Kilns 101


What is a Kiln

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Kilns have been around for thousands of years and have taken many different forms. Ancient civilizations used them to create ceramic and glass vessels to store food and water. Later they were used to create metal tools and weapons but since the dawn of their existence they were used to create art.

Today kilns are found everywhere from industry to classrooms. Their main function is to create enough heat to temporarily or permanently change the physical structure of Clay, Glass and Metal.

Clay is permanantly transformed from being soft and plyable to hard and rigid.

Glass is temporarily heated to go from being hard and rigid to soft and pliable so it can be formed into shapes and then cooled back to a rigid form.

Metal can be heated in a kiln to make it harder or softer simply by the way it is cooled.

Whatever you use it for, the results seem magical. People who own kilns rarely lose that feeling of anticipation when they open the lid and see their pieces magically transformed.