If I expect to get the new Black Cats into the kiln, fired and to ART IN THE BARN, I had a lot painting & glazing to do tonight. So I started by painting the cats with underglazes.

And then a thin coating of low-fire clear to cover everything. Yes, do no adjust your TV, these are indeed green. It’s a special low-fire clear that goes on green, but works great for my single-fired terra cotta projects giving things a beautiful clear shine.

Late tonight I was able to unload my cone six glaze kiln… with gloves!
Once again, mixed results… but at least I have a few more answers.

Apparently, the top of the kiln is not getting to top temperature. Remember that this time I placed pyrometric cones on the top & bottom shelves. The bottom cones melted just perfectly for a cone six firing. The top cone pack however didn’t show ANY movement at all. So who knows how hot it got on the top?… we know it WASN’T cone six!!!

Okay, so now I might be onto something. And maybe this explains some of my “random” results. I’m getting tired of testing a full kiln’s worth of work to find another problem… more pinholing, more crawling, more yuck!!! Maybe once we fix the kiln temperature problem I can start to get some consistent results???

With “Art In The Barn” just a week away, I’m working extra hard to make plenty of new work. So while I’m firing a soda kiln full of new work, I decided to glaze & load another kiln. Why not do two kilns at the same time?!!! I’m stuck in the studio all day firing… why not tackle another project?! I had already cleaned my studio… so more is more. And the more I have in Barrington next weekend, the more I can sell right?

My past couple Cone 6 firings have had mixed results. More pinholing & shivering that I would like. I was hoping that Cone 6 would be an easy firing with quick, colorful results. Not so far… still trying to find the right solution. So this time, I’ve added pyrometric cones top & bottom to double-check that the kiln is reaching temperature evenly. I’ve also put on a much thinner “sprayed” layer of glaze on most of the pieces. And one dipped to see if that makes a difference. Fingers crossed that something turns out okay. And that we might find some “answers” along the way!

Kiln Layer #1 – spoon rests, tiles… and a serving bowl that I’m re-firing!

Kiln Layer #2 – two bowls, mugs and more tiles.

Kiln Layer #3 – two more bowls, spoon rests , mugs & tiles.

Kiln Layer #4 – bowls, tiles and more of my “Relic Rattles.”

Kiln Layer #5 – textured fortune cookies.. and two tiles that didn’t fit on the layer below!

It’s been a very productive day in the studio.
Just getting my glaze on!!!

So I’ve been glazing, cleaning, and wadding getting everything ready for loading.
Luckily, my studio rolling cart is pretty much the same size as the soda kiln. I know that when the cart is filled with glazed pots, I’m pretty much done.

My eyes are getting a little glazed over.
Tired and still working. Lots of painting. Lots of wiping.
My second bisque was finally cool enough to unload, so now I have even MORE pieces that need to be glazed & wadded. A lot of work to get done before I start loading tomorrow night. I’ve still got a long way to go!!!

Okay, the bisque is piling up.
My second kiln is cooling… so I started with the pieces from my first bisque kiln.
See how smart I am?

I start with some temoku glaze and a paint brush. Filling the stamped indentations with glaze.

A lot of temoku. A lot of painting. And this is still just the first batch… more to come!

Then I take a dmap sponge and start wiping off the top surface of the pieces. It leaves the temoku glaze in the indentations and help accentuate the textured patterns. Lots of wiping ahead of me…

And

Collaboration close-up… getting ready to assemble…

After camp I unloaded my kiln full of tiles for my collaboration project with Cory McCrory… yes, 724 tiles to be exact!!!

I was very pleased when I opened the lid of the kiln. Subtle variations & shades of my new cone 6 green glaze. I really like how the glaze pools well, and breaks even better on the textures & patterns. So here’s a pretty BIG teaser reveal… and a LOT of green tiles!!!

Layer after layer, today I loaded all of my glazed tiles for the collaboration project into an electric kiln. It’s a Cone 6 firing using a relatively new glaze recipe… so my fingers are crossed.

Okay, so I spent tonight in the studio AGAIN glazing tiles! Who knew that a bucket full of tiles would take SO long to glaze?! Not me. Of course it’s my own fault. If my calculations are right, I only need 450 tiles for my part of the collaboration project with Cory McCrory. And since I’m a just little bit of an over-achiever, I just finished glazing 724 tiles!!! So I may have a “few” extras. Now I need to get them loaded into a kiln early next week.