Lots of flames finding their way through the kiln bricks of the door! Mesmerizing & magical. I think my workshop participants were smitten with the flaming glow… just as I am every time I fire the soda kiln!!!

When the kiln finally got up towards its top temperatures tonight, my class started scooping the soda mixture onto an angle iron preparing to insert it into the kiln to create the soda atmosphere. They had a great time “playing” with the flames, inserting the soda & making some “magic” happen inside the kiln!!!

A little wisp of a reduction flame sneaking out through the bricks!

An early morning start… ignition… flames… here we go!
It’s going to be a long day of firing… with my class coming back
this evening to help insert the soda mixture into the kiln.

All closed up for the night. A good job done… lots of help from my workshop participants. They were all troopers… even as our loading went a couple hours longer than the workshop was scheduled for!!!

Dan & Cassie bricking up the kiln door.
One of the more “glamorous “ tasks of the night!!!

Front stack done… filled last night with lots of pots of all sizes & styles. Can’t wait to see them when they’re fired!!! Time to brick the door…

Back stack loaded last night… pretty tight to the arched roof… nice!!!

An empty soda kiln full of potential. Just getting ready for the start of my three-day SODA-FIRING WORKSHOP at Lillstreet Art Center. Tonight we’ll learn about soda-firing, glaze, wad & load this kiln. Tomorrow we fire and then they come back next week to unload and find their treasures!

One of my students had a marbled clay bowl that had an uneven footring making it kinda wobbly. So last night I brought my DiamondCore Grinding Disc down to class for Dan to use. Just put it on the wheel, add some water, spin & grind! Instantly took off a layer and leveled the bowl so no more wobbly-wiggles! So Dan can now move forward on glazing!

Click here for more info on DiamondCore Tools Grinding Discs!