Firing Clay in a Charcoal Grill - Pottery Experiment - Relaxing Crafting - Svartbränning Keramik

Hi there! This winter I fired these clay pendants in a charcoal grill, using a ceramic clay, and I want to share this experiment with you!
I am firing them in the paper+foil packages because I wanted to color them black, aka using a "saggar" to create a reduction firing, or "svartbränning". And remember that firing this way will not make your things watertight and *not food safe*. Only do this with decorative things.
I hope you find the video enjoyable and relaxing, and please let me know what you think and if you have any input about this video format? (The length, no music etc.) Or if there's any questions!
Some of the pendants I made in the video are available in my shop here: www.nymla.se/shop
You will find more videos of my ceramics and crafting at: / nymla
Check out ma instagram: / nymla
Thank you for watching! :)
00:00 - Making a pendant
06:00 - Making another pendant
10:30 - Making a third pendant
12:54 - The first firing
18:30 - Second firing
22:08 - Third firing
26:10 - Washing the pendants
28:24 - Fourth firing
33:21 - Conclusions
34:07 - Cording & Finishing

[@Barbara_Schulz]

The pewter looking ones were gorgeous

[@AdeAmoenus]

I love your video. If the aluminum hasn't completely melted, it means that the temperature reached didn't exceed 660º. It's a low firing temperature for clay. I recommend that you use the same clay to make a small bowl with a lid, then put all the pieces inside, placing layers of sawdust or chopped charcoal. This way, the pieces will be protected and instead of using a BBQ, you could make an oven, perhaps by digging into the ground and with a chimney to increase the airflow by convection. This way, when the bowl is covered with charcoal, it will heat up and prevent a sudden temperature change inside the pieces, and similarly when cooling down.

[@indirasolanki6333]

Beautiful work. Going to try it soon.thank you.

[@Softlywool]

man they turned out so pretty, it was soso nice to watch the process! Even the ''b-grade'' non blackened pendants had a nice color with the black spots and gradients

[@nymla]

Thank you so much, im glad you liked the video! 😊 Yea I love the organic smokey gradients!

[@aurieladiminutto898]

They're super pretty, and it's super inspiring to see the process like that ! I didn't know it was doable to cook clay in a random tiny grill like that ! I want to try it too now !

[@nymla]

Thank you! Yees, small things like pendants are quite easy to fire like that (large forms quite often have a tendency to crack) in a grill or any type of fire that will get hot enough for at least a couple of hours or so. Glhf!

[@kjirstenboucher9682]

When I was a teen , I learned from a local Native American man, how they made clay and pots, so I tried it. I made my own clay from gathering it in nature. I made a small coiled bowl, and let it bake dry in the desert sun for a month in summer. Then I tried pit firing it by starting a fire in a hole I dug out until it was down to coals, made a brick layer on the coals to protect it, covered it with more coals then wood and then dirt. I think it would have worked, but I got impatient and dug it out after three days,.... it was still really hot inside, so I temperature shocked it and it broke. Still it was a great experiment.

[@jillheath2804]

Loving the way you are experimenting. I have tried doing same in my garden burn up pile of rose prunings , used banana skins in my sagar. the burn up pile was super hot with white ash so my expeimental pot fired in no time at all in black and grey colours. Didnt know what to expect but seeing your beautiful work has inspired me to try it again. thank you for sharing.

[@coopart1]

For some very rich blacks, try corn husks 😉

[@SkyShen]

18:27 Best assistant

[@nymla]

Yees he is best moral support:D Its so cool one of them is now with you! ♡

[@TheBloghappy]

Super!

[@diypottery]

Thank you for this video :) and thank you for the effort, I will definitly try this out

[@nymla]

Thank you for watching! 😊 Yees, if you have a fireplace you can do the same there also:) Good luck have fun!

[@kjirstenboucher9682]

Loved your video so much I had to subscribe 👍

[@mjr8671]

Enjoyed watching. Nice work!

[@nymla]

I'm glad, thank you! ^-^

[@re-verdesiendomexico5188]

Throw some sawdust in before closing, for extra blacknes Helps by producing more smoke and eating up oxigen

[@daroniussubdeviant3869]

try packing with sacrificial carbon. finely ground charcoal should do. inside the foil envelope.

[@daroniussubdeviant3869]

and more air to the fire.

[@Cristina97]

THANK YOU! I've been asking left and right if its possible to fire accessories in a grill and everyone discouraged me saying i HAVE to buy a kiln 🙄🙄🙄

[@nymla]

Haters gonna hate! ;P

[@kjirstenboucher9682]

What a fantastic experiment! All of your pendants are beautiful, black or otherwise. I recently got into softsoldering stones for jewelry, but I want to try making my own handmade pendants from clay. I was considering getting a microwave kiln, but I quite like this method. I have a few questions, if you have the time to answer. What brand of clay did you use, and could I get something similar on Amazon? How thick did you roll it? And how long did you fire them? Was it just until cool? I would love to try this so much! Thank you for sharing your process.😊💖

[@nymla]

Thank you so much! I used clay I got locally, and they mostly have clays from a german brand called Witgert and also Georg & Schneider. I assume that any pottery/ceramic clay will work for this, for small things like these pendants. I'm not sure but the thinnest ones were 2 or 3 mm thick. I just fired them until the coal had cooled so I could take them out yes. Probably takes a few hours. Hope that helps:)

[@kjirstenboucher9682]

@@nymla Oh, wonderful! Yes, it definitely helps, thank you so much! I can't wait to give this a try. So excited to see what I can do with it. Thank you for sharing with me, and for such wonderful inspiration.🥰

[@bigbranch1]

Nice video....like the pendants......the paper in the foil will burn and smoke making the pendents black...thanks

[@nymla]

Thanks! Actually the paper will/should not burn, the foil is to prevent oxygen and combustion, so the paper inside turn to coal:D And that colors them black 👍

[@patriciajesse5192]

If you glazed them how would you do that ? Would it work ?

[@nymla]

I don't know. I think it will not work, but why not try it and see what happens:) Im sure it will not be food safe though.

[@familybennett8091]

I wonder what is the largest item you could fire that way...any idea?

[@nymla]

I have seen people fire pots that way. And there's lots of ways to fire with wood, you should look into "pitfiring", you can fire big things but it will be much more likely they will crack due to the change in temperature compared to firing in a kiln where the temp rises slowly and evenly but it can be done, its also possible to first bisque fire in a kiln before pitfiring :)

[@user-shwofl]

Hej Vildt god video Du har lige fået mig som følger Det er rart at du udførlig forklarer processen hilsner fra mig, der havde og levede hele mit barndomsliv i Sverige og nu lever mit voksenliv i Danmark . Jeg savner Sverige, og overvejer derfor at flytte tilbage susanne

[@nymla]

Tack Susanne! 💚