So this week I had projects firing in two different electric kilns.
One turned out to be a good kiln. Another would turn out to be the bad kiln.
Kind of like LOST’s “The Evil Twin”… Jacob & “Man In Black”… but I digress…

The Good Kiln.
So my own kiln actually worked out well. And the birdhouses turned out nicely.
I stained the sides with black underglaze, and then glazed the roofs and awnings.
A quick overnight firing to cone 05 – and I unloaded them today. Still need to find
some twigs to insert as “the perch” and then they’re good to go!

The Bad Kiln.
However… not so good for the kiln load of kid’s projects from my first week of
Summer Camp. My kids worked really hard on Monday creating terra cotta flower boxes.
We built them on Monday, decorated with textures and colored underlazes. On Tuesday,
we coated them in clear glaze and set them out in front of fans to dry quickly…
so they could be fired on Wednesday with a long preheat so all the kids’ projects “survive.”
Basically the same system we’ve used for years… with only minor glitches… well…
Well, apparently the 10-hour preheat was mis-programmed as a 10-minute preheat!!!
Ka-boom!!!  oops…

I’ll find out tomorrow how bad it was, but the kiln loaders were working on another kiln
when they heard at least three pieces blow up… literally. So today, my campers all rebuilt
new flower boxes “just in case” and they will be allowed to dry slowly & be fired next week.
Let’s hope we can all “resolve” the firing issues as the kid’s Summer Camp kicks into
high gear next week… and I do my first session of Chess Camp next week!!!