1. First the clay should be left to dry. It can be air dried or a blow dryer may be used to speed up this process. Drying time will be different depending on the humidity. A minimum of a few hours is recommended.

2. After drying, place flat pieces of clay on a kiln shelf or fire brick and set them into the kiln. If pieces are hollow or three dimensional, it is recommended that they are placed in alumina hydrate.

3. Turn the kiln on high and close the door.

4. The temperature you need depends on the type of clay you have:

5. When the maximum temperature is reached, turn the dial back a little to make sure the kiln does not get any higher than the maximum temperature.

6. Continue to heat the PMC at this temperature for two hours. The clay may be heated longer. However if it is fired for less than two hours, it may not be as strong as it should be.

7. After two hours, turn the kiln off. Silver may either be left in the kiln to cool or taken out and quenched in water.

So this is the process I followed, and all was going well until I reached step five - reaching my maximum temperature. Since I had silver PMC, I needed to reach a temperature of 1650 degrees F. After about one hour, my kiln did reach this temperature. At that point, I turned my kiln down a few notches. Then I set my timer to 15 minutes so I could come back and check it. That is where I made my fatal mistake. 15 minutes later, my kiln did not go down, nor did it stay at 1650. I instead, it went hirer to almost 1800 degrees F.

Since my disaster, I’ve interrogated my metal clay teacher who has a kiln similar to mine. I’m going to try another attempt soon. Obviously, learning to fire your own clay is a critical step when learning this technique. So, be prepared to take the time to learn this important step when making your own metal clay jewelry.

All graphics created by Tammy Powley.