a montm instead of
2 or more a week
Have any of these issues you bring up really been actually issues in reality?
Have no idea, but they were being brought up in the thread that spawned this one.
I know that I once wanted to make a micaceous clay bowl, but there were problems since it wasn’t to be fired at our ‘normal’ temperatures.
Once the smaller Paragon kiln is fixed, it could provide a good opportunity for interested members to take classes on kiln operation and be used for unique firings. It’s not a difficult size to fill with one person’s work or to get together with a few others for a group effort. This would also mean experimental/one-off/ etc. firings wouldn’t interfere with the standard bisque and cone 6 glaze runs. There is also the small Cress but it is a very simple kiln that doesn’t offer a lot of control. There is currently no path to use that kiln at the moment and not a lot of info.
What I want is everyone NOT doing fired arts to STAND DOWN.
HOLY COW folks, the kilns are not an issue. Using them is not an issue. Fired Arts is effective. That community is being well served and serviced.
How kilns are used is mostly a community event and unique as a tool for DMS. Everyone adds work to a firing. Firings take time. No other tool is running 24-36 hours at a time. Beth explained this well.
A single kiln of an individual’s work usually represents weeks of work. Say that out loud. Depending on the size items. Small jewelry items could be several hundred to coffee cups could be 100.
This is the crap that makes me despise the “knowledge attitude” at DMS. Googling kilns means you have a vague idea about them. It gives you ZERO knowledge to make anything but baseless comments.
Walter’s suggestion of smaller kilns does not acknowledge we have a good number and right size for the space available. It does not address any known need.
I will make a deal with you come over and work in Fired Arts. Make 3-5 pieces a week for a YEAR, that is hobby level. If you want to be a production potter, start making 100 coffee mugs or 25 1 pound bowls a day, for a year. After a year, you will know something and your suggestions will be welcome.
FYI. I have 29 college credits in ceramics / pottery. It was a passion for me for several years.
Do you know what Cone that fires to?
Wow a hidden skill I didn t know that about you
That type of clay can be in a pit fire
I have done similar in my backyard
The micaceous clay, traditionally used by pueblo potters for bean pots, were fired to cone 010
I disagree, our primary purpose is education and from what I have read on this thread learning to fire your own pots is an extremely rare skill-certainly worth teaching.
And as my personal example illustrates there are many clays members could be experimenting with.
I spent a year learning to make a hand built pot with hand rolled coils and eventually just threw out the raw pot because DMS didn’t have a means for me to fire it.
This isn’t the first time we have had discussions about member access to the kilns.
The flaw in your reasoning is that the kiln is normally not part of the creative process. It is an auxiliary step in creating pottery.
And, @wandrson, that could be done in the Kress. It’s possible that we didn’t have the Kress when you were creating that pot. We do have a certain supply of the small cones that are required to operate it, and you could buy a box of the 010 cones if we don’t already have them.
I’m probably one of the rare exceptions, that has never done pottery, ceramics, or porcelain work, but have a fair bit of experience loading and firing porcelain many years ago.
And while porcelain is a higher fire, and probably more finicky in getting even heat through the load, it has a lot fewer ways to go wrong that can damage other pieces, the furniture, or even the kiln itself.
I know that even if you expand to include glass fusing, about the only way an individual gets to load and run their own kiln load is to own their own kiln. I will also suggest that for 95% or more of the work here, the current model works just fine.
But, it might make sense for one smaller kiln to be set up for firing classes and individual use. But, expect mistakes to happen. It will probably go through more kiln wash, more furniture, and more kiln damage than the ones doing the committee fires.
Also, rules would need to be set up for what hours of the process the member must be present. I would expect at least for all the hours that the elements are on, but that also suggests that something would need to be in place for how many hours after a fire they have grace to unload? Do they get to leave for meals while their load is still heating? Who decides when it is time to scrape the kiln wash and start over? Who decides if some touch up wash is enough? What if you show up planning to start a 16 hour run, and you discover the shelves need new kiln wash first?
The creative process in ceramics would usually involve the slab roller and pottery wheels. Training is not required (as far as I know) for the slab roller or pottery wheels, however fired arts still has many classes for those tools. If you want to get rid of the kiln(s) because you don’t understand it, I guess we will just have a slab roller and pottery wheel with no way to fire anything? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Not opposed to a small kiln for people who want to do special firings and/or a glass kiln.
Yeh, I don’t believe that kiln was available. I started my pot shortly after I joined DMS in 2015 and finished an acceptable greenware pot in early 2016. Threw it out over a year ago as well as the pottery tools I had purchased to make the pot.
I encourage the fired arts folks to think a little more about accommodating those that want to learn how to fire the clay as well as those who just want to create pottery. It is part of our mission at DMS. We should be encouraging everyone who wants to be involved and wants to learn to use the equipment. We should also be encouraging people who want to experiment with other pottery products that require firing temps different from the standard cone 6 we seem to do the bulk of.
But if 95% of the people are happy with just creating pottery, how much money should we spend on the 5% that say they want to use the kiln and the more likely 1% who will actually follow through and bother to show up to a kiln class? Are there better uses for the money that will benefit the majority of people who use fired arts? Not that I’m against adding more kilns.