Kiln Firings

Wanting to book in a Kiln Firing at The Community Pottery? Look no further.

We have two kilns to choose from, a 50 Litre Rohde and a 200 Litre Skutt Kiln. Both kilns are capable of low, mid and high firings. 

Whilst we take extra-special care to fire your pots accurately and safely, it is important to recognise that it all starts with your own work and the information you provide us. Please ask if you are unsure about anything.

Things to consider:

Volume of work - Consider the volume of ceramics, for example, a bisque firing can hold a lot more ceramics, as the pots can generally stack on top of one another. Whereas a glaze firing cannot, as all pots will need to be sat with space between each other. If you have large pieces, consider the height of the kiln and choose a suitable sized kiln. The 50L is great for mugs, bowls, small plates. The 200L kiln is better for taller and larger pieces.

Firing temperature - All your work will need to be fired to the same temperature for each firing. i.e. a kiln load of high fire glazed work may go to cone 9 or around 1260•c. Whereas you wouldn't be able to mix a kiln firing with cone 6 and cone 9 pieces together.

Time of firing - Firings take around 8 hours, with at least 12 hours for the kilns to cool down. Please allow plenty of time to schedule in a firing if you know you have a deadline. 

Firing days - Firings take place on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings.

Ceramics can be dropped off on Tuesday's between 10:30am - 9:00pm.

Types of firing

Bisque Firing - Bisque or biscuit firing takes place when your clay creations are fully dried. The work is fired to around 1000•c.

Glazing - Glazed work needs to be suitable for the clay you are using, i.e. a low-fire clay would require a suitable low-fire glaze on top.

We do not fire glazed pots on greenware, i.e. you will need to book a bisque firing and a glaze firing separately for the same pieces.

Whilst we love to see experimentation, kiln shelves are expensive, so please take extra care not to glaze the bases of your pots, or apply glaze too thick. All glazes are capable of running if the glaze is applied in too thick a coat.