Pottery and Clay Modelling Question?

Question

I want to make things with clay and need to know what the alternatives to a kiln firing are, if any? Please let me now the minimum temperature clay should be fired at (please specify celcius of farenheit, whichever you use)

Answer 1

Natural clay needs a minimum of 1000 deg C to fire

Some fine mixtures need higher temperatures
( the china type mixtures)
There are hobby alternatives but will not give the same feel and look as real pottery

The second link shows a shop that supplies Air drying clays and gives some idea of their properties

Answer 2

The minimum temperature to fire clay at all depends on the type of clay you have. As far as I know there aren't any alternatives to using a kiln, though you only need it once. There are alternatives for the second time you would fire it with the glaze, but that just means no glaze.
Natural clay needs a minimum of 1000 deg C to fire
Some fine mixtures need higher temperatures
( the china type mixtures)
There are hobby alternatives but will not give the same feel and look as real pottery
The second link shows a shop that supplies Air drying clays and gives some idea of their properties

Answer 3

The minimum temperature to fire clay at all depends on the type of clay you have. As far as I know there aren't any alternatives to using a kiln, though you only need it once. There are alternatives for the second time you would fire it with the glaze, but that just means no glaze.

Answer 4

If you just want to sculpt, there is clay that will air harden, available at craft shops, but you can't make anything that will hold water. You don't fire it at all, just give it a couple of days to dry. Some of the Polyclays (like Fimo)can be used which you fire in your home oven, but you can't make big things.They are great for jewellery and small items though. I am afraid that if you want to make cups and plates etc. there is no alternative but to fire them in a kiln.

Answer 5

If you are interested in using polymer clays (Premo, Fimo, Sculpey, Kato, Cernit), you can cure them at a low heat in a home oven (265-275 F ... 130? C), and also in various other ways.
Look on this page for the common and not-so-common ways of curing polymer clays:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/baking.htm

Then if you're interested in any other aspect of using polymer clay, check out the Table of Contents page for my online polymer clay encyclopedia:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/contents.htm
(...to browse and see all the things covered at the site, scroll all the way down... when you find a page you'd like to investigate, click on its name from inside the alphabetical navigation bar on the left side of the page)

Btw, you *can* make larger things with polymer clay but they usually aren't solid when they're large or when thicker than 1 1/4"... they're hollow (vases, boxes, bowls, masks, etc.), or they're a permanent decorative "cover" over another item or material (covering a tabletop, box, wood form, etc., or over aluminum foil ball to make a head, etc.)


HTH,

Diane B.