Sunday, March 27, 2011

March Firing 2011

YES! This firing went so much better then the first two.
We were very pleased with the firing time and the glaze results.

The day after the fire I was able to take a look and see the Iron red glaze through the peep holes.
I was happy with what I could see.

Last night Mark opened the top bricks of the door for some more looks.
 Then this morning it was take the whole door down:


We had 1 teapot with the lid glazed down and 1 pot where there was a dry spot.
But overall the whole kiln worked so much better from the taller shelf at the bottom to how most of the glazes fired.
The Satin matte glaze was hot enough to go more clear with a blue cast to the color.
The blue ash glaze was hot and lost a bit of the texture you see in the glaze but very doable in color and melt.
The Spodumene glaze went very green and lost some of the toasty orange color that I really love, but again I like it.
It made me think about how we chase color or chase a color like that is the only thing we should expect from the glaze.
We tend to ask a lot from all the elements;the clay, the glaze and the fire and not give in to what the kiln gives us.
What I think we  both want from this kiln is more of the unexpected and less of the expected.
Now to see if there is a buying audience to go along with what we get from the elements all added together.

 This Teapot was the one with the lid glazed down.
We will try to get the lid off but it might not happen.

One last note:
Why fire some of the pots again?
Here are the ones from firing two that were put back through the flame:
The two tumblers right and left looked like the one in the middle back.
The ash glaze is melted but not that interesting and not as warm.
The iron red is muddy and just kind of blah.
Now look at how the iron red's color comes out, the wood ash comes into its on and hits that bottom glaze and gives us those wonderful black runs.
It's that place where why settle when you know there is better?

Now- pop back over to the last post to see these mugs before- and now after.
The pots are sanded, priced and going over to the store for sale.
We are getting ready for our spring kiln opening and it will be nice to have some of these new pots on the shelves.
Cheers from a rainy ,cold, no snow day here in NC.
M

18 comments:

Mimi said...

What a great description and with pics to assist in the reader's understanding. Looks really good, and as you said, some really terrific results! Congrats!

Tracey Broome said...

Sounds like you are a happy girl and the kiln will get a nicer name! I am the queen of re firing, always worth a shot, if you don't like what you got in the first place what's the harm of messing with it to see if you can get better! Definitely a good decision on your part, the tumblers look great. Congrats on a sweeeet firing.

Michèle Hastings said...

everything looks great and the teapot can be a sculpture if the lid won't come off. i used to hate to re-fire pots but lately i have been happy that i did. it is sort of fun to see what happens when things are given a second chance!

Anonymous said...

Looks good! Glad the little kiln is starting to pull it's weight :-)

Hollis Engley said...

Congratulations, Meredith. Looks like a much better firing. How long was this firing?

Linda Starr said...

I've never had good luck on re-fires, but perhaps I should have tried it more often, glad you kiln is doing so well.

Julia said...

Breathtaking!!

Ron said...

Looks great!!!

Mr. Young said...

Awesome green! And those nice black runs... mmmmm mmm!

ang design said...

look at those lovely runs :))

Gary's third pottery blog said...

oh man, all just so gorgeous :)

Sylvia N. said...

Totally charming! Way to go baby kiln!

Anne Raven Jorgensen said...

it looks great!!

Unknown said...

WaaHoo!! Congrats on a nice firing~ The pots look fantastic and the kiln- well, she is just pretty!! The teapot would make a lovely door stop ;)

Thanks for the encouragement to refire things- your results speak for themselves!

Judy Shreve said...

I thought I posted a comment this morning? Oh well -- the pots look great! YAY sweet new kiln!

Have you ever tried freezing a pot with a stuck lid for a few hours first before trying to unstick it?

cookingwithgas said...

Thank you all for such a great response on the firing.
We were both very encouraged and you know that only means more pots to come!
M

Anna M. Branner said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog Meredith! I am only just starting to find events in the area....but if your sister is at all interested in a sheep and goat shearing at a local farm tell her to come on by Juniper Moon on the 14th.

I love your work out of this gas kiln! And I agree, refiring is always a good trick in the toolbox.

cookingwithgas said...

Anna- i will pass on the info to sister Leslie.
BTW Anna is a family name for us- good name there take care of it!
:)!