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Parent Category: Technical Articles from Journal Back Copies

Category: Technical Articles 2005

Inspired by Pat Johnson's tutorial at Leicester, Tony and Gerry led a most exciting high firing workshop. With two days to 'play' with we had time to experiment, consider the results and push the enamels a little further.

The main problem we encountered was the difficulty of maintaining 940°C so that everyone could high fire, despite using gas fired kilns which recover their temperature very quickly. Great self-discipline was required to avoid 'just popping it in' while the temperature rose. As Pat Johnson has often pointed out "high firing effects happen when the piece starts at the really high temperature, you don't get the same result by letting it get there slowly". The amount of metal in the stilts used had an effect too, the lighter and thinner they are the less the temperature falls when the piece is put into the kiln.

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