An important part of ceramics is the firing. If you do not have a kiln of your own, you will want to refer to an external kiln. Finding a kiln will require a bit of googling and these are things you need to pay attention to:
- Temperature: Ceramics are fired twice. First with the bisque fire (around 900C). After the bisque fire, the clay becomes ceramic material. The piece will then need to be glazed and fired again, in the glaze fire. The glaze fire is where you need to really ensure that the kiln fires at the temperature that you clay and glaze combination support. You do not want to overfire or your piece will bubble or melt. Most kilns clearly state the temperatures they fire at on their website, but it's always a good idea to ask for confirmation. You may need to show proof of the clay / glaze combination.
- Schedule: most external firing places follow a set schedule. Firing a kiln is expensive so most services fire a few times a month to ensure that they can fill out the kiln and be efficient. This means that your pieces may not be fired right away.
- Packing and safety: packing for the kiln for an external firing can be really difficult as your pieces will be a in very fragile state. More advice on how to pack for an external kiln will follow.
To help you find a kiln, I have started a google map with services that offer external firings. I plan on keeping this up to date. If you offer firings and would like for your website to be added, please get in touch!
NOTE: I am not responsible for the content of these websites. I am basing the information off the services websites but I cannot confirm that each and every single one of these places still offers the service. Whenever possible I have added a note about the glaze firing temperature.
If you're in Berlin: from November 2021 you can bring your ceramics to be fired at Kleistone Studio (we fire at 1230C for glaze fire)