Atmospheric-Like Effects for Electric Firing

Or…

What’s All The Fuss About Reduction, Anyway?

By: Steven Hill

Wood, oil, gas or electricity… The fuel we fire with is not what determines the success of our finished work. All fuels are capable of producing a wide range of results, from mediocre to magnificent. In spite of this, electric kilns have traditionally been viewed as a less desirable alternative to the fire breathing kilns of “serious” potters.

Many ceramic artists feel a kinship with fire.  There is an undeniable mystique in firing with wood, oil and gas. Firing with these fuels requires an understanding of the firing process that leads to a relationship with the flame. Potters are often drawn to surfaces that show the “mark of the fire”. This happens naturally in salt, soda and wood firing, but has never been associated with the predictability of electric firing.

Aspiring studio potters looking for this visual interaction between the firing process and their work often fire at ceramic centers or community colleges in order to gain access to reduction and atmospheric firings. It can be a daunting experience for the novice to build and fire a fuel-burning kiln. Compared to fuel-burning kilns, electric kilns are safe, affordable and predictable. Many who fire in an electric kiln make the choice out of necessity, rather than for the effect it has on their work.

My goal is to dispel the myth that firing in an electric kiln is a compromise. Also to encourage potters to take responsibility for their surfaces instead of blaming or crediting the kiln gods. There will always be an element of chance in the firing process; that is one of the inherent joys of working with clay. Gradually over the course of my career, I have learned that the atmosphere of the kiln has less impact on the surface than I ever dreamed possible. I want to teach potters to achieve the soft, textured and varied surfaces traditionally associated with reduction and atmospheric firings regardless of the firing atmosphere. After a little rethinking and adjusting of firing cycles and glazing techniques, you will be able to free yourself of the alleged limitations of electric firing!

Firing

Usually fuel-burning kilns are larger than electric kilns; therefore there is a slower heat rise, often a soak at the top temperature and slower cooling. If you want similar results from an electric kiln, it is important to emulate both the heating and the cooling cycles of a larger kiln. This means slowing the temperature gain to about 100°F an hour during the last several hours of the firing, soaking the kiln at the top temperature, and then down-firing for the first 500-600° to slow down the cooling cycle. Small kilns cool very quickly (especially when they are raised off the floor on legs) often not giving matt glazes enough time to form crystals. When fast cooled, matt glazes can lose that soft, buttery matt quality we so cherish!

Glazing

In electric firing, glaze surfaces tend towards flat solid colors, often looking more paint-like than they do in reduction firing. Since the atmosphere is static, atmospheric qualities are not encouraged in an electric firing. This leaves the glaze application process as your main tool for introducing surface variation. If you apply thin coats of 2 or more contrasting glazes they will intermingle as they melt, but the layers never mix thoroughly. The result is soft and subtle surface variation. You can apply multiple layers by dipping, but spraying gives you the opportunity to modulate glazes in a way that appears organic. 

If you think about the flame, ash, salt or soda that gives the soft surface variations we characterize as “atmospheric effects”, the common denominator is that they travel through the kiln via the kiln’s draft. When you spray glazes, the spray hits the piece and moves past it in much the same way as the draft moving past the pot in a fuel-burning kiln.    Spraying coats of overlapping glazes gives you the potential to create surfaces that naturally flow across a piece, softly highlighting form. As sublime as this can be, insensitive use of a spray gun can lead to surfaces with obvious spray patterns and blotchy color. With experience, however, spraying has the potential to integrate seamlessly with the form. You will benefit from both a clear vision and the flexibility to let the process lead you in directions never imagined…

Upcoming Steven Hill Workshops

at

Center Street Clay

Electric vs. Gas Firing: What’s All The Fuss About Reduction, Anyway? (Participatory)

May 12-16, July 21-25, August 25-29, 2010

Dinnerware & Serving Pieces / Electric vs. Gas Firing

(Participatory)

June 12-19, 2010

Journey Workshop

(Participatory)

October 17-24, 2010

(See website for a description of this workshop)

218 West Center Street, Sandwich, IL 60548, studio@centerstreetclay.com

(815) 570-2030

centerstreetclay.com