Tried some new directions in glaze. (And clay, but that’s a long story.)

I like these. Terra cotta with white slip, green glaze inside and out, with the dark glaze over it on the inside and rim. I like the layering of colors and materials, the legs the glaze developed as it ran… and the fact that the foot kept all the glaze off the shelf. Also makes a nice dark line, that’s nice as well. First time I’ve seen this form with a glossy skin.

Another glaze combo, not as wild about the liner glaze combination next to the exterior glaze.

But the inside glaze texture is amazing, so I had to show you. The whole surface is glossy and the glaze thickness is even, but wow. A bit unappetizing, but amazing, and relatively stable, too.

To the other end of the stability spectrum. I am intrigued by these. Kind of enjoy the monolithic quality. The finish is pretty flat, with the heavier overlap picking up some gloss. Under all the glaze are terra cotta cups with white slip. Thank goodness for that foot, otherwise I’d be scraping glaze off of shelves.

Most of my teabowls made it safely into the second dirty firing. (More on that later.) This firing was exciting for a bunch of reasons. First, I used six new flashing slips. Second, I used four new glazes. Third, all these new recipes were applied to new forms. Anything could happen. Loading went well and was a cheerful event: I coached while three of us loaded. Two or three others visited, one bearing beer. Any kiln event should be a social event!

Safe journey, see you in a couple days! Loaded kiln, pre-firing. Click here for full-size image.

Next day was the firing. It went fine. Not completely smoothly, but fine. I worried mid-afternoon for a couple of hours when the kiln started doing its own thing, hoping I wouldn’t be up all night. But the kiln recovered, and so did I. And then there was the time that a piece of wood went in a little too vigorously, landing just shy of the mouth of the burner, shutting the kiln down. Luckily I was still in the room fussing with something, though it took a few minutes to get restarted. (Note to self: reset the electronics first, next time, even though theoretically there are three failed restarts before it’s necessary.) The firing was not such a social event, but Fred and Moji were around to help get the soda into the kiln. Soda can be done solo, but two are always easier. Made it to temperature easily and under good reduction, with enough wood to make it to the end. Added some water post-turn-off as well as burning some more wood. The end sequence was completely improvised, but well enough recorded to repeat. When I left, the outdoor air was perfect for cycling; I rode around the neighborhood for a couple of miles and tumbled into bed at 3am. Just one more reason to fire on Saturday.

First peek. Click here for full-size goodness.

Monday evening, the unloading. Great carbon trapping on glazes. A lot of purple, some black. Not much gray on the porcelain, surprisingly. (Was it the water? I need to do more reading.) Some super-blasted work. Good coverage everywhere. Very well-reduced slips and clays, too. Helmer-based slip went earthy black. And, mysteriously, there was a copper red that seemed to completely oxidize, near the top of the kiln. Glossy sky blue. I was in the kiln, pulling pieces out, and pretty excited about the results. I can’t stand full height in the kiln, so alternated between standing/stooping and crouching.

Success!

Then the cleanup. Cleaning the firebox was a toasty experience; the kiln walls were holding a lot of heat, but Emily would be loading the next day so it had to be done. Did I mention that it was hot? Not bad, a very few glaze runs, the kiln floor had some particularly unhappy spots. Huge thanks to Fred, Mike, and Judy - these three dirty firing enthusiasts each had a bunch of pieces in the kiln. They pitched in for the unloading and cleanup, which was speedy and cheerful. Here they are scraping shelves:

Four pairs of hands make for quick work!

So, though the firing was back on June 21, it’s taken me a long time to digest the results, and I’m still digesting. The teabowls are boxed and at the studio, so I can pull them out for show-and-tell with anyone who missed seeing them. And so that I can pull them out and look at them. There’s a lot to take in.

Next installation: a few results photos and more commentary on the new forms, slips, and glazes.

I may have a mild obsession with taking hot kiln pictures.

Molten kiln wall.

I think this is the best bending-cones picture I’ve gotten: c.8 down, c.9 soft.

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.

It went well! The difference between a “dirty” and regular firing: super heavy reduction, extra carbon trapping (going for grey to charcoal porcelain), and extra soda. It’s excellent. I had a lot of work - nearly half the kiln - so this is truly the highlights reel. (And I haven’t even shown you the pods.)

The surfaces of this vessel are particularly fantastic. Went in with an unglazed exterior (and plenty of copper glaze on the inside), came out like this. Purple to yellowish, matte to glossy. Grolleg porcelain. Amazing, no?

The bathtubs turned out as hilariously as I thought they would. They’re soap dishes.

Set of houses. Iron stoneware washed with chromium oxide, and came out wonderfully. Must do that again.

This little dish got a big drip of silicone carbide in it, which made a lovely accent.

The newer short cup form. The surfaces came out so well. The heavy reduction really pulls the iron through.

Here are forty-two cups and teabowls that I dipped in slip on Wednesday evening, setting out to dry. I’m trying some new things here. Forms that’ve been on my mind for weeks. I’m simultaneously pretty sure I’m crazy and pretty sure I’m not crazy for trying seven new slip recipes at once. And did I mention that they’ll recieve an assortment of new shino recipes and get sent through the next dirty firing?

I think it’ll be great.

Contemplating the wonderful wood+salt-fire results have given me a lot of food for thought. (I know, I know, I haven’t shown you the results yet. Soon, dear readers, soon! Here’s one to tide you over. It’s one of my favorite cups from the firing, and went to its new home this morning.)

Some photos from the early May firing in Galena.

Sunset.

Pre-firing. The woodpiles have an architecture of their own.

Nighttime. We had fun burning this hollow log. It made a fun chimney.

Firebox, middle of the night. The visually detected color is much whiter.

Next morning. We’ve been firing for about twelve hours. Note the depleted wood supply.

Power. The kiln shed is out of frame to the right.

This is what it’s like out there.

Smoking away after a salt stoke.

Creekside.

My contribution to the landscape: a bisqued house.

These are the cups whose boxes were in the kiln at the time. Too pretty not to take a picture.

Freshly stoked kiln.

Spring arrived late this year.