Feel free to ask questions!

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I also do a preheat before ramping my bisque fires. This long process helps ensure drying is more even as well to avoid cracking. (I am no saint I sometimes get impatient, lol)

While bricks can be fired in three days, don’t get excited with your works. I often loosely cover my sculptures and vessels in a plastic bag for a week then uncover for another week.

A thicker hollow piece can feel bone dry on the outside while still having hidden moisture on the inside, and again moisture causes explosions.

Don’t believe me? I will show you the completely hollow no hole spheres I make. The reason you get told to put holes in pieces is to allow air flow in to help with the drying process.

Before you ask - no air doesn’t cause clay to explode, moisture does - yes your art teacher lied to you. In all fairness they probably had been told this at some point and were never corrected.

Pro-Tip:
Dry slowly- it can be exciting to see your finished work, but a slow dry on any clay project will lead to better results.

Why does it work?!

Bisque fired clay is still porous- so it absorbs the moisture as the clay around it is drying. When its bone dry, the proper sized void is still there to hold the prefired #clay. As you bisque the finished work everything shrinks as usual without causing issues.

Benefits:

*You can create small pieces with lots of details and really get shape how you want them.

* You can create pins to help support work as you go

* You can create 100% #ceramic hinges and more!

Let’s go!