It's all in the Game

We so often find that just when we are at peak production we'll get hit with a big slowdown.

That's what happen this last week with both kilns demanding repair. New elements, new relays, new thermocouples... the works, everything but the switches had to be replaced. Our kilns work hard though so it is understandable; it's also understandable that we don't like to take unnecessary chances and fix them asap.
After the fix, we fired during the day so we could be sure it was working well. It is difficult to make important decisions about the firing when you are half asleep which is the case when we fire overnight.
Of course, we couldn't use the studio while it was firing so we lost a half day but it was worth it to be sure the kilns were working properly. Though these kilns have a digital programmer, Steve checks the kilns 3-4 times during the firing. Problems that can arise like uneven temperatures top to bottom are then controlled manually as well as possible.

loading the glaze kiln

Continuing to glaze

Success!

Again with a little bit of feeling!

December Pot of the Month

The pedestal process

We are working overtime to get pots to take to a show in St. Petersburg, Florida this coming weekend. Last night was another glaze firing and there is yet one more before we leave on Wednesday.



This one had the bowl for the pedestal I raved about last post. Here are a few snapshots of the finished piece and a lot of photos of working with the pedestal. Enjoy!


If you take a look at the slide show ('November Pot of the Month') I posted at the beginning of the month, you'll see the throwing process involved in building up a tall piece. Here you'll see the difficulty in just handling large pieces without breaking them. The two photos above capture the before and after decorating.


Because they are so fragile when dry and not fired, Steve placed the pedestal in the kiln to dry slowly (without the heat). The weight alone would require too much tension in handling for a dry piece.

This is the bowl that will sit on top of the pedestal drying on plaster. They were made separately.


The pedestal has been through the first firing and is ready to glaze.






Ready to fire.

Glazing & Firing 10/11/09

Today Steve glazed all day while I brought the orchids inside because of a frost warning for tonight. We will be firing tonight and again probably Tuesday or Wednesday to finish a couple of orders and add to the stock we'll take to Bethesda Row this coming weekend.

Glazing

Steve has been glazing the bisque pots for several days now. The photo on the left shows the kiln almost loaded; the one on the right is completely loaded. We are firing tonight.

Here are some closeups of some of the process. You can see him applying wax over the buds on a 'Classics' pot that he has already painted with our yellow glaze. Waxing will protect the yellow glaze from color contamination when he dips the pot into the bucket of green glaze. After waxing over the yellow bud, the pots are turned over and a clear glaze is painted on all the bottoms over the signature(s) being careful not to paint glaze on the actual foot of the pot. Then the bottoms are waxed including the foot.


Once the wax is dry, the pots are ready for the inside glazing which is done by pouring the glaze in, swirling it around so it covers and pouring it out.

then the entire pot is carefully dipped into the bucket of glaze

and any glaze that remains on the waxed foot or yellow buds is wiped off carefully.

Glaze firing last night

We are hurriedly preparing for our next two art fairs.

The first is this coming weekend on Garrison's Landing on the Hudson River by the Garrison Art Center. It is a small show in a very beautiful setting.

The second show follows on the weekend after that in the Finger Lakes region of New York. It is in Canandaigua at the Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion.



This is the kiln filled with glazed pots like the second photo. After the glaze is applied and before the pieces are fired, it is difficult to visually determine what glaze was used.

We fired the glaze kiln last night after glazing for 3 days intermittently with making pots. Glazing is always a unique challenge. There are so many factors that determine the glaze results. One factor is the changing viscosity of the glaze along with the aging factor of different chemicals. Although we do use an instrument to measure the viscosity generally, it essentially relies on our experience with its feel. Heavy cream/medium cream/ light, etc.... will influence the application thickness and needs to be adjusted according to whether we dip or brush the glazes onto the pot. Pots with two different colored glazes require both brushing and dipping. Smaller areas of one glaze would be brushed or painted on then waxed so that when the dipping occurs, there is a resist.

Today the kiln cools all day. We may be able to crack it open tonight. It is crucial that the cooling process not be rushed for our pieces.

Kiln firing 5/25/09

We just unloaded a kiln firing and wanted to share some photos.

Here's Steve glazing some pots before they are fired and then unloading the finished pieces. Glazing usually takes us two sometimes three days, depending on the detail of the pieces.

The firing is done overnight. Steve usually gets up 3-4 times during the night to check on its progress even though it is in a programmable kiln.

Most of the pots in the kiln were for our upcoming retail shows but a few were orders.