bolt. Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 DD13 has developed an interest in clay and pottery through art classes where they used clay, glazes, and a kiln. She'd love to do more art like that. Is there anything similar that can be done without special facilities? She likes the feel of the clay, and the three-dimensionality of the work. Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 (edited) We got blocks of clay from an art store. You have to work the clay quite a bit by hand but it can be shaped. Sorry. Hit send bu accident. You can air dry it or put it in your oven on low heat. Not as nice as using a kiln but it works. Edited February 10, 2018 by Jean in Newcastle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Call around and see if any places with kilns will fire pottery for you. Some places will for a fee. They will have specific requirements on what they will fire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 You could try Raku firing in a firepit in the backyard, if you’re feeling brave. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 You could try Raku firing in a firepit in the backyard, if you’re feeling brave. :)My husband is a potter (as an avocation) and built a Raku kiln out of a metal garbage can. It has a pulley system for raising and lowering the lid. You could probably google for plans. However, he does do an initial firing in a regular kiln first, but perhaps a very hot oven would work for that. You might also try advertising on Craig’s list or an art supply shop for someone willing to let her use their equipment. My husband has allowed people to do this and also given them free instruction, usually in exchange for some help around the studio. In his experience though, most people find it involves far more hard physical work than they are really willing to do for very long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Our local high school has a kiln or two. They have an open studio in the evening twice a month. For $20, you can come and use their equipment (wheel, kiln - only instructor touches kiln though) or do welding. They let the clay dry for 5-6 weeks before they put it in the kiln though - then you glaze, then they fire it again. So maybe call your local high school and see if they have that kind of equipment and non-students can use it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted February 10, 2018 Author Share Posted February 10, 2018 We got blocks of clay from an art store. You have to work the clay quite a bit by hand but it can be shaped. Sorry. Hit send bu accident. You can air dry it or put it in your oven on low heat. Not as nice as using a kiln but it works. Is there a set of instructions we could follow for using our own oven? Can it still be glazed? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 (edited) There are a lot of air-drying options, or even trying out plasticine that she could use. My dd used to make all kinds of really cool creations with plasticine. Another neat medium is dough art (trolldeig in Norwegian). You can make the creations in a simple flour, salt and water mixture, bake them in the oven, and then paint them. These are very popular in Norway, and make great gifts. https://www.pinterest.ca/fosselie/trolldeig/ Edited February 10, 2018 by wintermom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Is there a set of instructions we could follow for using our own oven? Can it still be glazed? I'm pretty sure the block of clay that we got had a sheet with basic instructions on it. I also got books from the library on ceramics. (I tried to look right now on their site but wasn't able to pull them right up.) I'm not sure on the glazing. Possibly, since I seem to remember pieces needing to sit (and thus air dry) for a while before going into the kiln. Like a PP suggested I have also taken a bunch of clay pieces to a local kiln at times to fire. It wasn't expensive. I took a big heavy cookie sheet with the kid's work on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Surprisingly, our senior center has a kiln and offers pottery classes that ate open to the non-senior public. I’d check around and see if there’s something like that in your area. Other places that might have a ceramics lab include Maker Spaces and some collective/community studios. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 This isn't the same brand but it is pretty much the same as what we used. https://www.dickblick.com/products/della-robbia-oven-bake-clay/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted February 10, 2018 Author Share Posted February 10, 2018 So there is oven bake clay, but it's not something you glaze. There are no oven bake glazes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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