A large stamped & glazed platter being loaded into the soda kiln.
Lots of fresh wadding underneath… pressed flat & securely to the kiln shelves.
Hoping that the Kiln Gods protect it from the evil forces of warpage!!!

My studio cart full of glazed pieces ready to be loaded into the soda kiln.
Complete with my masking tape “seat belts” to keep the pots from jumping off
the cart during their ride downstairs on the rickety freight elevator!

So I’m getting ready for another soda kiln firing next weekend. And this is my last bisque kiln before then. It may not by my tightest packed kiln ever, but I was pleased to get everything in… without too many open spaces. Cause you know how that kills me!

Kiln Layer #1 – wall pocket vases & mugs.

Kiln Layer #2 – large stamped platter, miniature vases and tiles.

Kiln Layer #3 – large stamped platter #2 and more tiles.

Kiln Layer #4 – ovals, teapots and urns.

Kiln Layer #5 – a few more ovals on a half shelf… and on top of other pots!

Spent much of yesterday “laboring” in my studio. Finished glazing & loading 694 tiles!!! Many of which will become part of the collaboration fun I’m doing with Cory McCrory for next weekend’s ART IN THE GARDEN.

And sure, I probably could have gotten ONE more tile squeezed in there… if it weren’t for that glaze splotch that somebody left on the kiln shelf from a previous firing. Usually I’m okay with chipping them off. But this one’s a deep one best saved for another day! And what’s ONE more tile really in the big scheme of things?!

I better NOT be one tile short when it comes to assembling our collaboration pieces!

With an art fair next weekend, and a collaboration project in the works, I’ve really got to get these tiles bisqued. And I might as well fill the whole kiln with a “few” other things too, right?

Bisque Kiln Layer #1 – mugs, mugs and more mugs!!!

Bisque Kiln Layer #2 – assorted bowls, spoon rests, soap dishes and some tiles.

Bisque Kiln Layer #3 – mugs, soap dispensers, a teapot, and two large platters.

Bisque Kiln Layer #4 – more mugs, tumblers and a lot of tiles.

And here’s the BULK of my textured tiles for the collaboration pieces I’m doing with Cory McCrory. Packed tight, piled high with a bit of air space between the rows. Fingers crossed that the heat makes it into that dense pack of tiles okay?

Last night I unloaded my soda kiln. It was a long night of unloading, packing and cleaning the kiln. So I had to “postpone” sharing these photos until today. I hope they were worth the wait…

The cone pack shows that were had a hot Cone 10 firing on top,
the bottom was a normal Cone 10 despite being just 12-degrees different top to bottom.

Here’s a couple bowls as they were coming out of the kiln.
So much fun to see the new treasures… after hoping that all went well during the firing.
No glops. No chunks. No funky “kisses” from the kiln.

After just a couple hours of sleep…
my kiln is all closed up, burners on and warming up quickly!

Finally, it was time to start loading. I love kiln loading. I’t s wonderful, three-dimensional Tetris kind of puzzle. Fit everything in. Leave enough space for the flames & soda to flow through. Shelves. Posts. Pots. Repeat.

Here’s the back half… a single shelf stack all the way to the top. I know that the very top shelf of the kiln usually gets a lot more of the soda blast. And I know that I don’t want the vases to get blasted. That’s why I dropped them down a layer – hoping they get a better blush &  shine instead of a soda blast.

And the front stack of two shelves… complete with a lot of spoons scattered throughout the kiln.

SO now it’s all packed up for the night. Kiln packs in the right places….
all I need to do is brick up the front door. Brick by brick.

Such potential for such a small space…

Tonight I loaded the last bisque kiln before this weekend’s soda kiln. Okay, sure, it may not be the best & well-loaded kiln ever… but at this point, I just need to get ’em fired so I can glaze ’em.

Kiln Layer #1 – large stamped bowls and wall pocket vases.

Kiln Layer #2 – textured tiles.

Kiln Layer #3 – stamped vases, wall pocket vases and the textured slab vases I made last night. Of course, they’re still a little more damp than I would like, so I’m going for a couple hours of pre-heating with my fingers crossed.