What is slip?
Slip is made by adding water to clay and mixing it into a paste. This is used as ‘potters glue’. Slip is used to join clay to clay (like when attaching a handle) and to decorate.
Do I have to fire my pot?
If you’d like your masterpieces to be food safe and waterproof you’ll need to fire ya pots.
If you don’t fire your pot it won’t be functional.
If you add water to a pot that hasn’t been fired it will become wet smooshy clay again.
My piece is sculptural and will not need to be food safe or waterproof ?
In this case you will not need to fire your masterpiece, you can let them air dry over 2 weeks then display em on your mums mantelpiece.
Can i use Acrylic or watercolour paints on my pieces?
If you’d like your pieces to be fired (resulting in them being food safe and waterproof) then NO Acrylic/watercolour paints will burn away and disappear when fired in our kiln.
if your pieces are going to be non-functional/sculptural and you won’t need to fire them, then you can definitely add a splash of colour by using Acrylic or watercolour.
Can I use my oven instead of a kiln?
Unless you have an oven which reaches 1280°C (you don’t hehe) then you’ll need to get your pieces to see a Pottery kiln.
I’ve made a pot !! can it dry out too much before its first firing ?
NO! Once your piece is made you can leave it for years before firing it. Once its dry pop it aside and save a visit to our kilns for a rainy day.
How long do I leave my pot before firing it/glazing it/firing it again?
After you’ve made your pot from clay it will be ready for its bisque firing once it gets to the bone dry stage (about 1 week after the making of it). Your pot needs to be bone dry to go into the kiln for the first firing to prevent it from exploding! (EXPLODING!!! 0: don’t worry this doesn’t happen very often).
After your pot has been bisque fired you can glaze it straight away but it can also stay in this stage for as long as you’d like until you’re ready to apply glaze and glaze fire it. Once you have applied glaze to your pot it is immediately ready for the glaze firing, but leaving it on a shelf for a few weeks until you’re ready to bring it in is fine too.
How can I find out if my clay and glaze are designed for the same temperature?
The package your clay and glaze come in will have this information on it. It will list a ‘firing range’ and will read something like this: ‘Stoneware firing range 1280°C to 1300°C’. If you’re ever unsure where to find this then please ask us! Always happy to help <3
How long does a firing take?
The actual firing takes around 3 days including packing the kiln, slowly heating it up, slowly cooling it down and unpacking the pots. We aim for a 1-2 week turn around from when you drop your pot off to when you’re able to pick it up but it varies depending on how busy we are that week.
