During both drying and firing, your piece will shrink. The shrinkage percentage depends on the type of clay. Some types of clay shrink about 10 percent; porcelain, for example, shrinks up to 20 percent.
That shrinkage can cause problems in your piece. Your work may crack, warp or disintegrate. Hence, it is best to take care to let your pieces dry slowly, under a plastic layer if possible to ensure a slow, even drying process.
When working with one type of clay it is handy to make the same shape three times. Just let one dry, put one through a bisque firing and a third through a glaze firing. That way you can compare the shrinkage.
Would you like to know more or less in advance how big your work will be after drying and firing? We have a solution: the shrinkage ruler. This is a ruler we’ve made on which you can read the shrinkage percentage of your work, to print, cut out and possibly laminate.
To measure is to know
Would you like to see at a glance what size your clay piece will be after drying and firing? Subscribe to the Cursist newsletter, download our FREE shrinkage ruler and avoid disappointments or miscalculations.
