With my soda kiln scheduled for this coming Saturday, I knew that I needed to crank out some last minute work… and squeeze it all into one last bisque kiln. Sure, it might not be my finest job of packing a tight kiln, but all of the little “filler” pieces went into the bisque kiln a couple days ago! So for now, I just knew that I had to get things bisqued quickly so I had some time to glaze & wad before Friday night’s soda kiln loading.
Kiln Layer #1 – lidded jars, small pitchers, mugs and some ornaments.
Kiln Layer #2 – two stamped platters, two bowls… and some more ornaments!
Kiln Layer #3 – half of the third layer was filled with stacked stamped bowls.
Kiln Layer #4 – porcelain mugs, bowls and some stacked pieces to fill the height.
But, oh wait… there’s a gaping space on the top of the kiln!!! We can’t have that.
You know how much I LOVE a well-packed kiln. I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I left that empty space like that!
Gotta make something quick to fill that space!!!
Big fan. Do you bisque pieces that are not yet dry and if so, do you hold a specific temperature? In other words I’m asking how you program your kiln. If this is proprietary information, I totally understand. Thx.
THANKS BARBARA – Nope. If I’m rushing enough to “need” to bisque fire my work, it definitely means that I’m up against a deadline of some sort. I try to “fast dry” my pieces as much as I can on plastic grid with a fan. And then I put them in the bisque being careful not to nest or stack them. The moisture needs an escape route. And then I usually pre-heat for an hour or two… and then just fire on SLOW. And sleep the night with my fingers crossed!!!