@floriangadsby: This is a revelation!   I get it, it’s just a kiln cookie, but what a difference these have made to the bowls I produce, especially the taller, wider and heavier vessels that were a gamble to fire in the past, as I knew that to some degree the foot could very well warp. If you make pottery and you’ve encountered distorted feet, you’ll know how irritating it is as it’s like a slap in the face for all the hard work you’ve invested previously.   I have Linda Bloomfield, (@lindathepotter), to thank for the suggestion. I made a post a while back complaining about the issue and a handful of you folks offered up some advice. I’ve tried the more common solution of setting these pots atop a layer of coarse alumina hydrate, the idea being that the vessel can move on these as if they act like minuscule ball bearings, but truth be told, that’s never worked wonderfully, especially at the temperature I fire to.   Linda’s answer was to make these discs. They’re simple things yet the idea is that they’re fired alongside the bowls, both are the same biscuit fired clay, and therefore they should shrink together. Previously, when the bowl fires, it shrinks and moves over a surface that remains completely stationary, and that’s where the issue arises. These bowls have a lot of weight in the upper-half that presses down upon a very narrow foot, and so as the clay fires and unwinds there’s a lot of movement in the form and it having to do this whilst being held in place, essentially.   Whereas if fired on these discs, they’ll shrink together at the same rate, and the flat surface of the kiln cookie won’t be distorted by firing on a stationary surface in the same way the foot-ring of the bowl is.   The good news is, whilst they may only single use for the bowls, after being reduction fired once I can use them as discs to raise pots up on, or to fire glaze and clay tests upon.   So, a huge thank you Linda, your idea worked wonderfully!   #pottery #satisfying #craft #ceramics #clay    

Florian Gadsby

Open In TikTok:

Region: GB

Sunday 25 October 2026 14:43:57 GMT