Bisque fire and glazing

The fourth grade projects went through what is known as a BISQUE FIRE. To 'fire' a kiln is to bake the clay at a high enough temperature to result in a change of nature. Nothing really catches fire. In a bisque fire, it changes 'green ware' (dried clay) into 'bisque ware', or clay that has been converted to stone through super heating. This process is done at approximately 1800* F, or to what is called a Cone 04. This is the lowest setting most people use on a kiln.

Once the project is in the bisque ware state, it is time to glaze! Glazes are made from silica (super clean sand) and chemicals. The students painted 3 layers of glaze onto their projects and are now ready for them to go into the kiln again! The colors may look off, but we will see in the next 4th grade post that looks can be deceiving.