By now you may have figured out that I’m NOT political… but THIS is a good one!!!

A few more “treasures” revealed as I unloaded my soda kiln tonight. I’m pretty excited about these new larger lidded jars… they all turned out GREAT!!! Can’t wait to show them off in two weeks at my Holiday Home Show! Always the weekend before Thanksgiving. Mark your calendars!!!

Love this new soda-fired mug that just came out of my soda kiln. It’s a more subtle blush of color on porcelain. Not my usual preference, I usually like them “soda-blasted” a little bit more. But this one’s a sweety… the subtlety of the flashing and satiny-surface might be winning me over? Perfect for another Mugshot Monday!!!

A sneak peek into the kiln while unbricking the door. Looks like good things to come…
and more mugs for Mugshot Monday!!!

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After a long day of glazing & loading, followed by an “all-nighter” of firing… it was great to grab a quick nap followed by a fun evening of musical theater with friends. We went to see “Singin’ In The Rain” at the Marriott Lincolnshire. Fun show with all the songs you know and lots of tapping! Yes, they do the infamous sofa flip… and yes, it even RAINS REAL RAIN!!!

So I finished loading the soda kiln late last night… and decided to pull an “all-nighter” and fire it right then & there. Now let’s just say, I don’t think I’ve done an “all-nighter” since college. But it is pretty great to have finished firing the kiln already… and it’s still beautiful & sunny outside!!! Who knows… I might be onto something here?!

Okay, so I’m a little tired… but then again what else is new?

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While I’m “stuck” inside firing the kiln, I’m trying not to think about how perfectly BEAUTIFUL it is outside! But somehow, I keep getting glimpses of the incredible Fall day. I hope to get done soon enough to get outside before it’s gone.

Think of it as three-dimensional TETRIS with pots! Packing as many pieces in as you can. Shelf by shelf. Post by post. Building it up from the bottom. Layer by layer. All the while pacing yourself to spread pots all through the kiln. WHile packing it tight, but not too tight. Remember, for a good soda firing you want a good amount of open air for good air movement during the firing.

The back stack is loaded first… one shelf all the way up.

And always trying to get pots as close as possible to the curved roof of the kiln. Gotta use every possible space. I even threw in a couple student pieces to fill the shelf as I had run out of tall pieces for the left side of the shelf.

The front stack is two shelves deep. Again, pacing yourself trying to get is as many as possible. But restraining yourself from packing it too tightly. I think I did pretty well. All of the pieces I had glazed & wadded fit… okay, so two mugs are sitting on the bag wall, but… and I even had some space for a few student pieces. Like the little row of pumpkins second shelf from the top!

Cone packs have been put in top and bottom. And now the kiln door has been all bricked up. Packed with pots. Ready to be fired!!!

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Well, I’m finally all glazed & wadded. My studio cart is close to full, which means the soda kiln will be close to full as well. I can always glaze a few more pieces if I need to as I’m loading. The masking tape “seat belts” help keep the pots from “jumping off” my cart as I roll it downstairs in the rickety freight elevator!

An empty soda kiln full of potential. Kiln bricks with a beautiful soda-fired build-up.
Soon to be packed with a LOT of pots!!!