Firing day is a very long day.
It starts early in the morning.
It lasts ALL day and into the evening.
You’re kind of “stuck” there monitoring & adjusting throughout the day.
So it’s the perfect day to get a lot of “busy work” done.

Class demo pots glazed. Check.
Teacher shelf wiped down & clean. Check.
A couple episodes of “Seinfeld.” Check.
Studio cleaned. Check.
Floor mopped. Check.
Garbage taken out to dumpster. Check.
Plants watered. Check.
A couple episodes of my favorite TV show ever – “Lost”. Check.
Chatting with friends. Check. Check… and Check.
Hot Fudge Turtle Sundae with EXTRA Hot Fudge with Sarah… CHECK!!!

When the kiln gets up towards its top temperatures… kinda when cone 9 is getting soft,
I start inserting the soda mixture into the kiln. The soda ash, soda bicarbonate, whiting & wood chips vaporize in the fire box to create an instant soda vapor that travels through the kiln and “glazes” the pots with random flashing marks. Several rounds of soda insertion and eventually the mixture runs out… and cone 10 goes down. Soak it for a few minutes and then done.

Turn it off. Turn off the gas. Turn off the air. Close the damper. Push in all of the peeps.
Suddenly silent. Eerie.

Kiln fired… CHECK!!!