Turnning up the heat

Last week was a good week for Mark to take the time to finish the small kiln.
He needed to run the pipe lines over to the gas, make connectors,add pressure gauge, make a damper and find some door brick.
So that is what he did.
If you want more detail you will have to ask him.
Last Saturday he bricked the door for a test run and to season up the kiln.
He took it up around 400 degrees and it just coasted right up there.
The next plan is to load it with pots and fire but it is too doggone cold this week.
Maybe next week we can get a unseasonably warm day, well, one can hope.

The kiln will run off two burners; this is the back burner.
Might be a tad too powerful and we have another size to set down to.

Damper

Mark decided he is too old to bend down all the time and did a great job of putting the gauge where you can just walk over and read it.
Rather then stand on your head.

There she is ready, willing and able.
Time to fill her up!

Meanwhile after some good advice from Alex I now know which kiln I plan to order.
Now to just get it done.
Cheers!
M

Yesterday and Yesterday

The small picture is the same kiln out of hard brick built in 1981. Seems like yesterday.




2009-Yesterday was hot and humid, but Mark went out and put the arch on the new kiln.
I stayed in the air and made trays.
I should feel a little guilty about that, but sometimes it is best to stay out of the way.
Plus he does come and get me if he needs me. I am a great "holder".




The last thing Mark did was put castable in the Key brick area.
It set up last night. Is it time to remove the wooden arch form?
This is getting very exciting.








Seems like only yesterday we were setting up for the first ,"Celebration Of Seagrove Potters" event.

Mark your calendars for this 2nd annual event Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 9am to 6pm and Sunday, November 22 from 10am to 4pm.
Friday, November 20, 2009 - Gala Preview Party

Details.... and thinking....

Details, details.......
Mark is shoring things up for the arch of the new kiln.
Detail work is going on inside the chimney area and skew blocks are in place for the arch, while some welding on the steel is going on.
Even though this is not a big kiln the details are important.
Mark builds things to last.
Our big kiln was built in 1982 still standing and still firing pots.
I expect this one will be a solid kiln as well.
The details are in the works,
Arch, steel, chimney, gas lines and burners.......

Maybe in the next month?
Meanwhile I am thinking about Christmas, It always happens this time of year.
It is time to make Christmas pots to be ready for the season.
An older potter here once told me you need to have the Christmas post made by August to get them all through the kiln.
So it has me thinking and I have my list in my head. I need to put it on paper and get some pots made.

On another note and yet the same, go over and read Cindy Shake today. She has a great post on selling and thinking about your work.
She made me think, which at 6:30 am is a feat in its self!

Have we been here before?

Back in 1981-1982 we built our first kiln. It was all hard brick and ate gas like a pig. We decided we needed a soft brick kiln for two reasons. One it needed to fire more efficiently and two we wanted to get more pots out at a time- production was the name of the game for us then.
So we built the big kiln- 1986.
Now it is 2009 and I don't know here the years went.
But we have dug out pictures of the first kiln we built and Mark has been reproducing it in soft brick.


Mark, being the great pack rat that he is, had stored the steel away in one of the out buildings.

He is now reproducing an arch,that is long gone, and cleaning burners.

Our thoughts on this kiln are, we will be able to fire more glaze test along with smaller turn around of the old glazes.
The large kiln does not allow quick turn around.
And- the work and we have changed. When I look at filling the old kiln I have to take a breath.
In fact I take that breath today- 80 cubic feet is a lot of pottery.
The small kiln is about 20 cubic feet. A baby compared to the big bad boy!


We hope to have this baby out for a test drive in the next month.

So long and thanks for all the fish

No, I am not going anywhere.
Yesterday I was in the mind set of, " I am out of here!"
But today I did what I usually do.
I went out to the studio and got out some clay.
I always have something in my head that begs to come out and rather then let it suffer I give it a go.
So thanks to all the folks who commented on the crawling glaze.
It is all good food for thought.
I agree with Mark that we are not firing enough these days.
Back in the day we fired the big kiln every 3-4 weeks.
Yes, we were younger and had more energy.
So he posted on comments that he is building a smaller kiln.
The cat is out of the bag now! I have some picture I have been taking of the kiln and as soon as he gives the green light I will post some up.
The new kiln is coming along and has taken on the true characteristics of a kiln instead of just the chalk outline.
Right now he is not ready to show the kiln off.

This kiln will make a huge difference in our firing schedule. Although the kiln will be but a fraction of the size of the old one, it will enable us to put through some quick loads or do some experimented with glazes. The other plus is we put a variety of glazes in the kiln we use now. Maybe some of them would fire better separate from one another.........
We will take the old kiln down and rebuild it smaller. Maybe down to 40 cubic feet rather then the 80 we have now.

I will post up a picture of the tiles I did for a customer which will be set in a table he made for his wife.