Towards the end of the soda-firing yesterday, it was time for my “workshoppers” to mix up the soda mixture & prep it for putting it into the kiln. I like to insert the mixture by scooping it onto a long angle iron that will then go into the kiln through two peeps that are directly over the fire boxes.

Yesterday was my firing day for the 3-DAY SODA-FIRING WORKSHOP. So much fun firing the kiln when the flames start to peek out during “body reduction.” Basically, when the gas-to-air ratio is a bit out of whack and the flames are searching for more air!

Early this morning…. the door is all sealed, pyrometers in place… and we have IGNITION!!!

Beautiful flowers in her new soda-fired vases! Looks like Rhonda is enjoying the vases she got out of the kiln from our LILLSTREET SODA-FIRING WORKSHOP. Such a beautiful combination of colorful flowers, wonderful textures & earthy soda-fired finishes. So glad you came to my workshop Rhonda… I hope you had a good time!!!

So here they are… after a very long wait… the pottery “treasures” that came out of the soda kiln Monday night during my LILLSTREET 3-DAY SODA-FIRING WORKSHOP. As with every soda firing, there area few hits, a few misses… and some crunchy chunks of kiln wash or brick flakes that “ruin” a few pots! There’s always a certain amount of loss during a soda kiln firing. But the soda-fired beauty of the rest of the pots makes it all worthwhile! And I think my workshop students were thrilled with their results as well.

Before my students could enjoy their newly soda-fired pots… they had to do some kiln maintenance! Always a hassle after a long firing weekend, but a necessity that I made sure my LILLSTREET SODA-FIRING WORKSHOP folks got to “enjoy” as part of experiencing the “full” soda-firing process! Scraping kiln shelves, re-applying kiln wash on both sides of every shelf & cleaning the kiln room. After they put in the manual labor… we finally got to go back to caress, fondle & appreciate their new soda-fired treasures!

Towards the end of yesterday’s LILLSTREET 3-DAY SODA-FIRING WORKSHOP, my students got the chance to load the soda mixture into the kiln. When the kiln gets up to cone 8, it’s time to mix it up and then start scooping & inserting the mixture into the kiln. I like to use a long angle iron to fill with the mixture – and then slide it into the kiln, dump it into the fire box, and then watch the flames shoot out!!! It’s a lot of work, but all part of the soda-firing process. I think they all enjoyed the experience. So now after several rounds of adding soda, the kiln has been turned off and it cooling all day today! They’ll return tomorrow night to open & unload the kiln… do some kiln cleaning & shelf maintenance… and then we’ll all get to look at their new soda-fired masterpieces!!!

Towards the end of the firing yesterday, the soda kiln is creeping into the cone 7-8-9 range… and the kiln is in full reduction at that point. Always exciting to see the flames shooting out everywhere!

Yesterday was the firing of our kiln for the LILLSTREET 3-DAY SODA-FIRING WORKSHOP. I started the kiln early in the morning… waiting for the pyrometric cones to start going down… and sometime around noon it was time to put the kiln into body reduction. Which is always fun because that’s kinda the first time you seem some flames peeking out of the kiln here & there!

Cassie brought these tiny little flower dishes to fire in the soda kiln! They were made with different kinds of clay, and glazed with different colors. Individually they were great kiln filler… but when put together I like them even more!!! Like a floral tapestry!