Kiln Firing 11/14/09

Sometimes the kiln is just filled with special pieces. This kiln firing was one of those. Just look at these wonderful pots. The pedestal made it! I'll post some more photos of Steve making and glazing that piece. To give you a better idea of the accomplishment, I should mention that the finished pedestal measures 20 1/2" high and 12" wide. The bowl pictured actually is not the one he made for it but another darker one we have. The bowl in the kiln firing tonight is glazed similarly.
The next piece is beautiful as well. It is close to an original Teco design. At 17 1/2" high it is quite large too.

and this is the lotus I was making in an earlier post.

Packing orders

Kiln Firing 11/6/09

We fired a glaze firing last night and started
propping the kiln lid open at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

a little more at 460 degrees

Lid wide open at 300 degrees

completely unloaded... a nice firing.

The making of a Lotus

There is a special beauty of a pot just decorated. It is what it is. You can feel confident that you've done your best and appreciate your success. Subconsciously I often consider the piece finished at this stage. The amount of control I have is larger. Once it is bisque fired, there is no more manipulation of the material only glaze application and firing. Glazing and firing are the more scientific side of ceramics. They are extremely important because obviously, if the glaze quality doesn't match the quality of the craftsmanship of the pot, then it fails as a piece. It is also a bit of a gamble, less so with experience but still there are variables that can go askew. Materials can vary as mines become depleted of chemicals you use in the glaze. You can space out (!) while you are mixing the glaze and end up with a disastrous glaze. (You can not see the glaze colors until after they are fired.) Thickness of the glaze is an intuitive thing too. We use a hydrometer to measure the thickness of a new batch of glaze but after that, it is really by feel that you decide the glaze is good to go. Kilns fire differently depending on the number of pots you put in the kiln and their placement within the kiln not to mention the firing schedule. Fortunately, kilns themselves are much more controllable today than in the 1970's because of the ability to digitally program your firing schedule, once you decide on it.

I was working on a Lotus today. It really turned out beautifully. Take a look.

November Pot of the Month: Petals

update on pots

Steve finished decorating these beauties. You see the beginning of the process in the last post.

Pots, pots, pots

Those of you familiar with the Arts & Crafts pottery made between 1890-1910+ are familiar with the Roseville jardineres on pedestals. We thought we would attempt to make at least one. It is a difficult challenge because the two pieces are made separately and must fit together after the 15% shrinkage our pieces undergo from thrown to finish. Roseville pottery was cast and though handling plaster molds fill of liquid clay slip is tricky, they were a factory and had appropriate mechanization. Here is a large base Steve has thrown. He'll put a slab on top from which he'll make a rim for the bowl to sit on. Next he'll make the bowl.



This is also a difficult piece, inspired by an original Teco design. The donut shape at the bottom was thrown first, allowed to set up while the next section was thrown. Then the two were joined and here you see Steve adding yet another section for additional height after the first two pieces have set up. He was successful and that is a feat in itself with all that weight sitting on the donut.
Now he'll decorate it.


Of the two, which has the scariest Halloween face?