We were very pleased with the firing time and the glaze results.
I was happy with what I could see.
Last night Mark opened the top bricks of the door for some more looks.
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.
We will try to get the lid off but it might not happen.
Why fire some of the pots again?
Here are the ones from firing two that were put back through the flame:
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
