The Journey to a New Soda Kiln -- A Photo Journey Part 2 -- The New Kiln

Laying the kiln floor on the cement pad

Building up the walls

Higher and higher they go

The cage gets welded in to support the walls

Laying in the form for the arch

Supporting the arch with more bricks

The inside of the arch form

Welding more support bars to "the cage"

The bricks go down for the arch -- note the sequence number on the brick

Doug "Kiln Builder" Jeppeson inspecting the bricks.  Notice the round bars that are screwed into the steel frame to keep the kiln "square"?

Arch is up -- form is out!

THE KILN -- COMPLETED!!!!


First firing completed too -- results are pretty amazing!

The Journey to a New Soda Kiln -- A Photo Journey Part 1

Part 1 of the Journey is dismantling the old Soda Kiln.  It has served us faithfully for over three years.

Breaking down the brick walls

Brick walls are gone!

Ripping up the floor (notice that the demolition crew is wearing respirator for the job?  This is because the entire kiln is coated with soda carbonate from the years of firing.  Soda is caustic and is harmful to the human body when breathed in)

The pile of bricks resulting from the demolition.

 The steel cage/frame is gone.

 Sweeping up the debris from the demolition.

 All cleaned up -- now, ready for Part 2 of the journey.  Building the new kiln.

Soda Invitational

A chance to get a "taste" of Soda. If you are interested, please try to coordinate this as a class activity with your teacher as your information source. Otherwise, please consult one of the resources listed below. Have fun!

A soda fired mug

A Little Soda: Intro to Lillstreet’s Soda Program

What is Soda Firing?

Soda Firing is a form of atmospheric glazing where sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium carbonate (soda ash) are introduced into the kiln at high temperatures (2250-2300F). The soda immediately vaporizes and is carried throughout the kiln coating everything it passes with a thin layer of sodium oxide creating unique soda flashing effects.

Invitation to “Cone 10” students (prerequisite: one 10 week class) Get your free Ticket.

Students may fire one or two small pots using the guidelines below. We suggest cups/mugs, cereal bowls, or bottles. For Handbuilders, suggestions are a mug, a vase, or a very small study of a head or hand. Maximum size is 6x6 inches. Taller pieces work better than flat-no plates or tiles! This invitation expires September 2.

Get a free Ticket for each piece (maximum 2 pieces) at the Front Desk. After wadding, put your pots on designated shelves inside the Soda Kiln Room with the Ticket. Pots by soda students have space priority. Remember, soda pots can have unpredictable results! Have FUN!

Cone 10 Clay, Glazes and Soda Slips

• On functional pieces a liner glaze is recommended on the inside of the piece because soda has a difficult time reaching the insides of pots. Cone 10 glazes that work well as liner glazes: Temoku, Red Iron, Luster Shino, Gustin Shino, Shaners White, and Tom’s Purple. (There are glazes that don’t work-please use these six glazes.) DO NOT GLAZE THE OUTSIDE; THEY WILL BE REJECTED. Pick-up is outside the Soda Kiln Room.

• The soda will react with the bare clay body also, so it is not necessary to always cover the pot with a Soda Slip, which are in Wheel B. All Cone 10 Clay Bodies work well in Soda, and each has its own character. We recommend one piece “bare” with a liner glaze and one with a soda slip brushed on greenware. All pieces must be Bisk fired. We recommend these Soda Slips: Mustard, Smooth Orange, Rutile Slip, Blue-Green, Rougir, and Thompsons. Slips might show soda effects on one side of the piece and be dry on the other side; this is the nature of soda firing!

Wadding

Wadding must be used on all pots entering the Soda Kiln. Without wadding the soda will attach the piece to the kiln shelf.  You are wadding your work for STABILITY on the kiln shelves, and for SUPPORT of your piece! Please wad during your class and ask your teacher to help you! Found near the Spray Booth, keep the labeled Wadding bucket and plastic bag tightly closed after use. Roll small marble size balls of wadding and use Elmer’s Glue to glue them to the bottom of the pot. 3-4 is adequate for most pots. (Wadding is never allowed in the Cone 10 firings.)

Teachers can answer basic questions and the Soda Team is available to help! Consult with Fred, Adam, Amanda, Sam, or Nixon, or Karen.  

Soda Program

Soda firing -- also known as atmospheric firing -- is a firing method for clay pieces that has already been bisque fired. In the soda firing process, soda ash (sodium carbonate) is mixed in water with saw dust and other additives to form lumps.  This lumps are introduced into a hot kiln that has been firing for several hours to Cone 10.  When the soda and sawdust lumps hit the hot flames, sodium vapor is created that moves around the pieces in the kiln with the movement of the flame.  Sodium vapor combines with the silica in clay to form sodium-silicate glaze.  Soda fired pieces has a unique orange peel effect on their surface.  The amount of silica in the clay body, where the exterior of the piece is slipped or glaze adds a dimension of uniqueness to the finished product.  The location of the piece and the pieces that surrounds the piece also provide a dimension of uniqueness.  All in all -- Soda firing is a very interesting process and should be added to any potters repertoire of knowledge.

Soda firing works just as well with wheel thrown or hand built pieces and does not discriminate against functional ware or sculptural work.

Students who wishes to learn about Soda firing, how the form and surface embellishment of a piece impacts the outcome and how slips affects the appearance of a piece should consider taking the Simply Soda class.

For those who have taken at least 2 Simply Soda class and wants to move on to more challenging aspects of Soda firing might consider Advanced Topics in Soda Firing.  And, for the first time in the Soda Program's history at Lillstreet, the instructor for this class will be Charles Jahn.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about Soda Firing should read the Soda, Clay and Fire by Gail Nichols.  There should be copies of this book around Lillstreet so if you don't wish to purchase one, you should be able to quite easily borrow one.

Adam August checking the cones in the soda kiln (not apparent in the photo: flames spitting out of the peep hole)

Soda is a very hands-on program.  Students are encouraged to load and unload the soda kilns, participate the firing process and also perform some kiln maintenance.  These tasks provide invaluable insights to the working of a kiln and how the placement of a piece impacts the final outcome.

So, come on . . . take a dip in the Soda Firing pool . . . you may never want to get out.