So it’s been a busy week… with working all day, teaching three night classes, cleaning the kiln, biking & doing my taxes!!! Yes, I’m still working on my TAXES!!! But here’s the inside my soda kiln from last weekend… finally! Another beautiful firing with some great colors & flashing marks all the way through! Looking forward to spending some more time with each of these pieces as I start to prep & price them all for the upcoming art fair season! After I finish my taxes of course…

This morning I pulled out a few bricks from the kiln door to help cool the kiln.
So here’s a quick sneak peek. Looking good so far!!!

Towards the end of the day-long firing, I start to put the soda mixture into the kiln between cones 8 & 9. The introduction of of the soda, moisture & combustible materials make the kiln go crazy during this high reduction time. So dramatic with flames shooting out everywhere!!! Not for the faint of heart… but so much fun for those of us who love playing with flames! Especially knowing that these crazy flames are also working their “magic” on the pots inside. Fingers crossed everything looks great inside!!!

Part way into the firing, it’s time to put the kiln into body reduction… altering the ratio of gas to air. Reducing the air level so the flames need to seek-out oxygen wherever it can find it. And that’s when the flames start to peek out through the cracks & crevices of the bricks. So much fun… kind of enticing!

Packed tight from top to bottom, as well as the three shelves deep. It’s a lot of pots & mini tiles trying to utilize as much surface space as possible… trying to get the most out of every soda kiln firing!

The empty soda kiln full of my firing hopes & dreams! HA!!! It was late Friday night when I finally got around to loading. A lengthy process to fit in as many pots as you can, all the while trying to think about air flow & soda coverage during the firing. It’s a beautiful kiln that has done many, many firings… as you can tell by the beautiful soda “patina” build-up on the bricks!

Sadly, not quite everything fit into the kiln last night as I loaded into the wee-hours of the morning. As usual, I went through the mental waves of “I don’t have enough… I have way too much… I’m a gonna need to glaze more… this is never gonna fit… what am I doing… I think I need chocolate… still a lot of pots… oh, I think it’s going to be close… can I squeeze just a few more in?”

Well, the answer was NO. So it looks like I have a few leftovers… a nice start on building work for my next soda kiln, right???

And yes, we have ignition already… and the soda kiln is slowly warming up.
It’s gonna be along day… luckily, I have a lot of studio projects & cleaning to tackle
while I’m here all day!

More bisqued pots coming out soon… more pieces to glaze & wad
as my next soda kiln firing is this weekend!!

Here’s another great example of soda-firing… BEFORE & AFTER.

This collection is mostly Kelsey’s handbulit pots. Some classical forms with some contemporary surfaces. It’s cool to see them side-by-side to see & how they all transformed during the firing.

Well done Kelsey!!!