4 After theseparator has dried and your shelf is cool,
youcansmoothen the separatorfurther by rubbing
your hand lightly over the shelf. The smoother the
separator,thesmootherthe backsideoftheglass.
A coat of glass separator will usually last several firings.
The lower the fusing temperature,the morefirings youcan
get from one application of separator.
Using Ceramic Fireclay Posts
Ceramic posts support ceramic fireclay shelves inside a
kiln.
I
Donotusepostsundertheceramicfibersoftshelf.Place
the fiber shelf directly onto the bottom of the firing
chamber.
I
Place three ½” posts under the ceramic hard fireclay
shelf. This aids air circulation, preventing heat built-up
under the shelf.
I
YoucanfiretwoormoreceramicfireclayshelvesinaPar
-
agon jewelry kiln. Support the bottom shelf on three ½”
posts. Separate the shelves with taller posts. The length
of the posts and the number of shelves you can fire de
-
pends on the size of the kiln. When you load multiple
shelves,fireataslowerrate.Thisaidsheatdistribution.
Venting the Kiln
Some types of ware, such as glass and ceramics, contain
impurities that burn off during firing. These impurities
mustbereleasedfromthekiln.Otherwisetheycanaffectthe
quality of the ware.
Silver andgold clayneed no venting unless you are firing
themwithamaterialthatburnsoutforahollowshape,oryou
are combining them with another material such as glass.
Ifthekilnhasaventhole,openthevent.Ifitdoesnothave
a vent hole, open the door about ½”. Venting will be ex
-
plained in greater detail in sections on glass and ceramics.
Silver & Gold Clay
Withsilverclay,itispossibletoshapeintricate,free-form
silver jewelry in minutes—even as a beginner. (The clay is
alsoavailableingold;forsimplicitywewillrefertobothmet
-
als as “silver clay.”) At the time of printing, the silver clay
brands available were Art Clay Silver and Precious Metals
Clay.
Silver clay looksand feelslike modelingclay. Itis formed
withsimpletoolssuchas a tooth pick, smallknife,and razor
blade. Its surface is pliable and accepts impressions from
objectssuchasleaves,coins,andcoarsefabrics.Afterthesil
-
ver clay is formed, it is fired in a kiln. The recommended
temperature and hold time is included with the silver clay.
Formingandfiringsilverclayissimple. Thereisnothing
mysterious about making silver clay jewelry. The silver clay
is made of micron-size silver (or gold) particles held in an
organic binder. During firing, the binder burns away. The
silver particles then fuse together forming real silver. Since
thebinderdisappears,thereisacertainamountofshrinkage
duringfiring. Shrinkagevaries dependingonthe typeof sil
-
ver clay you use.
Drying Time
Small, thin silver clay pieces can be placed into the kiln
whilestill moist,and fired.Thickerpieces needtime todry.
Otherwise they may warp during firing.
Tobeonthesafeside,givethesilverclayplentyoftimeto
dry. As you gain experience, you will know just how much
drying time each type of piece needs. You can speed drying
with a hair dryer.
Loading the Kiln
Silverclaypieces that haveaflatsidecanbeplaced inside
the kiln directlyontoa shelf.Usethe softceramicfiber type
shelf. It cushions the clay silver.
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Silverclaypiecescanbeclosetogether,buttheymustnot
touch.
I
The soft ceramic fiber shelf can be placed directly onto
thefiringchamberbottom. It is notnecessary to support
the fiber shelf with posts, since the heat transfers easily
through the fiber shelf.
I
Donotcoatthe ceramic
fiber shelf with kiln
washorglassseparator.
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You can also place the
silver clay on a piece of
ceramic fiber batting.
Alumina Hydrate
Rounded, hollow, or
other delicate shapes may
needsupport to preventcollapsing. You canlay thesepieces
onto a mound of alumina hydrate.
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General