POTTERS GUILD OF BC
Community Gas Kiln at the Mergatroid, Vancouver, BC
Curious about reduction firing? Ceramic artists can rent cubic footage in our community gas kiln on a fee-for-service basis. To see images from our first firing and examples of the glazes, check out our Instagram and the firing highlights at the top of the profile! We are so excited to be developing this exciting community firing program after years of planning and hard work by volunteers, board members and community members.
We are aiming to fire at least monthly so build up a stash of cone 10 bisqueware!
Price scale for renting cubic feet in the kiln:
$33.50+tax/cubic foot for PGBC guild members and $40+tax/cubic foot for non-members.
(What is a cubic foot of pottery? Imagine loading your pieces into the interior of a square milk crate, including posts and shelves. Things like bowls are not stacked into each other but lip to lip, rim to rim. On glazing day we can help you measure and assess.
LOCATION: Courtyard of the Mergatroid Building, 975 Vernon Dr, Vancouver BC
VOLUNTEERING AT THE KILN
The PGBC gas kiln is entirely volunteer run. Our firings are volunteer dependent. We will be requiring the majority of volunteer spots to be filled in order to run the firing. Volunteers will have priority of booking a cubic foot of space in the firing they participate in. We welcome volunteers of any level experience. It is a great way to support this community project and learn about reduction firing. (click on signup below to read volunteer descriptions).
NEW POLICY. PLEASE READ:
IF YOU REGISTER FOR A SPOT AND DROP IT WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE GLAZE DAY YOU WILL BE CHARGED FULLY FOR THAT CUBIC FOOT UNLESS IT IS FILLED BY ANOTHER PARTICIPANT (VIA THE WAITLIST). THIS IS TO MAKE SURE THE KILN REMAINS FULL AND FOLKS ON THE WAITLIST HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO FILL DROPPED SPOTS. ex: for a Saturday glaze day, you must drop by end of day the preceding Saturday, end of day.
APRIL 2024 FIRING DATES:
APRIL 20TH GLAZE DAY, APRIL 21ST FIRING DAY, APRIL 27TH UNLOAD DAY
CLICK HERE to sign up for a VOLUNTEER shift for April 20/21/27
SignUp sheet to be released March 6 at 6pm.
(All volunteers will have 1 guaranteed cubic foot in the kiln, they will be emailed to arrange time after sign up )
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR CUBIC FEET IN THE APRIL FIRING.
SignUp sheet will be released March 13th at 6pm ( edit 7:45pm) Apologies to any confusion that was caused it was unintended.
We have a 2 cubic foot limit. If we have remaining spots open a week before firing, we will lift the limit of cubic feet.
MAY FIRING DATES:
MAY 25TH GLAZE DAY, MAY 26TH FIRING DAY, JUNE 1ST UNLOAD DAY
CLICK HERE to sign up for a VOLUNTEER shift for May 25/26/1
SignUp sheet to be released Monday April 8th at 5pm
(All volunteers will have 1 guaranteed cubic foot in the kiln, they will be emailed to arrange time after sign up )
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR CUBIC FEET IN THE MAY FIRING.
SignUp sheet to be released Monday April 15th at 5pm
We have a 2 cubic foot limit. If we have remaining spots open a week before firing, we will lift the limit of cubic feet.
THERE WILL BE NO COMMUNITY FIRING IN JUNE
PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR FUTURE SUMMER FIRING DATES
PLEASE READ ALL NOTES BELOW IN REGARDS TO THE FIRING
*All glazing happens outside- we have no indoor space! Come bundled up; bring your gloves, whatever you need to do! Or become a PGBC member so you can use your own glazes and just drop off pots at the kiln instead! :)
One slot= one cubic foot of work. If you are bringing multiple cubic feet of work, please sign up for spots in sequential time slots rather than multiple spots in the same time slot. Bring bisque fired, waxed pots in a cone 10 suitable clay.
PGBC Members can bring pots with their own glazes. Non-members are limited to the glazes we provide.
All glazes are cone 10. This will be a cone 10 reduction firing. We provide six main glazes to use: Carbon Trap Shino by Malcom Davis, Chun by Robin Hopper, Celadon by Tom Buck, Soft White by Keith and Celia Rice-Jones, Tenmoku Rust, Glossy Clear.
PLEASE NOTE that no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please contact the Board of Directors at Pottersguildofbc@gmail.com for access at a reduce/pay what you can rate.
Pick up your work on the date of the UNLOAD provided. The kiln will be opened at 10am sharp (unless noted otherwise) and all participants are expected to be there. Please arrive on time, we wrap up around 11am and participants are encouraged to participate in the kiln opening and unloading. It is the best part of the firing!
All participants must be prepared to grind shelves and clean up after the load. This is a communal task and an important part of the smooth running of this kiln. Pleas bring a mask in case shelf grinding is needed.
If using plainsman H440 or any other clay that leaves residue or speckles on the kiln shelf, please WAD your work or provide COOKIES for your work. We have a limited amount of wadding per firing. Please email us if you are unsure. pottersguildofbc@gmail.com