Today I'm going to help you think about one less thing regarding kiln shelf protection
and show you how to make kiln cookies.
When it comes to protecting your kiln shelves, cookies,
also known as patties, are your best line of defense.
Not only did the cookie do its job,
but it was able to save my berry bowl with a little bit of grinding.
I'll be giving you tips on making a good cookie that lasts a long time,
so you don't have to waste your time or clay making them as often. Let's make some cookies.
Everything you need to make cookies I have listed down below for you in the show notes.
Just like anything else you make with clay, your cookie clay needs to be wedged. Also,
you want to make sure you have no bubbles and the consistency is even throughout. Have a
wedging video for three different ways to wedge. I left a link for you in the description below.
You want to work with two pounds of clay at a time. The type of clay you use plays an essential
part in how long your cookies will last. You will need a high-fire clay cone 10 is best
because it will last through many fires unless, of course, you fire at cone 10 all the time
you will also need clay with heavy grog this also helps with the longevity and shrinkage rate
you don't want to make cookies that are this big and then they end up this big.
Now flatten out your clay a little bit.
If You want to flatten your clay out to a third of an inch thick, then you'll need two quarter-inch
pieces of wood. I found these rulers work really well. You don't want to go less than a quarter
of an inch because the cookies won't last as long. A quarter of an inch works the best.
Place your pieces of wood on each side of your clay, and you want to make sure that
your rolling pin won't roll off on each side once you get the distance that you want.
If you want to keep your rulers, or in place or wood pieces,
I found that using these c-clamps works really well.
Want to take some cornstarch and sprinkle it lightly. You don't want too much,
so your clay doesn't stick to your surface.
Just a little works fine.
It's important to put some on your rolling pin also because it's going to stick,
and it'll start rolling your clay up with the pin, so it's important to put a little bit on your
rolling pin also.
That should do it. Now start rolling out your clay.
And my rulers stay in place on each side now; you can't make cookies without cookie cutters. I have
different size cookie cutters for different-sized pieces of pottery now; I don't have any that are
bigger than this, but if you need to have more prominent cookies, lids work really good, also.
We'll start out with a small one.
And before you use the cookie cutter, put a little cornstarch
on it, not too much, and start making your cookies.
perfect
Go a little bigger here.
If you like what you see, hit the like button
or share with a friend that wants to make cookies too.
I'll go bigger here. See, if I didn't use the cornstarch, it would have been sticking even more.
And there's room for one more cookie.
You can use a wear board which is a piece of wood, or a piece of drywall I like to use the
drywall it cuts really easy, and mine are 12 inches by 16 inches which are a really nice
convenient size to use take your wear board and place a piece of newspaper on it then
place your cookies on the newspaper.
Take the extra clay and
Place it in a bag until you collect a little more clay, then wedge it out and reuse it.
Let's make some more cookies really quick.
Once you've filled up your wear board,
place another piece of newspaper on the
top
And place a wear board on top.
And start another layer of cookies.
See how that sticks. Make sure just put a little more cornstarch on
now you can re-wedge these scraps and roll this clay out again
Place a newspaper over it.
And another wear board on top and continue the process until you run out of clay.
Just like cookies, you want to make them in batches.
When you're finished, take a few wear boards and place them on top of the stack of cookies.
This helps keep the clay from warping as it dries.
Now set it aside and check every few days to see if they're dry. Now keep in mind the drying
time depends on the climate you live in. Once they're dry, stack them together and bisque them.
You can put them just like this in the kiln, and you can use them over and over again.
This one I've used many times
You want your cookies to be bigger than your piece.
If the glaze does drip, it'll drip on the cookie and not your kiln shelf.
When you get a crack, it's time to toss the cookie.
This is a great example of how the cookie saved my kiln shelf and my berry bowl. I
have a video on that you can check out anytime. I left a link for you in the description below.
You watching my other videos supports this channel and helps me to make more videos like this one.
Don't forget to like, subscribe and share this video with a potter friend, and hit the bell
icon to get notified whenever a new video comes out. You can also go to pottery crafters, where
I have an article on protecting your kiln shelf. I left a link for you in the description below.
To get more information about kilns, head on over to this beginner kiln question video or
kiln loading basics video. If you do, I get to play with more clay. Let's stay dirty.