Lessons from the Kiln

Every firing teaches a lesson.  This time I learned that I must always check the thickness of the glazes before putting them on my pots.  Especially after a seven month break.  And I must not soak the kiln too long at the end.  This was made very clear to me when I unloaded this last firing and found that 90% of the temmokus, including the tea dust, ran because the glaze was on too thick and the kiln stayed too hot, too long.  Now most of them are on the shard pile, though some of the runs have been ground off and these pots sit in the corner of shame, also known as the seconds shelf.  We have ordered new diamond cups for the angle grinder to deal with the many, many shelves with great big blobs of glaze on them.  Sigh.

So here are the survivors.

Hamada Rust Temmoku Nesting bowls.  

Cedar Ash Oil Bottles

Red Shino Baking Dish

Red Shino Bowl

Small Cedar Ash Dish

Tea Dust Temmoku Faceted Bowl

Carbon Trap Shino Faceted Bowl

White Shino Faceted Bowl

My Favourite Cedar Ash Mug

2 Litre Cedar Ash Jug

Teaser

The kiln was unloaded yesterday, always with a little anxiety because maybe it was too hot, maybe too fast, maybe too much reduction or not enough.  Usually it's been good since the bloating problem was fixed but yesterday it was sad.  Almost all the temmokus (the blacks) ran.  Badly.   Some of the runs can be ground off and the pots sold as seconds but many have landed on the shard pile.   And the fault was all mine.  I didn't test the glazes for thickness (after 7 months of not being used) before glazing the pots so the glaze was on way too thick, which makes it run.  And I think held the kiln too long at the top temperature trying to smooth out blisters and made the glaze melt too much.  

In spite of temmoku disaster the rest of the pots came out quite well and I'll have photos in a day or two.

Just starting to take down the door.

Door down.

First stack.

All Clammed Up and Ready to Go

Seemed for awhile that I would never get here but the kiln is finally loaded, clammed up and ready for the firing tomorrow.  It was supposed to be cold and rainy all week but today was gorgeous - warm and sunny,  blue skies with puffy white clouds - but I'm hoping for colder and cloudy tomorrow so we don't cook for the last half of the firing.  Everything will be unloaded on May 30th and photos should be posted a few days after.   

Baby Steps

Only a few pots after only a little discomfort and no lasting pain.  A pretty good start.  Tomorrow the handles go on and I'll try another 10 or so.  Feeling cautiously hopeful which is easy when the days are full-on sunshine with more to come.  Forecast is for 27 degrees C. every day for the next week!

Casting

After a few months of procrastinating I finally cast the new hearth and lintel for the stoke hole of the kiln.  Last firing the already broken hearth brick broke again and threatened to fall off during the firing so if I want to fire I have to cast.  It was messy and took much longer than I thought but it's done.  Now they just need to cure for a bit before they're fired in the bisque kiln.

Cottles shiny with Murphy's Oil Soap and waxed rebar that will strengthen  the cast.

Cast hearth brick that will support the stoke hole door.

Cast lintel that will support the bricks over the stoke hole.

All the Glory of Spring

Haven't been making pots because of a shoulder problem.  Haven't been doing any blog posts because there was nothing nothing new to report but now the sun is shining for days in a row and everything is blooming and I can hardly stand how beautiful it all is and how good it smells.  The urge to make pots is coming on strong and tomorrow I'm going to give it a try - just a little bit - and if all goes well there'll be a firing before the end of the month.  Market season has started and the shelves are bare.

Things Change

 It turns out that the pain in my elbows, shoulder and neck come from this little, never noticed, joint at the base of the thumb.  Both thumbs.  I need splints to keep my thumbs from drifting into my palm and making the middle joint bend backwards when I grasp and lift.  Needless to say, I can't throw with these splints on.  I can throw without them for short periods but will not be able to continue as I have been.  So fewer pots, no custom orders but I'll try to keep it all going a little longer.  I'm sorry to be turning down people's requests for special things but I just can't guarantee that I'll be able to produce them.  I'm so grateful for all your support and encouragement over the years but now things will have to change.  I'm still planning/hoping to fire in the spring and will keep posting photos but it will all be slower.