Stoneware

Stoneware pottery is the most common type of pottery around, and is most often used in kitchenware...plates, bowls etc.

I use a clay called KGM Stoneware which is very smooth and suited for use on the potters wheel. The clay is first shaped into the form I want to create, then left to dry for 10-14 days, and then placed into the electric kiln below where it is heated to 1000 degrees Centigrade over the course of about 8-10 hours. Its allowed to cool naturally in the kiln.

After cooling, the pots are glazed with a minimum of 3 coats of various brush on or dipping glazes and loaded back into the kiln for a second firing.

The second firing goes to the higher temperature of 1200 degrees Centigrade and is cooled more slowly by controlling the heat within the kiln with a digital controller. The glaze firing can take up to 12 hours.

All glazes need different firing 'ramps', a name given to the profile of "time vs temperature" which is used to achieve certain glaze results in the kiln (see chart below)

Credit for this diagram : https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/