Bailey Electric Kiln

In the far reaches of Maine lies a jewel in the crown of summertime craft programs. Jim and I had known about Haystack Mountain School of Crafts for years but had never visited the campus. Almost eight hours from our Hudson Valley home we made our way across the State of Maine to Deer Island last month. We certainly were not disappointed.

"I love that working with clay is a metaphor for life and involves important life skills such as patience and being “centered”. I’ve learned and re-learned these lessons and sure enough, pretty much every time I try to force something or move too quickly to the next part of the process, the results are not satisfying."

Thomas TC Staton's photos on Instagram capture the sheer beauty of crystalline glazes. Starbursts of indigo, violet and pink are perfectly frozen in time. His glazes, developed by Matt Katz of Ceramic Materials Workshop are created with the help of a handful of Bailey Equipment items. We caught up with TC to find out more about his ceramic process after he tagged his work #MadewithaBailey.

There is a lot to know about kiln firing and some of the most common questions we get relate to pyrometric cones. With school starting, we wanted to give you a refresher on all things cones. Read our latest blog post on cones to learn about what cones measure, the different types of cones there are and when to use them, and how important using cones can be.

Learn About the Different Properties of Kiln Shelves Available. When it comes to selecting kiln shelves there are a number of things to consider such as your firing temperature, type, warp resistance, and your budget. Read this post to compare the wide range of shelves we offer and their properties.

If you have a Bailey top-loading electric kiln in your studio, or are thinking about owning one, we have a video series to help you learn about your kiln and how to maintain it. In this video you will learn how to replace elements with confidence.

Introducing the First Video in the New Bailey Kiln Maintenance Series

Have you ever wondered how much it costs to fire an electric kiln? Maybe you access a shared kiln and would like to divvy up the cost of a firing. While there are a number of factors that go into overall kiln costs such as studio rent or kiln maintenance, it is possible to hone in on what you pay for a single firing. In fact, we have a guideline that we use to calculate the approximate cost of firing our standard top loading or front loading electric kilns and we are going to share it here with you.