A couple hours into the firing this morning, you could start to see some of the “color” inside the kiln. It takes a long time for it to start really heating up… think about all of the pots, shelves & bricks that need to absorb the heat too!!! At certain intervals, you need to adjust the kiln in terms of air & gas ratios. This glowing moment is when I put the kiln into “body reduction” by throwing the balance out of whack with not enough air for a good stable flame. The flames need to seek out air anywhere they can… through the bricks, or more importantly from the porousness of the pots inside… thus sealing them up solid & vitrified!

It was a LATE night… but I finally got the soda kiln loaded & the front door all bricked up last night. Put to bed for the night… and then I got to do the same for myself for a couple hours before returning early this morning to get the firing started. No rest for the weary!!!

After a couple hours of “pottery Tetris” last night… I finally had the soda kiln stacked & loaded with a LOT of pottery. Luckily, I had “over-glazed” in my studio so I had a few extras pieces to choose from that didn’t quite make it into this kiln… so they just will have to wait until my next soda firing. Oh well… I think there will be “plenty of pots” for my next couple art fairs!

The empty soda kiln is always enticing… excited about the possibilities & potential of the pots you’re about to load into it. And yet somewhat daunting when you think of all the pots, shelves & posts that need to be carefully stacked & loaded before you can call it done. A late night guaranteed.

After a long day of glazing & wadding yesterday, I finally had my studio cart filled and ready to roll downstairs to the kiln room. As the freight elevator is not the smoothest of rides, I always use some masking tape “safety belts” to keep any stray pots form jumping off the cart during their travels!

Stamps inlaid with glazes & wiped clean… now to add a liner glaze of tenmoku to match!

Starting off today with a batch of mugs that need to be glazed & wadded. I’ve applied a layer of tenmoku glaze into all of the stamped impressions to help accentuate the textures & patterns. Now to wipe it off… leaving the glaze inlaid in the stamps!

You know it’s my least favorite part of the pottery process. But it’s got to be be done. So I’ve been working the past couple days trying to make some headway through my bisque… as I need to fill a soda kiln this weekend! At least this accidental “smiling sponge” made me happy this morning to kick-off another day of glazing!!!

This past Monday night in my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we discussed how to throw with a bit more “intention”… and how to approach throwing “matching sets.” I offered up a few options… as one of their class challenges is to bring two “matching” bowls to our final class as few weeks from now! One of my best suggestions is to throw a few extras that are “similar” and then decorate & trim them to make them match even more… and then pick the two that match the best!!! I went with four… hoping to get two that match!!!

After last night’s rain… always beautiful to see fresh flowers with fresh raindrops. Adds a little splash of color to an otherwise gray & gloomy morning!