The Kiln Team
Operating the kilns comes with great responsibility; only members of Team Ceramics Fire are allowed to load/unload the kilns.
The kiln team is made up of members who volunteer their time to keep the kilns running, as such there is no official firing schedule outside of special firings.
- What does it take to run DMS Ceramics Kilns for the community?
A lot more than you might think, this talk thread goes into details of the process: Link to Talk - How do you join the Kiln Team?
Send a message to Team Ceramics Fire on Talk. We're always happy to have more hands on deck! We strive to adhere to best practices for our kilns in the hopes that we are blessed by the Kiln Gods- see our firing schedules/temperatures and guidelines here
Community bisque firings are fired to cone 04 and community glaze firings are fired to 6. Items placed on the ready to fire shelves will be fired by the firing team, Team Ceramics Fire. Pictures of fired pieces being unloaded will be posted on the Monthly Kiln News thread on Talk. For non-standard firing schedules (other than cones 04 or 6), please send requests to the Ceramics Chair and head of Team Ceramics Fire. Community firings will take precedence over requested special firings. To schedule, there must be a full kiln load (or close to it) ready to fire. Partial kiln loads will only be fired at the discretion of the Chair and Team Ceramics Fire. You must be present for both loading and unloading.
Reminders
- How your piece is placed on the firing shelves is how it will be fired, so if you want a lid fired on place it on if not next to it.
- If you have a special instruction or something is out of the norm (fire on side; fire on stilts, etc) you need to place a note on your item for the kiln team.
- Use Elmer's glue to glue your piece to your cookie/stilt if it requires a specific placement or you have glazed lower than 1/4" from the bottom
- If your piece is unusually shaped, large, or glazed below 1/4 from the bottom, provide your own cookie.
- Any item glazed below 1/4" without your own cookie, must have a note with the item as to what glaze it is and why you believe it is ok to fire. The kiln team will make a final determination if ok to fire as is or not.
- The kiln team will choose the proper cookie for your piece if you have not provided your own. Please do not grab DMS cookies for your item.
- If the kiln team has a question, we will note it or move to “needs attention shelf” located to the right of the kilns. Please read the note and respond so your stuff can get fired.
- The Kilns are run by volunteers who strive to be fair when loading the kilns; do not harass the kiln team members. Repeat/redundant posts with aggressive language or nagging about when x will get fired could induce disciplinary action: Removal from ceramics department.
