CONROW

F I N E P O R C E L A I N

Hello John and Glenn and Catherine…

Greetings! I am, at last, sending a list of materials I’ll need for the crystalline workshop. Each participant should bring some bisqued pieces, keeping in mind the size of the kiln, so that smaller pieces would be good. I believe we are also doing some post-firing, so participants might want to bring finished pieces glazed with glazes that include titanium, rutile, copper or combinations of these ingredients. I suggest about 2 percent copper with about one-quarter percent cobalt as a good starting place and about 5% titanium as another.

I am sending the info I usually send for a workshop although I realize John and I do most things really differently, from the pedastal process, through glazing and firing!

As to the kilns. I expected that you would have access to one or two electric kilns, on site, that go to cone 10/11. If this is not the case, please do let me know where the kilns are and how we will fire them. I fire to a HOT cone 10, actually cone 11 is very soft to down. I fire with cones as I know that my two electrics kilns hit the cone 11 at one half point at very different temps (by 20 degrees) and it is the cones I fire to. I would want to be at the site of the kilns that are being fired for the workshop, or have a very good technician watching the firing at the end temps.

John and I may want to do separate firings as I suspect he fires to a cooler range??

I’ll include an approximate schedule on the next attachment. Again, this is how I usually run a workshop and John and I will have to coordinate this. Because I teach spraying and this necessitates equipment and time, that will have to be considered in the timing!

To prepare the brick pedastals:

Three 2800 degree soft bricks

A saw to cut these into 1/2 inch slices (as in a loaf of bread)

A coping saw (to cut the slices into shapes to fit the bottoms of the bisqued pieces)

Drywall screen paper (or sand paper), two or three sheets

Elmer’s glue, an 8 oz. squeeze container

Masks (for this and all dusty work as well as spraying glazes (basic disposable masks will be fine)

****It would be great if you could make and bisque about twenty pieces of clay (or as many as you think you will have pots...) on which these brick pedastals and pots, could sit. I take a slab, cut it into round pieces of clay about three to six inches diameter and pinch up the sides as children do while making ashtrays, just enough to hold any glaze that might run...all this in an effort to protect the shelves!!!!! Perhaps each participant could make glaze catchers to fit the feet of their own pots???

Glaze materials:

See attachment with suggested formulas. We can use any or all of these.

A sieve (screen size 50 or 60 for airgun and 80 for airbrush), six-1 gallon glaze containers, drill mixer, rubber spatulas, wire whisk, paper towels, one or two regular cloth towels

An air compressor, about 1 horsepower is good....and it would be good if you have airguns/airbrushes, or participants can bring them. I will bring airgun/ airbrush as well.

After firing, finishing pieces:

Propane torch

Hammer and chisel (1/4 inch is best)

Bench grinder, best to have lapidary grinding wheel, silicon carbide, 100 grit (this is faster) or 220 grit (slower but more accurate)

Dremel drill....not essential, but good to have....with a variety of silicon carbide tips

Goggles/eye protection

For throwing/handbuilding /demonstrating while firing

Wheel (I especially like to work on a pegged wheel, with pegged bats, but if unpegged, just about 10 bats ) , 25-50# porcelain (I’m not fussed about which kind, although one that throws well, and one that handbuilds well [and for this you may need two different clays] would be much appreciated), a mirror (to put in front of wheel, any size over 12 “), the usual pottery tools...I will actually bring my favorite tools with me) and, finally, some mid-weight fabric for rolling slabs and miscellaneous handbuilding uses.

I think that’s about it...please get in touch if you have any questions and I’m sure you will!