conner burns

what is this technical page about? this technical page is an attempt to provide some information and details about products, processes and procedures that are used in my process. it is probably useful only to those that are interested in technical details.

this section is under continuous development. if there is information that you think might be useful to see on this site, please let me know.

space limitations and the limitations with the attempt to transfer information in a 'non-personal' manner are all real. i teach workshops where much of this information will be reviewed in more detail. often, the best manner of information transfer is in person. if you would like additional information on workshops - click below


workshops

the kiln and firing

i fire my work in a gas reduction car kiln that i built in 2001. it is based on the geil kilns. simply because i could not afford a geil and had enjoyed firing geil kilns in the past. it currently has 55 cubic feet of stacking space.

i single-fire my ware (meaning - i do not bisq my work). i chose this process because of the early influence of lucie rie (no - never met her, just by reading about her). i single-fired for the first time when i bought my first kiln - an electric kiln. it was the first time i fired a kiln, i glazed my work green and fired it - without experience or directions. although i fired it too fast and too hot - it was still a success. i read as much as i could about that type of firing process and eventually took a workshop from steven hill (who later became my mentor).

there is a great amount of information on single-firing now - for additional information on those resources - see the link below.

the glazes i use are important to me. i choose my glazes based on how they 'fit' my work. not fit from a technical perspective but from an aesthetic perspective. i want the work to look like that glaze is the 'only' glaze for that piece. for example, i am not interested in the response of the viewer to be 'i love that color', but prefer for the feeling to be 'what other color would that piece, that color is the only color that works'. not that it is the only color that work, but the color and the form should both work together so well that it gives a single impression - one cohesive whole.

my glazes are a variety of glazes from a variety of sources. i do not have my glaze recipes listed here. they are not a secret, but i have a reason for not listing them. the reason is - they are not my recipes (i did not formulate them) to give. i would prefer for you to go to the source, purchase the book that i obtained the glaze recipe from. the author that took the time to do the testing and write the book will not know how much we appreciate it if the books do not sell - lets encourage the authors to continue to write the books by supporting them. and, most of these books have many good glaze formulas in them, not just the few that i use.


additional information