Tonight I loaded another kiln full of greenware!
Okay, I must admit that some of it was a little “wetter” than I would like.
Seriously, some of the pieces I made earlier today, with them in front of the fan!
I just hope they “dry” in the kiln before the explode!!!

Layer #1 – ovals, mugs and a lot of kiln filler… you know how I LOVE kiln filler!!!

Layer #2 – berry bowls & plates, soap dispensers and more kiln filler.

Layer #3 – stamped platters & plates, spoon rests, filler… and Nadine’s bug mug.

Layer #4 – stamped bowls, an oval, mugs, spoon rests and a lot of kiln filler!

Layer #5 – spoon rests, small dishes, Karen Patinkin bowls and more kiln filler!
As you can see, some of the filler is a little wetter than it should be! Still dark. Still wet.

Tonight I loaded another electric bisque kiln.
Admittedly, not my best job of packing it tight. You know it kills me to leave open space!
But I had some odd sized, and odd shaped, pieces that didn’t quite “fit” together nicely.
Plus the glazed terra cotta planter trays that wouldn’t allow me to stack things as usual.
It always feels good to get fragile greenware off my studio shelves and safely into a kiln.
One step closer to some new finished pots!

Layer #1 -always my favorite layer – when you have a lot of pots to choose from to fill.
Starting with oval casserole dishes, oval vases, test tiles, mugs and more “kiln filler.”

Layer #2 -stamped platters, glazed terra cotta trays… and more kiln filler!

Layer #3 -a stamped platter, small casserole dishes and glazed terra cotta trays.

Layer #4 -mugs, small casserole dishes… and one filler piece from Karen Patinkin!

Basking in the sun. Waiting to be bisqued. Love the way the sun is streaming in…

My firing yesterday was smooth & effortless. I spent the day cleaning my studio
while I was “trapped” there firing all day long. I started early in the morning so it wasn’t
too late in the evening when I finally turned it off for the day. Then, all day Sunday it cooled
and it was still over two hundred degrees when I got there around 6:00pm tonight. When you
unbrick the kiln door, it’s always great to see the results. A treasure trove full of new pots!

Once the kiln is unloaded and the pots are packed up to take home, then the “real” fun begins.
Cleaning. Yes, the kiln needs to be cleaned after every kiln firing. Scraping shelves. Sweeping
out the fire box. Kiln washing the shelves. Sweeping. Cleaning. etc… all of that “glamorous”
stuff that no one realizes is all part of making that one pot they eventually see at the art fair!

Well, it’s finally my soda firing weekend. It’s been a long & productive two weeks getting
ready… throwing, stamping, firing, glazing, wadding and getting ready to load the kiln.
So I rolled my studio cart down to the kiln room. Safe after the trip down the freight elevator –
thanks to the masking tape “safety belts” that I put on the shelves to keep pots from
“jumping off the cart along the way.

And then it was time to load. Which takes me a lot longer than most people.
Especially with my “addiction” for filling all of the kiln shelf spaces. No shelf space left unfilled.
I’ve got tiles. I’ve got ornaments. I’ve got kiln filler galore!!! So here’s the back stack
of the kiln, one shelf deep. With lots of filler. And ready to start the front…

And then here’s the front stack which is two shelves deep. Including cone packs
in just the right places! Ready to be melted down!

So once it’s all filled up with pots, posts and shelves… it’s time to close the door
with individual bricks. Layer by layer. Brick by brick. Then a quick warm-up…
closed up for the night… and ready to fire tomorrow!!!

One week closer to my soda kiln… and it’s time for another bisque kiln.
Just in time to fire the bisque, cool it and get the contents glazed for Friday’s loading.
It’s been a quick, fast-paced round of production this time trying to make enough work
to fill the soda kiln. I hope this bisque tops it off!

Layer #1 – bowls, ovals, tiles, ornaments… and a couple Karen Patinkin pieces!

Layer #2 – bowls, ovals, ornaments, tiles and soap dispensers.

Layer #3 – ovals, ornament, soap dispensers, tiles and more

Layer #4 – lots of tiles, a Karen Patinkin platter and some freshly made, still wet tripods
for firing my ornaments in the soda kiln. Yes, I made the tripods about 5 minutes before
loading them. Let’s hope they survive the firing?!!!

And, I think I may have redeemed myself a little better this time…
not as much empty kiln space as last time! I love me some kiln filler…

Tonight I unloaded my latest bisque kiln.
But now where do I put everything?! I’ve got a lot of glazing to do now…
but I’m still hoping to make another kiln’s worth of new work. And as you can see,
my tables & shelves are stacking up with bisque. So what to do?… Glaze & wad these pots
to get them out of the way? Or make more fresh pieces to fill another bisque kiln?!

Well, by now you know the answer is always ‘make more fresh work.’
I can glaze another day.

After teaching class tonight, I loaded another bisque kiln. One step closer
to my upcoming soda kiln. And you know how I pride myself on packing an
effective kiln. However, I’m kind of embarrassed to say that I didn’t do all that well this time.
I’ve been trying to crank out as much as I can, but I didn’t do so well with the smaller pieces
that fit into all those empty spaces! Sure the first couple layers were pretty good…
but by the third & fourth layers & was out of filler – only large pieces & no filler?!!! Sheesh.

Kiln Layer #1 – ovals & mugs

Kiln Layer #2 – ovals, mugs & bowls

Kiln Layer #3 – ovals, mugs & bowls

Kiln Layer #4 – ovals… and one more bowl!

Hopefully next Tuesday’s bisque kiln will be packed a little tighter…
as long as I’ve made enough new pieces between now and then!!!

So my day started out a little better today than yesterday.
Not quite as early. No kiln to unload. No rush to set things up when I got there.
Regardless… I was still a little tired after a late night of glazing & loading.

The fun continued today with more customers, more friends, more family.
And more chocolate shakes!!! Part of the “food court” area of the art fair
is this wonderful trailer from The Malt Shoppe. And over the years I have “trained”
them to make the best chocolate shakes ever! It starts with chocolate ice cream
and chocolate sauce. They mix it up into a shake, add more chocolate and mix again.
And then, just when they think it can’t get any chocolatey-er… I have them mix in
some hot fudge!!! I want the shake to be brown!. I want it to scream “chocolate”!!!
And over the years, they’ve been doing a great job… and this art fair was no exception!
Yesterday I only had one. But today I made up for lost time with three!!!
But who’s counting?!

At the end of the fair, it’s always an “adventure” to pack everything up and drive home.
Somehow even after selling a lot of pots all weekend long, it amazes me every time how
there’s not more empty space in the van?! Still packed. Still full. How does that happen?!

Yet again… after a full day at the art fair, then packing & shlepping it home…
it was back to the studio tonight for more glazing & kiln loading. There was and empty
shelf on the top of my back stack of the kiln. Plus, Corinne said that I could do another
layer or two on the front stack before she puts her sculptures in. So… despite my exhaustion,
I glazed more & loaded more. Until I couldn’t glaze no more…

Today was a very long day.
Not only did it start out very early unloading HOT monsters from the kiln.
And then a full day of chatting & selling pottery at the art fair. But that’s not it.
As if I had endless time, and endless energy… I also needed to go back to the
studio after the art fair to glaze and load part of another kiln! One of my fellow
studio mates is firing a kiln with her sculptural work in it on Tuesday. She offered
me some extra kiln space in her kiln… and you know how I love to fill a kiln!
Nothing pains me more than an “under-packed” kiln!!!

So I seized the moment… took on the opportunity… and pushed myself to work late
in the studio to glaze and pack the back stack of the cone 10 reduction kiln. Corinne
will be loading her work in the front of the kiln. And if all goes well, I’ll have some
new “replenishment” pieces just in time for “ART DETOUR.” Including some more
stamped bowls, tumblers and my new “line” of textured Relic Rattles!