The journey begins….
From clay to pottery.
The journey from mud (clay) to ceramics is one that requires patience. I am not a patient person, so the journey is a hard one. I started with Air Dry clay since I had no kiln or wheel. Air Dry clay can never be durable nor food safe but it allow me a low cost way of working with clay and creating something decorative and useful. However, the creations are no able to withstand moisture or much in the way of washing. It also rules it out for creating plant holders if the plants are alive and require watering.
Still, I decided I’d like to try the “real” thing and make ceramic pots and other items. I needed a kiln and a throwing wheel. I wanted to limit my spending, not being totally convinced I wanted to pursue this hobby.
Here are the two items I purchased. I bought a cheap throwing wheel and a very small kiln from Vevor. The throwing wheel pallet is 10 inches and I should have bought one with a 12 inch pallet. The Vevor 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 kiln has no programming - which is not good for a person with no patience. A month or so later then introduced a programable model which I wish I had. It is about $75 more but well worth it. This kiln heats VERY fast increasing the possibility of the piece cracking or exploding.
The reason for having a programable kiln is that temperature has to be increased gradually which means I have to “babysit” my manual model. Failure to have absolutely dry clay and raise the temperature slow means pots will crack or explode.
Assuming I don’t rush, I can fire one piece (bisque and glaze fire) in 24 hours.
I’m now in the market for a 240v kiln (programable) which will allow me to fire more and larger pieces.
More pieces:
