I was surfing the net looking for a portable oven when I came across halogen ovens. A quick search on polymer clay and halogen ovens put me in touch with Charlene Therien who had been using a halogen oven for a while, albeit not a portable one. She was very pleased with it and generously shared her thoughts (www.catherienarts.com) . Two days later, I took delivery of my own portable version.

Two days later, I took delivery of my own portable version.

The table-top oven uses a halogen bulb which produces infrared waves or visible warm light. The oven consists of a clear glass bowl with a lid on top that contains the halogen bulb and the high-powered fan to circulate the heat. The bowl takes a 12 litre capacity and measures 33cm across by 16 deep. The entire top comes off – there is therefore ample maneuvering space to move the pieces in and out of the bowl.

My oven comes with a rack, which gives the option of double-decking the pieces. As the glass bowl becomes very hot when heated, it's best to place it on a tile. The unit comes with a second special purpose rack to store the hot lid.

Here are some initial thoughts after having used the oven for a week:

Economy 

I paid £48.98 for mine, including shipping. The oven is not just inexpensive to buy, it's also economical to operate. The oven requires no pre-heating to speak of. Also, at 1300 Watts, it draws 6 Amps, much less than the house or table-top small oven (13 Amps) . 

No more burned beads

I found the heat control completely reliable - the temperature on the dial corresponds to the one on my test thermometer. The unit is more sensitive to temperature changes than a normal oven. Also, unlike their conventional counterparts, halogen ovens don't spike.

Portability 

The whole idea for me was to find an oven I could fit in a suitcase and lug on a train if necessary. I think I found my joy. 

Usability 

Because there is no pre-heating involved, I find myself rethinking my whole approach to experimentation. Whereas before I was batching several days of work, now I don't feel so bad about quickly curing a piece for a few minutes to test a new technique. This makes experimenting more enjoyable.

Smell 

It is my perception that there is less fumes in the curing process, and the Kato pieces have lost much of their strong odour after curing. Because we are using infra-red light the plastic heats at a much more narrow frequency, and that might explain why there is less fumes and odour. Are there scientists who could perhaps shed some (non-infrared) light to help us understand the technology?

Cleaning

It's a joy!

I have been preparing pieces for the South East Open Studio exhibition which opens next month. I made the first two beads of the series doing what I always do, which is to grab leftover clay and proceed from there, struggling to find a colour to mix that would "go" with the rest. I had some crimson and pale blue and mixed the turquoise to create the first bead and the burgundy for the second bead.  This is what I obtained.

Then I thought - "Hang on. Let's have a "tabula rasa" approach and apply colour theory from scratch." I decided to work in the analogous harmony range and mixed various reds. This is what I produced.

Then I pushed my luck and wondered what would happen if I kept the analogous harmony going but tried to offset the warm colours with a complementary. This is what came out.

Dropping the analogous theme and focusing on a complementary harmony only:

From now on, I think I am going to stick to colour theory principles. No?