Winter Firing

We fired the kiln yesterday.  It actually got above freezing for a few hours but mostly it was cold and snowing.  Kind of nice to sit around the kiln with cups of hot tea and enjoy the wintery weather.  I was sort  of missing the old kiln and longer firings and getting to watch the whole cycle of the day - hearing deer and coyotes and owls in the night.  Now we start at 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning and are done by 8:00 or 9:00 at night.  Much easier on an aging body but not as satisfying to the soul.  I'll unload Sunday afternoon unless it's windy and will post photos of pots then.

Early in the firing.

Passive dampers out with guard bricks to keep the wind out.

View through the stoke hole early in the firing. 

Late afternoon in front of the studio.

Three photos

I'm loading the kiln and planning to fire in 2 days so thought I'd better post a couple of photos from the last firing before posting from the new firing.   The winter Images Art Show is on November 25th & 26th at the Rotacrest Hall in Creston and my studio open house is on December 3rd, so a very busy time.  Then 2 more Farmers' Markets and I'm done for the season.  Looking forward to a bit of down time.  

The after photo.

Dave's bowl.  My standard temmoku with a little salt flash.

Teadust Temmoku with ash.

Before and After

We fired on October 3rd.  Everything went smoothly but again, the results were not what I was looking for with the temmokus.  I even did specific gravity tests, changed the consistencies but they were still too thin.  And why purple?  Is it from reduction?  So here's a preview.  I'll do some photos of individual pots once I figure out how to use my new camera!

Ready to load

Love that speckled suface on the shino.  Wish it fired like that.

Before

After.  All the green & purple was supposed to be black.

Second stack from the front just loaded.

The shinos are reddest at the bottom and paler at the top where the residual salt hits them.

Why I don't dress nice for work.

Being a potter is the best job in the whole world.  That said, there are parts that aren't as great as others.  When I whine about the job it's always about the shelf grinding which is my least favourite part by far.  Half the shelves, from the back of the kiln, are easy to clean with just a hand grinder but the front half needs the angle grinder to clear off the melted ash and blobs of salt that show up even when I don't salt glaze.  It's a dirty job, takes several hours, is hard on the arms, and leaves my hands tingling for quite a while after but it's what it takes to get to the really good parts.  And I love to wood fire!  Now 6 days to the firing.

Getting Ready

We're getting ready for the next firing which should be on October 3rd.  Doing some last minute throwing, bisqueing, and getting ready to glaze.  The wood is cut and stacked, thanks to Wayne, the saint, and his friend the log splitter.  Couldn't do it without him.

Tumble stack bisque

Farmers Market

I've been going to the Creston Farmers Market since July.  It's been a really good experience being part of this community of makers and growers.  It's also been a good way to keep in touch with regular customers and meet new ones.  The market started a few years ago with just a handful of vendors and is now averaging about 40 with a high of 48 over the long weekend.  It's a bustling, lively place well supported by the locals and is a real draw for visitors as well.

Early morning shoppers

My table

Before the crowds hit

Some pots from the last firing

The last firing went so well but the pots were mostly just OK.  The shinos came out fairly well but the temmokus fell short of my expectations, which goes to show you probably shouldn't have them (expectations).  The beautiful tea dust from the June firing came out purple with green washes and the Hamada Rust was mostly rust, no black.  The little garlic house is a prototype which needs lots of work as I don't normally handbuild - seems a bit crude but hopefully after a dozen or so they'll flow better.

The next firing won't be until mid-September when we'll hopefully have had some rain, so now I can get some much needed gardening done.

2nd stack from the front

Hamada Rust bowl with geranium reflections

Garlic house