Product Description

Survival of the craft will depend upon how well you use the available energy to process clay into a ceramic. This is a primary craft survival book.

This is the 1999 edition of a book which I wrote in 1975, first published by others. The nice thing about a field such as ceramics is that so little has changed over time. Everything in this book is still valid. We still place clay in a box and supply enough heat to transform the clay into a ceramic. It is a science, but with some kilns it is an art, bordering on a miracle.

So, what's all the mystery? Some people can fire successfully and some can't. Some kilns fire easily and some are stubborn or seem to ruin most of what is placed in them. All of this can be explained if you understand the firing process.

That's what this book is all about. Its purpose is to replace mystery with understanding. No more never-ending firings, or puzzles about something strange and unexplained happening.

The other reason for the book is to conserve energy. Don't get upset. By conserving energy, we make the craft more affordable in this time of high energy costs, and thereby! We prolong the craft and the craftsperson. Conservation of energy also means less pollution because more of the fuel is burned and not belched into the atmosphere. With an ever increasing population, we all eat, breathe, small, and live with someone else's pollution. We cannot afford this.

In a single, focused book, we can learn what it takes to fire a kiln without mysteries, with far less firing cost, and with less rejects.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1038222 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Plastic Comb
• 136 pages

From the Author
Have you read the headlines lately? We are facing a fuel shortage come winter and fuel costs are predicted to skyrocket. Combustion efficiency means getting all the heat from the fuel that you have paid for. If you are a ceramist, getting the most heat from your fuel could mean survival of the craft. If you are a homeowner, it could keep you from converting to pauper or from becoming a Popsicle. ISBN 0939656175 contains the needed information for checking combustion efficiency the way the pros do, and it also checks fuel oil and propane. Gas still burns the way it did 30 years ago, it just costs more.

About the Author
Ralph has been working with clay since the 1950's as a sculptor and potter. First as a hobby and later as owner and operator of Studios West, Encinitas, Calif., for 20 years. Studios West was an Art Studio specializing in architectural sculpture.

This book was written from that experience. His efforts now are to write and publish that wealth of experience and knowledge for the benefit of those who follow. Times are changing and those who survive as ceramists will have discovered how to best use the increasingly precious , available energy to produce affordable ceramics objects

That is the goal of this book..

Customer Reviews

Easy to understand.
This book is very easy to understand. I am not an advanced potter (I have fired a gas kiln before) and I have not had any trouble. All terms and charts are explained for those who are not familiar with them and examples are given to better explain concepts. I can't wait to apply this new knowledge to my own firing techniques.

Indispensable book
I learned how to control my newly aquired used gas kiln with this book. I had only fired electric kilns before. Great advise, no fuss, many questions answered, found information I could not get anywhere else. Get volume II as well if you want to become a proffessional and save money at the same time.

It answers my questions and removes my uncertainty about firing.
This book is exactly as promised by the product description and other reviews that I'd read, before buying it. It's my number one firing manual. I think it always will be. The explanations are very thorough and seem to be arranged in a way that explains what is happening with the clay body, as you take each prescribed step. Giving the reader a clearer understanding of the purpose behind each step and why the order cannot be skipped. Other potters have done the trial and error, and the reader is told how not to find out the hard way.