Electric Kilns and Firing Online Course – Review

After years of dabbling via courses I retired from work and during Covid time set up my own little studio at home. When I was offered an old kiln I said yes with alacrity ….but having never had anything to do with the firing of my pieces then felt rather overwhelmed by the process of getting to know how to use it with the glazes I had. It is a whole new area of potting to learn to navigate. I was relieved to find Tim’s course online. It was the first affordable and easilyaccessible one I had come across. I am unable to make regular committment to a particular time and day but any sessions I missed live I was able to watch the recording of and email Tim with any questions that had not already cropped up during that week’s session. When I contacted him Tim about his course he was welcoming and addressed all my questions promptly and couteously so I registered. He has a spread of expert knowledge which he shares clearly with good visuals explaining how things work. His help and advice has always been very practical. I have learnt a great deal about my kiln and how it works, about how to understand how the heat works around the pots and this now informs how I load and unload the kiln to get the best out of my glazes. I am no phycisist, chemist or engineer but Tim has furthered my understanding of how heat works on various materials within the glazes and how my kiln functions . He has also explained and put into perspective various potential safety issues, using common sense and sharing his research to dispel misinformation that might cause unecessary anxieties about the materials we are dealing with. It was interesting to be online with potters from a number of countries as it is always good to be able to share experiences and information with other potters. Tim encouraged us to ask questions and his responses were always considered and informative. The course has filled in lots of gaps for me and given me more confidence with firing my kiln. Thank you , Tim.