I climbed into the soda kiln with my camera a couple of months ago and want to share some of the amazing surfaces in there. This kiln is two or three years old and is fired something between fifty and seventy times a year… that’s a lot of wear.
Hello, my pretty. This is one of the burners. Boo! These are more like seven years old, from what I’ve been told.
Closeup of the flue entrance… love the layering of soda with the floating glaze. I’d like to use this surface for something.
Entrance to the chimney again… but looking up. Look at all that soda built up on the refractory brick. I’d like to use this texture on a big sculptural piece.
Sitting on the floor and looking toward the front. The opening is one of the soda ports. When we add the soda, we flip the angle iron toward the outside wall (at the left). Lots of soda lands on the target brick, bottom center, and builds up in the area behind it.
The range of color the wall picks up is beautiful. The depth of the colors would translate well to an oil painting. Maybe when the kiln gets rebuilt I can have this section of the wall. The interior wythe is hard brick, to better resist wear, so even this small part would be quite hefty. It would still be worth it.
Here’s another super crusty part, above the soda port. I like the blue and green color and the rippled texture. Reminds me of Gail Nichols’ work a bit. It has more green than over by the flue - a little more iron? - and is a bit less crusty. Great surface. I love it.
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hi julie, amazing photos, I’m still dreaming of building a soda kiln one day……
Comment by ang 07.04.08 @ 2:51 amCrazy awesome! Soda kiln I used, very briefly, in college was brand new and had none of this. Wasn’t nearly big enough to crawl into either . . .
Comment by The Aesthetic Elevator 07.04.08 @ 7:45 am[…] did an ‘expose’ of sorts on her blog of the inside of a soda kiln in a post called Up Close and Personal: Soda kiln. It’s worth looking at her pictures. A friend who is building a house just outside of town is […]
Pingback by First Glazes: Line blends « The Aesthetic Elevator 07.04.08 @ 8:45 amThanks Michael! I’d enjoy seeing some photos of your kiln - go for it!
Ang, glad you enjoyed it. Did you soda fire in school?
TAE, our kiln is quite big enough to crawl into… I can nearly stand up inside! All of Lillstreet’s kilns are pretty sizeable, it’s nuts.
Comment by Julie 07.04.08 @ 9:19 pmGreat pics, you should mat and/or frame a set and make a show and sell at your future displays, prints.
Comment by jim 07.13.08 @ 11:04 pmno but concentrated on reduction gas firing, I can’t remember exactly when I first saw soda fired work, I’m just drawn to it…..some day….
Comment by ang 07.14.08 @ 3:49 amThanks Jim, that’s a great idea. Or just print them for myself and cover the walls… hmm…
Ang, I’m glad you enjoy it!
Comment by Julie 07.14.08 @ 4:11 pmLeave a comment
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Very interesting! I’ve wanted to do something like this.
Comment by Michael Kline 07.03.08 @ 11:11 pm