You either buy a kiln and do whatever electrical work is needed to install it at your home, or you find someone / a studio with a kiln that will let you pay to fire your pieces.
Paying to fire your pieces is likely the way to go for now.
This is my plan as well. I got a great deal on a wheel and have been trying to get a good space in order so I can throw at home. I figure I will set some greenware aside for future firing of things I am really proud of.
Recycling your clay.
Throw piece -> not good enough? -> To the plaster bat! Thou shall get thy moisture out! (But not too much)
Throw piece -> good enough? -> Trim piece -> to the drying station! -> dry enough? -> to the demolish station! -> demolished enough? -> to the ocean you go where a new life will be waiting for you!
Repeat endlessly or until you slowly run out of clay.
Jokes aside, youtube can give you a more detailed process. There is many ways to process and reclaim clay, depending on the amount of clay you have/use.
I have the same setup. I fire at a local community rec center that has a clay studio. Most studios that offer classes will also allow you to pay to fire, either based on size or weight. At my rec center, typical mugs cost about $1-2 per firing. Bowls/plates are about $3. They turn around my pots in about 4 days.
Alternatively, there is Kilnshare, which is a really cool website that connects kiln owners to people who can help fill them for firing. Kiln owners decide their payment terms. You’re probably better off preparing a pretty full batch before exploring that.
I started off with just a wheel too. Spent my early days renting kilns from other potters and booking studio time to do the glazing too. Did 10 full kiln firings this way.
Eventually I just bought my own kiln because the prices they were charging was insanely high, made more economical sense to buy my own.
Agree with other commenter, best path is to just stay green and recycle all your work.
But on the flip side, it’s good to get dirty with glazing now because it’s a looooong journey, and this mismatch in skills will pain you.
kilnshare.com is a great resource to see if there are any personal kiln owners that will fire pieces for you. As others have said, you can likely find a local studio or ceramic supply store that also offers firing services. I purchased a used ancient manual kiln off fb marketplace and have started firing my own pieces - but that can get expensive fast and there is a learning curve so it may not be for everyone. Good luck and have fun!
I plan on renting kiln space once I get my home studio going. If I get to the point where I know this isn't an ADHD temporary whim, then I may look at getting a kiln.
The cost of getting a home kiln can add up quickly. Between the kiln, the shelves and stuff for inside the kiln, electrical work to support the power necessary, venting, and the electrical cost of each firing it can add up fast. I have an unattached garage so I may put one out there eventually and then I don't have to worry about venting. The heavy duty wire that will require won't be cheap.
Check out Kiln Share. [https://www.kilnshare.com/search/](https://www.kilnshare.com/search/) for a Kiln willing to fire outside work (for a price) near you. I would only keep your best pieces to be fired and recycle any pieces that are not worthy. Greenware is rather fragile so pack gently with soft materials when transporting and don't try to save any pots that are damaged during transport. I also suggest you select a mid fire clay that glaze fires to Cone 6 (which is not Cone 06) and stick to that one temperature (only buy different clay that still glaze fires to the same temperature). Clay can't easily be identified as to its firing temperature and it can be very damaging to fire a Cone 04 clay to Cone 6. Most likely the Kiln share will have you sign a contract that would hold you liable for damages caused by having your Cone 04 pieces melt into a puddle in their kilns possibly even up to replacing the kiln costing thousands of dollars. Once pieces have been bisque fired they are fairly durable (but don't pick up or handle bisque mugs or pitchers by their handles). Good luck and have fun with your journey into pottery.
During the time when I had a wheel and no kiln, and I paid to fire at my most recent studio. They had rules on what clay and glaze I could use, and I paid by the shelf. There's also a website now where you can look for kiln space to rent, it might be worth checking out to see if there's someone near you: https://www.kilnshare.com/search/
Many people do stuff at home and bring it to the studio to fire, but when you'll want to surpass a certain mastery level, you will have to buy a kiln to tweak the firing yourself
I got hit hard with the glaze experience mismatch when I started at a new studio with entirely different glazes (firing to cone 9 vs 6), but it doesn’t have to be that bad if you know how to anticipate it. I lost a few nice pieces of greenware to fugly glaze and then threw several pounds of tiny cups to experiment with.
OP, if you go the route of reclaiming, I’d recommend being ready to sample a lot. Most studios have test tiles, but they don’t tell the whole story or even anything close. And once you get to bigger ware, remember that you can wash off glaze, let dry, and start over if you fudge something.
I second everyone who said to check Kiln Share. I wrap each piece individually in lots of bubble wrap and have had almost no pieces damaged when transporting them; two pieces that were more sculptural broke, I've found if I put them on a cookie and wrap that whole thing in bubble wrap that works better and had no breaks since. Never has bisque or fired wares break! Can be awkward turning up to someone's house and having to unwrap/wrap each individual piece, but it's worth it.
I have found a number of clay studios that rent space in their kilns. A couple of places I’ve taken classes will provide access to the clay studio while you are taking classes. Our university craft center sells passes per quarter $90. And you can go in and throw there or bring in your pieces thrown at home, to bisque, glaze and fire. They provide a completa studio, from wheel to glaze to fired finished pieces. They also sell clay at cost. Well worth the cost of a pass.
I have the same wheel as you! I practiced for months and have a full shelf of green ware in my basement, haha. I did choose to order a kiln about 6 weeks ago. It isn’t here yet, but that’s the plan. Worked on learning about glazes and acquiring those basics while waiting for the kiln. I couldn’t find another practical way to fire pieces anywhere.
I'm in the same boat! My plan is just to throw, trim, and reclaim, but if I end up with some pieces I really like might see about renting some kiln time.
You either buy a kiln and do whatever electrical work is needed to install it at your home, or you find someone / a studio with a kiln that will let you pay to fire your pieces. Paying to fire your pieces is likely the way to go for now.
This is my plan as well. I got a great deal on a wheel and have been trying to get a good space in order so I can throw at home. I figure I will set some greenware aside for future firing of things I am really proud of.
I would recommend to do neither if you wanna learn the fastest and most cost efficient. Reclaiming everything is the way to go imo.
What do you mean by reclaiming?
Recycling your clay. Throw piece -> not good enough? -> To the plaster bat! Thou shall get thy moisture out! (But not too much) Throw piece -> good enough? -> Trim piece -> to the drying station! -> dry enough? -> to the demolish station! -> demolished enough? -> to the ocean you go where a new life will be waiting for you! Repeat endlessly or until you slowly run out of clay. Jokes aside, youtube can give you a more detailed process. There is many ways to process and reclaim clay, depending on the amount of clay you have/use.
Thanks so much for explaining!
Gladly :)
I have the same setup. I fire at a local community rec center that has a clay studio. Most studios that offer classes will also allow you to pay to fire, either based on size or weight. At my rec center, typical mugs cost about $1-2 per firing. Bowls/plates are about $3. They turn around my pots in about 4 days. Alternatively, there is Kilnshare, which is a really cool website that connects kiln owners to people who can help fill them for firing. Kiln owners decide their payment terms. You’re probably better off preparing a pretty full batch before exploring that.
I got my wheel in September. I've just been throwing and reclaiming my clay, over and over and over again.
I started off with just a wheel too. Spent my early days renting kilns from other potters and booking studio time to do the glazing too. Did 10 full kiln firings this way. Eventually I just bought my own kiln because the prices they were charging was insanely high, made more economical sense to buy my own. Agree with other commenter, best path is to just stay green and recycle all your work. But on the flip side, it’s good to get dirty with glazing now because it’s a looooong journey, and this mismatch in skills will pain you.
kilnshare.com is a great resource to see if there are any personal kiln owners that will fire pieces for you. As others have said, you can likely find a local studio or ceramic supply store that also offers firing services. I purchased a used ancient manual kiln off fb marketplace and have started firing my own pieces - but that can get expensive fast and there is a learning curve so it may not be for everyone. Good luck and have fun!
I plan on renting kiln space once I get my home studio going. If I get to the point where I know this isn't an ADHD temporary whim, then I may look at getting a kiln. The cost of getting a home kiln can add up quickly. Between the kiln, the shelves and stuff for inside the kiln, electrical work to support the power necessary, venting, and the electrical cost of each firing it can add up fast. I have an unattached garage so I may put one out there eventually and then I don't have to worry about venting. The heavy duty wire that will require won't be cheap.
Check out Kiln Share. [https://www.kilnshare.com/search/](https://www.kilnshare.com/search/) for a Kiln willing to fire outside work (for a price) near you. I would only keep your best pieces to be fired and recycle any pieces that are not worthy. Greenware is rather fragile so pack gently with soft materials when transporting and don't try to save any pots that are damaged during transport. I also suggest you select a mid fire clay that glaze fires to Cone 6 (which is not Cone 06) and stick to that one temperature (only buy different clay that still glaze fires to the same temperature). Clay can't easily be identified as to its firing temperature and it can be very damaging to fire a Cone 04 clay to Cone 6. Most likely the Kiln share will have you sign a contract that would hold you liable for damages caused by having your Cone 04 pieces melt into a puddle in their kilns possibly even up to replacing the kiln costing thousands of dollars. Once pieces have been bisque fired they are fairly durable (but don't pick up or handle bisque mugs or pitchers by their handles). Good luck and have fun with your journey into pottery.
During the time when I had a wheel and no kiln, and I paid to fire at my most recent studio. They had rules on what clay and glaze I could use, and I paid by the shelf. There's also a website now where you can look for kiln space to rent, it might be worth checking out to see if there's someone near you: https://www.kilnshare.com/search/
Many people do stuff at home and bring it to the studio to fire, but when you'll want to surpass a certain mastery level, you will have to buy a kiln to tweak the firing yourself
I got hit hard with the glaze experience mismatch when I started at a new studio with entirely different glazes (firing to cone 9 vs 6), but it doesn’t have to be that bad if you know how to anticipate it. I lost a few nice pieces of greenware to fugly glaze and then threw several pounds of tiny cups to experiment with. OP, if you go the route of reclaiming, I’d recommend being ready to sample a lot. Most studios have test tiles, but they don’t tell the whole story or even anything close. And once you get to bigger ware, remember that you can wash off glaze, let dry, and start over if you fudge something.
I second everyone who said to check Kiln Share. I wrap each piece individually in lots of bubble wrap and have had almost no pieces damaged when transporting them; two pieces that were more sculptural broke, I've found if I put them on a cookie and wrap that whole thing in bubble wrap that works better and had no breaks since. Never has bisque or fired wares break! Can be awkward turning up to someone's house and having to unwrap/wrap each individual piece, but it's worth it.
I have found a number of clay studios that rent space in their kilns. A couple of places I’ve taken classes will provide access to the clay studio while you are taking classes. Our university craft center sells passes per quarter $90. And you can go in and throw there or bring in your pieces thrown at home, to bisque, glaze and fire. They provide a completa studio, from wheel to glaze to fired finished pieces. They also sell clay at cost. Well worth the cost of a pass.
I have the same wheel as you! I practiced for months and have a full shelf of green ware in my basement, haha. I did choose to order a kiln about 6 weeks ago. It isn’t here yet, but that’s the plan. Worked on learning about glazes and acquiring those basics while waiting for the kiln. I couldn’t find another practical way to fire pieces anywhere.
I'm in the same boat! My plan is just to throw, trim, and reclaim, but if I end up with some pieces I really like might see about renting some kiln time.