Firing two. It took much longer than planned to get to this point, some work on the kiln was very much required and it meant the whole thing had to come down and be rebuilt. Why? Mostly, I wanted a layer of insulating bricks under the floor (which budget did not stretch to 6 months… Continue reading The second firing of the Vulcan Works Wobbler
Author: Callum Forbes
Soda firing, glaze and body testing. Potter.
The Clay College Blogs
When I was at Clay College, we were encouraged to contribute to the student blog when we looked after the gallery at the weekend. I seldom wrote; I don’t enjoy writing for the sake of it, but I did write at least three posts. I am republishing them here. I sometimes find them to be… Continue reading The Clay College Blogs
The Vulcan Works Wobbler
When I was at Clay College I had costed up the kiln build for little wobbler, and had always imagined that a rebuild of that kiln would be my first soda kiln. The costing was done on the basis of all new refractories, and I started saving up towards that budget as soon as I… Continue reading The Vulcan Works Wobbler
Soda firing: the intro
It has taken me some time to build up the courage to start to write about the soda firings I have been doing at Clay College in the small test kiln (the descendant of little wobbler, a combination cross draught – downdraught design with one burner). It is hard to say why I have taken… Continue reading Soda firing: the intro
Ash in glazes
I am a huge fan of ash glazes. The most simple combinations of clay and ash, free of any industrial touch, can form some of the most beautiful glazes imaginable, and mostly all of the great glazes we admire so much from China are of this composition. One of my favourite ash glazes is based… Continue reading Ash in glazes
Oxidation Clay Bodies
Successful pots all start with clay. But clay suppliers have a vested interest in producing clay bodies as cheaply as possible to maximise profit. Which means in some cases the bodies they supply do nothing for the glazes and the bodies themselves look dull and lifeless – for some reason this seems especially true for… Continue reading Oxidation Clay Bodies
Little Wobbler
Little Wobbler was a short lived but fun and cute kiln that sparked my interest in soda firing again, and taught me a lot about firing and kiln building. Here I share the design and build of the cutest kiln there has ever been at Clay College
Mashiko Clay
Sakura Tsuchi, a beautiful local clay from Mashiko in Japan, made it’s way home with me in my hand luggage to be tested in a range of stunning glazes
A guide to Triaxial glaze testing
I love testing using triaxials: you prepare the three corners, and blend between them, and before you know if from three you suddenly have as many glazes as you wish! They have some limitations – for example when it comes to testing materials you are better off setting up a test such as a quadraxial,… Continue reading A guide to Triaxial glaze testing
Callum Forbes 