The next few days after a firing are always an interesting period of reflection…it seemed to have gone well but one never wants to let expectations soar too high.  It seemed Firing #11 went well, 23 hours is about right and most of the cones were down where I wanted them down.  Unloading proved that it was a pretty good one, very low loss rate and a number of nice hot pots screaming of ash and soda.

Most of the pots are sanded and washed and packed and ready for the show this weekend.  Come on by and say hello if you’re in Hickory, NC this Saturday at the show.  Here are a few more sneak peak pictures just in case you can’t make it.

Also, I got a look into the second round of the little test soda kiln…you remember the little converted electric kiln I threatened to blog about.  Round one was only moderately successful but after a few changes round two showed real improvement.  The color from the reduction was good throughout as was the level of soda, and temperature too.  Nice to see the changes and second try make for a good improvement.  But got to head out for the big show so that’s all for now…

Finished loading the kiln last night, ready to get the fire going. I’m headed for a few hours sleep this evening, then up at midnight to get it rolling. Forecast for the train ride is 24 hours of firing after a chilly overnight start. Thankfully a little help from some friends will trickle in, Tracy Dotson will make his first appearance up here in the morning to give me a brief break from the overnight. Apparently he is excited about standing around a wood kiln for a little while. I have received confirmation from Captain Conepack that he will indeed arrive in the evening to help ‘bring it on home’ through the rest of the night. Lots of plates in the kiln this time, as well as a few of the square bottle forms I’ve been working on.

I’ve been thinking a lot of the kiln firing process lately, ever since I fired the little soda “converta-kiln” last week.  Looks like I might get to fire it again next week if there are enough student pots.  The first firing proved informative and I’m ready with a list of small changes to make to improve the results.  Joy wrote a nice summary of the building of the little thing, and soon as my firing here is over I’ll try to add something about the project and the results.

But for now there is a train getting ready to pull out of the station so I better hop on.

Been a while since the last report, I’ve managed to make some work in the studio during the last few weeks and I hope to fire the kiln in a few days, right before heading down the mountain to a little pottery festival in Hickory, NC.

Stay tuned for a firing report coming soon.