MVPS Size Guide.
Loading a kiln is tricky business and is similar to a very careful game of Tetris. The pottery is loaded onto special shelves called kiln shelves. The shelves support the pottery through the firing process during which the clay goes through significant changes. Each shelf will have 3 posts placed on it to support the shelf that is stacked on top of it. The height between the shelves is determined by the posts used to stack them. A variety of kiln post sizes are used so that shelf height can be made to fit the size of the work. For efficiency, kilns are loaded with similar height items grouped on the same shelf.
For the best heat efficiency and even firing throughout the kiln, we use half size kiln shelves and stager the height as recommended by the manufacturer. Therefore all work that is fired in our kilns must fit on a half shelf in order to be fired safely. It is your responsibility to make sure your work fits on a half shelf. We have provided a paper template for sizing your work in the studio. Please use this tool to ensure your work will fit on our shelves.
The Width
Because of the size of our kilns and the kiln shelves we use to fire the work on, the maximum size of the foot of your piece can be no larger than an 8 X 12 inch oval or a circular shape can be a maximum of 10 inches in diameter. The foot of your piece is where the work touches the shelf or table. A foot larger than 8 X 15 in oval or 10 in circle will not fit on our shelves. If the rim of your work extends beyond the width of the kiln shelf but the foot sits on the shelf, your piece will be supported enough to be fired safely in our kilns. If the foot of your piece extends over the edge of the kiln shelf, it will not be stable and will warp and possibly cause damage to our kiln and other pots around it so we can not safely fire this work in our kiln. See the diagrams below.
Firing turn around time: Pieces wider than 6” in diameter will often take longer to make it into the kiln. Please understand that we are a small studio with many students and members and are doing our best to fire your work as quickly and safely as possible.
The Height
Due to limited kiln space, we have a height limit of 12 inches. Work that is above 7 inches is tricky to fit in the kiln. If you are making large work, we appreciate your patience while we find the appropriate space to fit it in. Work that is taller than 7 inches but is 6 inches or less in width is fairly easy to fit in the bisque kiln but could take a bit longer to fit in the glaze kiln. If your work is taller than 7 inches AND wider than 6 inches in diameter, it could take us 3 weeks to fit it into each firing.
Taller than 12” - too large for our studio & will not be fired.
Tall but narrow: Between 7” - 12” tall & 6” or less in width - will fit into the kiln just fine and should be fired within 2 weeks of being placed on the shelf.
Tall AND Wide: Between 7” -12” tall & wider than 6” - could take us 3 weeks for each firing. Due to our kiln capacity, we can only fire up to 2 pieces at a time per person of this size. If you plan to make a set of pieces in this size range you can put a maximum of two pieces on either the glaze or bisque shelf to be fired at a time. Thank you for understanding that we are a small studio and can not accommodate large amounts of large pieces.
