From: Evan Cornish-Keefe <evanthomas@me.com>

Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 7:34 PM

To: pdah@optonline.net

Subject: crystalline glaze

Hi Phil,

I've spent a lot of time looking through your crystalline glaze website. The information you post is incredibly helpful, and I'm very grateful for it.

I have wanted to contact you for some time, to thank you for the helpful information, to introduce myself, and to ask some questions.

I also went to Alfred University, live relatively close to you (in Westchester, NY), and have a strong interest in crystalline glazes (of course).

I started experimenting with these glazes a little over a year ago, while working towards my BFA at Alfred.

Here's a photo of some crystalline glazed sculptures I made for my senior show:

After graduating last May I immediately bought a small used test kiln on Craigslist, a Paragon Caldera. I've been using this kiln to make crystalline glazed jewelry. I like that it's small and portable, and runs on 120 volts, which is convenient. However, it really struggles to get to temperature, with new elements it takes 9 hours to reach cone 10 and every firing it slows down. It's also a manual kiln with a k-type thermocouple, which isn't really adequate. So I think I should invest in a better kiln rather than spending more to improve the one I have.

I've thought about building a small electric kiln, but after doing some research, this seems way over my head at this point. I would really like to know your thoughts on the small test kilns on the market. If they're rated to cone 10, can they fire regularly to this temperature? Will a kiln perform as well running on 120 volts as it would at a higher voltage? I'd appreciate any advice you could give, and would welcome a phone conversation or meeting.

A photo of my crystalline glazed bee pendants:

There are many more photo's on my website: http://www.evancornishkeefe.com

Thank you!

-Evan Cornish-Keefe