Today was firing day. A long day. But worthwhile when I get to open it in a couple days!
So I started early this morning by “pumping the flames” into the kiln. There are two burner
ports on the back of the soda kiln, one on each side of the chimney. It starts up slowly,
with gradual increases in gas & air to ramp it up for the first couple hours.

About a half-hour into it, I came down for the first turn-up, checked the kiln,
checked the flames, checked the reduction, checked the cone packs… only to be
surprised to find that the bottom cone pack was gone!!! Missing. No signs.
My guess is it must have exploded or fallen off the shards that held it in place.
Luckily, I rely on the top cone pack a lot more than the bottom.

During the firing, you’re “trapped” at the studio… can’t leave, can’t really start much
as you need to check the kiln throughout the day. So it’s a lot of finishing little projects,
cleaning, sweeping, dusting, trimming class demo’s, chatting and waiting for the kiln.
When the kiln finally begins to reach the top temperatures, it’s time to mix up the
soda mixture that will be introduced into the kiln. Who knew that such a “sloppy mess”
of soda ash, soda bicarbonate, whiting, wood chips & water could make your pots
look so great?! It looks like an odd mix of oatmeal & tuna?!

When the kiln is around cone 9, I start introducing the soda mixture into the kiln
on an angle iron. Dropping soda mixture into the kiln every 15-ish minutes until the mixture
is gone. Tonight I also had two assistants putting the soda in. Two of my beginning wheel
students were there working and had never really seen a kiln firing before. So I offered
to show it to them, and even let them put some of the soda in. Pam was surprised
how hot it was back by the kiln, and Chuck had that instant look of “pyro-addiction.”
He loved putting the soda in… the flames, the heat, the danger… he’s in!
And I loved having the help. After the soda is introduced, the flames come shooting out
of the peeps as the atmosphere inside the kiln is quite volatile – with the evaporated soda
mixtures flying all around the kiln and hitting the pots inside!

After all of the soda is in, I let the kiln continue longer so the soda can “soak” and spread
a little more as it gets to it’s top temperature and cone 10 finally drops! During that
soaking time, I had a chance to hang out with Chuck & Pam… and had to laugh at the
persistence, dedication & focused attention Chuck had as he was applying slip to one of
his pots! Not bad for one of my “tile-class-convert” wheelthrowing beginners, huh!!!

After a good soaking, it’s time to turn the kiln off… and it’s suddenly silent.
Turn off the gas. Turn off the blowers. Turn off the exhaust fans. Close the damper
and call it a night. Now it’s time to wait again… as a watched kiln never cools!

With my studio cart packed to the hilt, I was concerned if it was all going to fit.
And it didn’t. A few pieces will have to wait for my next soda kiln firing!

So tonight I finally loaded the soda kiln. After months of making work, bisquing,
glazing, wadding and more… tonight was my night to load the kiln. Tomorrow I’ll be
firing the kiln all day. But first… here’s my step-by-step loading process from tonight!

The kiln was empty and waiting for me. You always start with the back stack. I load
the entire back stack, one shelf deep, all the way to the top… then move to the front
two shelves and load them all the way to the top. Each shelf is placed on kiln posts
of different heights to make the shelves work with the heights of your pots. With lots
of tiles conveniently fitting in between all of the pots – the perfect kiln filler!

Lots of pots. Lots of tiles. All different sizes. All different shapes. It’s sort of a 3-D puzzle…
loading in pieces, trying to get as many pieces in as possible – while making sure there’s
enough air space around everything for good soda flow & coverage. It’s tough…
the more I “squeeze” in, the more I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth for the cost
of the kiln firing! Pack it too tight, and some of the work may not be covered & glazed
with soda. So I keep packing… up to the top!

Then it’s time to move to the front two shelves – and load them both at the same time,
layer by layer. Again, matching the brick heights with the work going in. Part way up…
another Kodak Moment.

More pots. More shelves. More posts. Layer by layer. And a LOT of tiles!!!
But then it’s done. Loaded all the way to the top. With one last shelf carefully slid in
at the top… just a few more tiles and a couple cups. Whew… a lot of stacking,
a lot of posts & heavy shelves! And I’m sweating… but glad it’s done.

Once the kiln is packed, and the cone packs in place, the door then needs
to be bricked closed. One brick at a time. Alternating, some this way, some that way.
Making sure that the peeps are in, and line up with the cone packs so I’ll be able to see
them during the firing. Yes, the peeps are the “brighter white” bricks that can be
pulled out for a quick peek.

And then it’s done for the night. Put to bed. Trying to get a good night’s sleep
for tomorrow’s long day of firing! And… scene!

Oh, the possibilities… like the calm before the storm.
Loading starts tomorrow afternoon! Let the games begin!!!

I think this is the first time EVER that I am actually ahead of schedule?!
Everything is glazed, wadded & ready to go for Friday’s soda kiln loading.
And here’s the “other” side of the rolling cart… ready to roll downstairs!

It feels a little odd… like I’m missing something, or should be doing more?!
Now don’t get me wrong… it feels nice for a change.

Guess that “clears me” for another afternoon bike ride to the Botanic Garden?!

It was cold & rainy outside today… kinda damp & dreary… no fun outside…
So today I tackled the bowls. Glazing bowls. Wadding bowls. Everything bowls.
With the new “bulging stamp” design, I’m intrigued to see how they glaze up.
I’m so accustomed to the glaze being inlaid INTO the stamp… whereas on these bowls,
the glaze “inlay” actually turned out to be “around” the stamp instead of “in” the stamp?!
I hope they turn out… I’m hopeful, but a bit apprehensive.

After the mini’s… I did a LOT of glazing! A lot of liner glazes. A lot of inlaid glazes.
A lot of wadding. With a bit of colored glazes sprayed on for accents here & there.
My studio cart filled up quickly… ready to be rolled downstairs to the kiln.
Well, not quite yet. Before I left tonight I rolled the cart and turned it around…
so now the entire other side of the cart can be filled with glazed pieces!!!

As mentioned, my rolling cart will travel downstairs for the kiln loading.
With a rickety freight elevator as my only means of transportation, I have found
that some masking tape “safety belts” tend to keep my pots safe… as they jiggle
and bounce around on the trip downstairs!

I will be loading my soda kiln next Friday, and then firing on Saturday.
And I still have quite the pile of bisque stacked up waiting to be glazed!

Miniature pots… Miniature vases… Miniature bowls… just a “little” glazing!!!

Tonight I participated in another Empty Bowls Project – a community event to help
combat hunger. And by participate, I mean donating to “buy” a bowl and EATING!!!

This time, the event was sponsored by Terra Incognito in LaGrange. Much like the event we
did earlier this year at Lillstreet Art Center. If you remember, the basic concept is that a bunch
of potters all donate ceramic bowls for the cause. Then on the night of the event, the place
is flooded with lots of people who purchase the bowls for $20 and then get it filled with food.
So they get the bowl, they get some food and they get to feel great donating to the cause!
When we arrived, the line was literally around the block with people waiting to donate!

In fact, in the photo above… you can “almost” see the bowl I picked out.
It’s in the far top corner, far right column of pots, third one down from the top.
Kind of a small teabowl shape, slightly squared off, with a nice mix & interaction
of glazes – almost crystalline, but not really… though sadly, not trimmed.

One of the coolest parts of the Terra Incognito event is that it is in conjunction with a lot
of the downtown LaGrange restaurants. So you take your bowl and set out to experience
free food from over 20 local restaurants. It’s extra fun to wander the town, see a bunch
of people filling their bowls and getting free food everywhere you go! From appetizer
bruschetta & crab cakes, to entree pizza, pasta & wings, to desserts of gelato, fudge &
cookies. Not necessarily in that order. In fact, we actually did the free fudge twice! Yum!

So I teamed up with my friend Nancy, who many of you have met as one of my art fair
assistants, and she is also the one responsible for getting me started in pottery several
years ago! But that’s a whole ‘nother story for another time! So we grouped up
with her husband and two other friends to do our charitable part…
and eat as much as we could to support the cause!

Tonight I started glazing. After a LOT of rearranging… a LOT of stacking…
just trying to make some space to organize my bisque & make room to work.
But I finally got my act together and started inlaying glaze into my stamped textures.

It’s kind of a lengthy process where I fill the stamps with glaze, let it dry
and then wipe off the top surface with a damp sponge to clean off the pot surface,
but leave glaze in the stamped recesses. Since these pots will be soda-fired, the pot
surface will remain unglazed – leaving the soda atmosphere to do its magic! The glaze
inlays will help accentuate the stamping, and the colored slip will give it color accents.

Tomorrow the glazing process will continue with liner glazes, wadding and a bit of
sprayed glazes for a little extra splash of color on a few of the pieces. Then continue
the same process all over again with the bowls… flower pots… vases… and more!
A lot of pots to glaze & wad before I can load & fire the kiln!